Veggie Soup and Potatoes
For a week or so, DH and I are trying an experimental (to us) diet of basically just fruits and vegetables. (No sugar, no oil, no meat, no dairy, no grains.) My first thought was AAAAGGGHHH! However, it is anti-inflammatory, anti-cholesterol, anti-high blood pressure, and anti-heart disease. Like I say, it is an experiment and don’t panic — we will be eating Christmas cookies in another week or so. For now, we’re going to see how we feel after a week of wholesome, natural, good-for-you stuff.
So far, so great. I won’t say I didn’t feel like I was starving for the first couple of days, but I’m having fewer headaches and am sleeping better than usual. DH is feeling pretty good, too.
My problem is that I was raised on a meat-starch-vegetable diet. At every meal, there was meat, bread or potatoes, and a vegetable. Most of this was cooked in or topped with margarine or oil. As an adult, I have basically cooked this same way. From looking at my old posts, any of you can see that most of my dinners include these three basic foods.
So it’s a bit of a challenge for me to come up with a full day’s menu using nothing but fruits and vegetables. For the next few days, I will be giving you some of my successes. I’ll keep the failures to myself.
Saturday I made a vegetable soup and served it with baked potatoes. DH LOVED it, so it gets the honor of being put on my blog:
Vegetable Soup and Baked Potatoes
1 can vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 c. shredded cabbage
1/2 c. frozen corn
1/2 c. frozen peas
1/2 c. chopped onion
seasonings to taste — salt, pepper, celery salt
optional - other vegetables such as carrots, leeks, garlic, navy beans
2 large baking potatoes
To bake the potatoes, wrap in foil and prick (very important, don’t forget to prick!) Place them in the oven at about 400 degrees and forget about them for an hour.
For the soup, start with just a little of the broth and cook the cabbage and onions. When they are soft, you can dump everything else in.
When it’s time to eat, split the potatoes into quarters and top with the soup instead of the usual cheese / sour cream / chives / bacon combination.
Like I say, DH really loved this, and although I’m not a big veggie / potato fan, I found it beyond edible.
December 4th, 2007