How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Since the 1980s, there has been a Cabbage Soup Diet. Rumor has it that a “prestigious hospital” developed this way of eating to help patients with heart disease to lose weight. But that is only a rumor. How this started is anyone’s guess and periodically it starts up again. I have heard of two ways to employ this diet: 1] Make a huge batch of cabbage soup, and eat a bowl before every meal. The idea is that after the soup, you will eat less of the regular meal. This goes on for as many days as it takes to lose your weight or until you can’t stand soup any more. 2] Make a huge batch of cabbage soup and eat a bowl whenever you are hungry for seven days. On certain days, you add certain foods in a set pattern. This goes on for seven days only, and nothing else is eaten. This is an example of a DIET, not a LIFESTYLE. The difference is that with this diet, you might lose weight in the short term, but you have trained yourself not to like cabbage soup instead of training yourself how to eat in a way that will keep the weight off. Lifestyle-eating allows you to get to a healthy weight and maintain it because the way of eating is pleasant and sustainable.

Is this food allowed on this diet…	Cabbage Soup	On Fast Days
Fatty Animal protein: beef, lamb, pork	Only beef, Days 5 + 6	Yes
Lean Animal protein: chicken, turkey	Only Day 5	Yes, preferred
Eggs	no	Yes
Beer, wine, cocktails	no	On Slow Days
Grains, starches: rice, wheat products, pasta, cereals	Only Brown Rice, Day 7	in moderation
Nuts + seeds	No	in moderation
Beans, legumes: peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas	no	Yes
Seafood protein, especially with Omega-3 fats	no	Yes
Apples, melons, pears, all other fruits	Only Day 1	Yes
Berries, bananas	Only Day 1, not bananas	Yes
Leafy green vegetables: spinach, chard, kale, lettuce	Only Day 2	Yes
Dairy: Cheese, milk, yogurt	On Day 4, Skim milk only	Some
Vegetable oils: olive, canola	no	in moderation
Animal fat: butter	No	in moderation
Root vegetables: beets, sweet potatoes, carrots	no	Yes
Other vegetables: onions, tomatoes, peppers	Days 3, 6, 7	Yes
Fat	No	No
Protein	Very low	Yes. lots
Higher fiber	Not a factor	Yes
Daily Carb intake	Not a factor	Keep it low
Whole grains	no	Yes
Simple carbs: cookies, pastries, cake, bread, processed foods	NO	Not on Fast Day
Number of days per week to follow the regimin	every day for 7 days	2 of 7
Do calories matter?	No	Only 600 on Fast Days

If eating cabbage soup once in a while sounds yummy, here is a good recipe. If you would like a low-calorie meal with cabbage — but not soup — try the Danish Stuffed Cabbage. FYI, November 30 is Stuffed Cabbage Day — called Kåldolmens Dag — in Sweden.

Cabbage-Sausage Soup: 264 calories 11 g fat 5 g fiber 14 g protein 25.5 g carbs 66 mg Calcium  PB GF  Since this is Jacques Pepin’s recipe, I’ll let him say it:  “When the weather gets cooler in the fall, I make soup. I generally cook up a big batch and freeze some for whenever I need it. This one, with sausage, potatoes, and cabbage, is hearty and good for cold weather.” HINT: Makes 6 one-cup servings.

8 ounces mild Italian sausage meat 1½ cups onions, sliced 6 scallions, cut into ½-inch pieces (1¼ cups) 6 cups water 1 cup canned chickpeas 16 oz potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” chunks — try using half sweet potatoes 8 ounces savoy or other green cabbage, chopped/sliced 1¼ teaspoons salt

“Break the sausage meat into 1” pieces and place it in a saucepan over high heat. Sauté, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon [to keep the meat from sticking], for 10 minutes, or until the sausage is well browned. Add the onions and scallions and cook 1 minute. Stir in the water, chickpeas, potatoes, cabbage, and salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 45 minutes.” Portion for storage or serving. One portion = 1 cup.

Danish Stuffed Cabbage: 282 calories 6 g fat 6 g fiber 35 g protein 25 g carbs 125 mg Calcium  PB GF Craig Claiborne’s International Cookbook provided this recipe. Its history involves a Swedish king and the Ottoman Empire. Very royal origin for a common meal found all over, where-ever cabbages are grown.

4 oz turkey meat, raw 2 oz pork meat, raw 2½ oz veal, raw ½ cup fresh bread crumbs [from whole-grain 70-calorie bread] 2 oz milk 1 oz egg white sage + salt + pepper 4 whole cabbage leaves from a whole head 1/3 c pickled beets dab of mustard

Put the meats, sage, salt, and pepper in the food processor and mince. Spritz a saute pan with non-stick spray and cook the meat until it doesn’t look raw. Cool meat. Combine the bread and milk, stir, let sit until soggy. Add the egg white and meats and stir to combine well. Set aside. Put a head of cabbage in a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a simmer. When the outer layer begins to cook, remove the outer leaf. Return the cabbage to the pan of simmering water. Continue to remove the outer leaves as they cook, until you have 4. Return them to the poaching water and cook until very limp. Cut a ‘V’ at the base of each leaf to remove the thickest part of the leaf’s rib. Orient the leaf so the ‘V’ is away from you. Put ¼ cup filling on the leaf. Fold the near side over the filling, tuck in the sides, and continue to roll. Place seam-side down in an oven-proof dish large enough to hold all four rolls. Pour some of the water in which you poached the cabbage into the dish until it comes ½-way up the rolls. Put on a lid or foil and bake at 350 F. for 30 minutes. Plate with the pickled beets and a dab of mustard. Fit for a king.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

2 two-oz eggs = US large + olive oil + parsley	1.5 two-oz eggs
cilantro + scallions + baking powder + cumin	celery + onion
green cardamom + cinnamon + black pepper	green bell pepper
walnuts + dried cranberries [plain yogurt]	Tabasco sauce + Cajun seasonings
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

large eggplant [1#] + garlic + paprika	4 oz beef liver
2 large tomatoes + olive oil + tomato puree	onion
turmeric + hard-boiled egg	green beans aka string beans
chopped herbs + Lavash bread @ 90 calories/1.5 oz	butter
Sparkling water	Sparkling water