Also called “The Dolly Parton diet,” for reasons that are shrouded in mystery, this 7-day diet really does work–in the short term, anyway. And there’s a great purity to it–especially in the summertime when it’s wonderfully refreshing served ice cold. Ingredient proportions can be varied according to your likes and dislikes.

Okay, are you ready? Here we go:

• 1 head cabbage, shredded or chopped
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 16-28 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped
• 2 green peppers
• 4 stalks celery
• 1-2 packages Lipton onion soup mix, or any dry onion soup mix (optional)
• black pepper
• any fresh herb(s) of your choice, chopped
• 6 carrots, sliced
• 1/2 pound green beans, sliced on diagonal
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (optional)

Put all vegetables in a big pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, stir in the soup mix (if desired), and boil gently for 10 minutes. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the vegetables are soft. Stir in the black pepper and chopped herbs (saving some for garnish).
Eat as much of the soup as you like, as often as you like. Drink as much water as you like and non-caloric drinks including coffee, tea, and herbal teas.

Here’s what else you can eat, and when:

• DAY 1: All fruits except bananas.
• DAY 2: All vegetables, raw or cooked. This includes baked potato with a LITTLE butter.
• DAY 3: Fruits and vegetables, but no potatoes or bananas.
• DAY 4: Bananas and skim milk–eat as many as 8 bananas and drink as many as 8 glasses of skim milk.
• DAY 5: Beef, skinless chicken, and/or fish–as much as 20 ounces, total. You can also eat 6 tomatoes. And you must drink 8 glasses of water. Don’t forget at least one bowl of soup.
• DAY 6: Beef, skinless chicken, or fish and vegetables. Drink 8 glasses of water and eat at least one bowl of soup.

D

• AY 7: Brown rice, vegetables, and unsweetened fruit juice.

TESTIMONY! If you’re interested in going gourmet AND losing weight, try the following suggestions, recommended by Bobbi B. from California: “To make the soup not so…so…impossible to eat three times a day; try making the first batch with red onions, red cabbage and red bell peppers, leave it chunky like a minestrone. The second batch make with yellow onions, green cabbage & green bells (I left out the tomatoes in second batch) and pureé it. The taste and texture change makes it so much more palatable. Also, on the skim milk day; add non fat plain yogurt to the soup as one of glasses of milk…tastes wonderful!!! Hey! I lost 10 lbs. in 7 days, I feel great! I can’t imagine it not being healthy for you, keep the foods fresh and be creative when you cook.”
Or how about chef Karen Larkin who makes soups from scratch every morning at her McKinleyville, California, café: “I love this diet! It really works! I add a few different herbs and spices to each batch to give it an international twist. For example, I add chopped cilantro, a little chili powder, and cumin to give it a Southwestern flavor; some oregano, basil, and fresh garlic for an Italian taste; a little curry powder mixed into the cooking soup and chopped fresh mint leaves for garnish on top when serving to give it a unique Moroccan flavor; shrimp or fish boullion, a little soy sauce, and some fresh bean sprouts, minus the tomatoes for an exotic Oriental sensation; chanterelle mushrooms and a pinch of thyme and rosemary minus the tomatoes for a wonderful French taste. All very yummy!”

Jane B. from High Point, North Carolina, says “The version of this that I got had no carrots, green beans, herbs or vinegar. It did have boullion added and the daily instructions were the same. It was called the American Heart Association diet. I was told if you lost less than 17 lbs. in one week you could stay on it. Lost 10 lbs the first week, 7 lbs the second. I’ve been following it casually since then and have lost a total of 35 lbs so far and feel great – all within about a month and a half time frame.”

Natalie from Nixa, Missouri, says: I haved used this soup many times, and lose about 10 pounds each week! My family likes it too, so I add ground beef or diced Chicken to it and we have a meal! It is a great way to clean out your system and make you feel great, if followed correctly! I use it for a week, off a week, on a week, and off a week, and usually can keep the weight off for a year or 2, if I am careful! Just be sure to take your vitamins, and eat all the stuff it calls for…

Alister Moffit says: Everyone told me I would be listless and low on energy, when in actual fact I felt like all the toxins were being washed out of my system and I was full of energy and alert, I kept riding my bike to work and back every day for 25 km round trip while on the diet and lost 3 kg. I also kept taking Lecithin to clear out cholestrol.

Or how about Sherrie Blount’s variation from Oakland, California: “Use the original cabbage soup diet recipe for all three meals. Add brown rice,one fry egg to your soup. (EAT IT LIKE IT IS STEW) Do not add any other foods etc. Drink 8 glasses of water, no tea or juice. This really works.”

Laurie W. from Berks, UK, says: “You cannot fail to lose weight on this diet (as long as you don’t cheat!). I lost 8lbs the first time, then on my second go 5 weeks later, I lost another 7lbs! Providing you don’t stuff yourself silly on the first day off the diet, then eat sensibly, there is no reason why you should put the weight back on! Good luck.”

Lenia Kallis from Nicosia, Cyprus, says: “You may omit the peppers mushrooms also-you may use them otherwise-and use fewer onions to make a lighter soup. Also cutting the cabbage into big chunks makes you feel fuller as you are eating something solid. Also you may add one tablespoon of non fat grinded hard cheese on top of every plateful just before consumption, for variation. And yes it tastes great and you still lose the weight.I also agree that yogurt makes it much better in taste. On the fruit day I make a nice big fruit salad with a little orange juice and consume it the whole day. On the vegetable day I saute the vegetables in a non stick pan and add a little soya sauce to fool myself I am eating chinese. I use light margarine for the baked potato.On the banana and milk day I make nice banana milk shakes in a shaker and add a little sweetener if the bananas are not sweet enough.On the beef day I eat a little mustard with the steaks or make a sauce with mustard and mushrooms too since I do not use them in the soup. Yes I too lost 9 pounds on it. And it is not that difficult either with the above recommendations. It is imperative that you have one multivitamin a day , plus one water soluble vitamin C whenever you feel light headed.It really helps the energy levels. All the above make the diet easier to follow and the results are drastic. It motivates me also to go on a better and more nutritional diet the week after. I feel that it is good for me as I do not consume any meats for the first 4 days of the diet. Good luck to all.”

