Broadening Family Horizons; May 2016; Cabbage Soup

As most of you know, I’ve been trying to lose a few pounds.  I was browsing one of my health food apps when I found a video for Peel-a-Pound Soup.  It looked so good, and apparently it’s magic for weight loss. There’s one problem though.

Cabbage!

Cabbage has never looked appealing to me, my kids haven’t had cabbage, and my husband has adamantly declared his hatred for the stuff.

I decided to try it anyway, and not tell anyone what was in it until after they tried it.  I know, that’s so bad. HeHe! 

Ingredients needed:

1 head of cabbage
1 large can of whole tomatoes
1 packet of Lipton onion mix
6 beef bouillon cubes
3.5 cups water
1 red onion
1 yellow onion
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
½ celery stalk
6 garlic cloves

Chop up your colorful array of vegetables.

**Yes, it’s a lot of ingredients, and it took a while to cut everything up.  Downfall!**

Find a big pot! I used our canning pot.

Dump in the tomatoes, and get a little messy by squishing them apart. **This was fun!**

Now add in everything else, but save the cabbage for last.  You might have to add in the cabbage in portions when some cooks down, depending on the size of your pot.

At this point I got a little worried.  It looked as if the soup was going to be mostly raw cabbage.

Thankfully it cooked down, and when it did it smelled great!

******************FAMILY VERDICT********************

This soup was a big hit.  All but 1 person that tried it thought it tasted good, and my son was the odd one out. Yes, the husband that proclaimed to hate cabbage even thought it was good.

I liked it, except that it left me still hungry and wanting more food.  There wasn’t enough protein in it for me. Which is okay if you have great self-control.  However, when I’m hungry, I want to shove as much food in my mouth as I can.  All I could think was that it needed some chunks of beef.  That would have made it perfect.

*****************************************************

To watch it made, here is the original video that I found. T-Roy Cooks, Peel-a-Pound Soup

His directions were so easy to follow.  However, he states that you burn more calories by eating the soup than you consume.  That’s a bit of a stretch, but one serving is low on the calorie count.

Overall, I’m glad I made this.  My family got to experience cabbage soup and it abolished some misconceptions that we all had about cabbage.

My family’s been so good about trying these healthy new things, I think I might treat them to a dessert next month.  Only time will tell.

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!!

Broadening Family Horizons; April 2016; RUTABAGA

I recently started this new idea with my family.  We are going to broaden our horizons and try something new to eat every month… 

I got the idea when I saw this…

and said, “What the heck is that?”

It’s a rutabaga, by the way; a root vegetable that’s a possible cross between the cabbage and the turnip. Thank you, Wikipedia.

When I asked around, if people had tried one or if they liked it, the answer to both questions was a resounding, “No.”

I didn’t care.  I was determined that my family would be able to say, “Yeah, I’ve had that.” Who knows, they might even like it. 

I researched many different ways to season and cook a rutabaga, and tried the way that look the best.

 

First I had to peel the sucker.  I read somewhere that peeling a rutabaga was easier than peeling a butternut squash (another thing I haven’t tried). Well, I don’t think I want to try and peel a butternut squash, because that rutabaga was a tough sucker to peel.  I eventually did it like a cantaloupe.  Cut off both ends and peel it down the sides. 

I chopped the peeled rutabaga into chunks. You can see the size of mine compared to the wooden spoon. Again… not so simple.

I browned some butter on the stove and poured it over the top.  Then I seasoned the chunks with Italian seasoning and salt, and tossed. 

I baked the rutabaga at 425 degrees for 35 minutes.  The chunks were tender and had browned nicely.

It was time for dinner…

*********Family Verdict*************

The pieces melted in our mouths, and the seasoning was good.  However, it was not enough to change the actual taste of the rutabaga, which we were all not fans of.

It was kind of a bummer, but there’s always that chance when trying something new that it won’t be a winner for you.

************************************

I’m curious as to what next month’s new food will be.  I guess I’ll know it when I see it.

Maybe leeks…

Maybe Brussels sprouts…

Anyone have any suggestions?

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!!