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Bean Soup – traditional Bulgarian recipe

6 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups cannelloni or northern beans (soaked overnight in water)
  
• 1 cup red capsicum (chopped)
  
• 1 cup green capsicum (chopped)
  
• 1 cup carrot (grated)
  
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
  
• mint
  
• salt
  
• pepper

Cooking guidelines

Discard the soaking water and boil the beans in fresh water. Once you’ve boiled the beans, discard the boiling water and once again fill the saucepan with fresh water, and start adding the other ingredients.

Add the chopped onion, capsicums and carrot. Simmer until beans are cooked approximately 2 hours (if you use a pressure-cooker 30 minutes will be enough, but after all it depends on the type of beans you use).

Before the end of cooking, you can thicken the soup by lightly frying onion in a little oil in a frying pan. Add paprika and stir, remove the pan from heat, add flour and stir again. Gradually add a ladle of soup at a time and stir until flour is dissolved. Then gradually return this into the saucepan – a little at a time, continually stirring to prevent lumps.

Season with salt, pepper and mint at your taste, and simmer gently for another 10-15 minutes.

Papago Tepary Bean Soup

6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups tepary beans (soaked)
  
• 6 cups water
  
• 3 cups tomatoes w/juice
  
• slices bacon (diced)
  
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
  
• clove garlic (diced)
  
• 1 cup celery (diced)
  
• carrots (sliced)
  
• 1 teaspoon mixed oregano and cumin

Cooking guidelines

Discard the soaking water boil the beans in big pot.

When beans tender, fry bacon in a frying pan until it limps. Remove bacon and add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté. Add bacon, tomatoes and juice and the remaining spices. Cook about 10 minutes and add beans. Cook 1 hour until beans mealy-tender.

Serving

Serve with flour tortillas or fresh fry bread.

Enjoy!

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Red Lentil Dahl

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils (soaked for 1 hour)
  
• 6 cups water
  
• 1 each onion, small (chopped)
  
• 1 tablespoon butter/oleo
  
• 1/2 each green chili (chopped)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Cooking guidelines

Drain and wash lentils in cold water. Place lentils in a saucepan.

Add water, green chili, salt and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 1hour 30 minutes.

Melt butter/oleo in a small frying pan and sauté the onion in it. Add the onion and the butter/oleo to the lentils and boil for 2 or 3 minutes.

Serving

Serve with fresh lemon juice. Rice is also a good addition – see next recipe…

Variation

You can also add 1/2 cup of mixed veggies, or 1/2 cup of chopped potatoes and cauliflower, or 1/2 cup of green peas.

Red Lentil and Wild Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

• 2 oz dried red lentils
  
• 1/2 cup extra fancy wild rice
  
• 6 cups light vegetable stock
  
• 2 centiliter garlic (minced)
  
• 1 small red onion (diced)
  
• 1 cup long-grain white or brown rice
  
• 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaf (chopped)
  
• 1/4 cup parsley (chopped)
  
• salt and black pepper
  
• 1 bunch parsley or thyme for garnish

Cooking guidelines

In a small saucepan, heat 2 cups of the stock to a simmer over medium heat. Add the wild rice and season the stock to your taste, cook until tender – about 35 minutes. Drain and reserve the rice.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring the remaining 4 cups of stock to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it is golden – about 3 minutes. Add the onion and cook until the edges are brown – about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and white or brown rice and cook about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the boiling stock, stir in the lentils, return the saucepan to the heat and bring the contents to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Cover the saucepan with heavy duty aluminum foil, and bring the foil down to the surface of the liquid, crimping the edges to seal well. Seal with the lid and transfer the pan to the lower rack of the oven, cooking until the liquid has been absorbed – 15 to 20 minutes.

Transfer to a large bowl. Add the wild rice, parsley and remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

Serving

Transfer to serving dish and garnish with sprigs of herbs.

Enjoy!

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Green Bean Casserole – Classic

6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 (16 oz) cans cut green beans (drained)
  
• 1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
  
• 3/4 cup milk
  
• 1 (2.8 oz) can French Fried Onions
  
• salt and pepper to your taste

Cooking guidelines

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the beans, soup, milk and half the onions, add salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in a medium sized casserole for about 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Top with remaining onions and continue to bake for another 5 minutes or until onions are golden.

Green Bean Casserole with Beef

Ingredients

• 2 cans cut green beans (drained)
  
• 1 lb. ground beef
  
• 1 can tomato soup
  
• 1 onion (chopped)
  
• 1-2 green capsicums (chopped)
  
• 2 cans refrigerator biscuits

Cooking guidelines

Brown and drain ground beef. Add the green beans and soup. Add the onion and green capsicums.

Bake in a medium sized pan at 375 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Put a layer of biscuits (use both cans) on top of the green bean mixture and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes or until top of biscuits are browned.

Variation

You can use chicken instead of beef.

Green Bean Casserole with Tuna

Ingredients

• 1 large can cut green beans (drained)
  
• 1 can tuna (water canned)
  
• 1 can mushrooms (dried and cut)
  
• a few onion and cheese slices

Cooking guidelines

Mix tuna, green beans, and onion. Add the mushrooms and mix all well.

Bake in one large casserole topped with cheese slices, or divide into few casseroles and top each casserole with 1 slice of cheese.

Bake in oven until cheese is melted.

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