Cabbage Soup Diet: Recipe and 7 Day Meal Plan

The Cabbage Soup Diet is a 7 day meal plan, aimed at achieving fast weight loss with use of a simple cabbage soup recipe.

cabbage soup recipe

It is not a long-term weight loss solution but is known to be effective over the short term.

Apparently it originally came from a hospital (Sacred Heart Hospital) to stimulate weight loss for surgery patients – but this cannot be verified.

Pros

  • Fast weight loss.
  • The change from some of our normally junky eating habits can be beneficial.
  • Vegetables from the Brassica family (such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) have been found to aid in preventing cancer.
  • Many say they enjoy eating the soup.
This diet is not recommended for more than a week because it does not offer complete nutrition. 

Cons

  • Some complain that the Cabbage Soup a little too bland.
  • Be prepared for gas…
  • Requires will power.
  • Lacks good nutrition
  • High in salt.
  • Not a long-term answer.

Cabbage Soup Recipe

  • 6 large green onions
  • 2 green peppers
  • 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
  • 1 bunch celery
  • 1/2 head cabbage
  • 1 package Onion Soup Mix
  • 1 or 2 cubes bouillon (optional)
  • 1 48 oz. can V8
  • Juice (optional)
  • Season to taste (salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc).

Note: There are a number of variations to this recipe.

Cabbage Soup 7 Day Meal Plan

Day 1
Homemade cabbage soup, plus any fruit, apart from bananas.
Day 2
Homemade cabbage soup, plus other vegetables, including a baked potato with butter for dinner (potatoes are off-limits on other days)
Day 3
Homemade cabbage soup, plus other fruits and vegetables.
Day 4
Homemade cabbage soup, plus anything up to 6 bananas and fat-free milk.
Day 5
Homemade cabbage soup, plus 6 tomatoes and up to 450 grams of meat or fish.
Day 6
Homemade cabbage soup, plus meat(beef) and vegetables.
Day 7
Homemade cabbage soup, plus brown rice, pure fruit juice, and vegetables.

No bread, carbonated beverages, or alcohol.

Exercise Not Encouraged

Because of the very low calorie nature of the cabbage soup diet, exercise isn’t recommended. Going for a walk could be acceptable, but anything strenuous could be potentially dangerous.

Summary and Warning

The biggest drawback of the Cabbage Soup diet plan is the sheer monotony of eating cabbage soup.

book version of the cabbage dietHowever, some diets basically look at the nutritional properties of the cabbage soup diet and make it more interesting by combining other foods that have the same effect.

There are also serious concerns regarding the nutritional quality of this diet. On many days, the diet is low in protein, calcium, and essential fatty acids.

There are also high levels of sodium or MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) when using onion soup mix and bouillon.

Weight loss will probably occur due to the low calorie intake not because of some magical property of cabbage soup.

See Also

 By Mizpah Matus B.Hlth.Sc(Hons)

References

  • KATZ, D. L. (2003). Pandemic obesity and the contagion of nutritional nonsense. Public health reviews, 31(1), 33-44. link
  • Roberts, D. C. (2001). Quick weight loss: sorting fad from fact. Medical journal of Australia, 175(11/12), 637-640. link
  • Cummings, J. H., Branch, W., Jenkins, D. J. A., Southgate, D. A. T., Houston, H., & James, W. P. T. (1978). Colonic response to dietary fibre from carrot, cabbage, apple, bran, and guar gum. The Lancet, 311(8054), 5-9. link

13 Comments or Reviews

Comments now closed
  1. Beatrice sheppard

    Is this a good diet for dialysis person

  2. Jerry

    Can you substitute tomatoes

  3. John

    How many times a day do you eat the soup?

  4. Karen

    May I know if oats can be eaten for breakfast while on this diet.

  5. Richard

    Works for me, in the short run….When I finish the challenge, or quit at day 4, I use the leftover cabbage soup for minestrone. Never wasted a drop, just added sweet Italian sausage (sautéed), a cup or two of thin spaghetti (cooked), a handful of fresh spinach, and a little fresh grated parm. Not bad, and I don’t feel guilty!

  6. rockey

    can you take a one a day vitaman with this diet plan?

    • LLeone

      Yes…I take a Centrum Silver daily wheterh on the diet or not…Still lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks.

  7. Bob

    Briefly – I’m going, on a tour and we will be going to a German restaurant on my “banana day”. I can pass on the the frauleins carrying the mugs of German beers. But when it comes to the Sausage with kraut, Sauerbraten, Wiener schnitzel, etc. I don’t think there will be any bananas and I don’t think it would bee too cool to be packing bananas in my pockets.

    Do I have to restart the 7 day plan or can I take 1 meal off?

    Thanks,

    Bob

  8. Ranveig

    Dear Mizpah,

    Thank you for the post! This diet looks interesting. I haven’t tried it yet, I’m searching for an rapid weight loss diet. I’m going on an event in three weeks, and I want to reach a healthier weight by then.

    I am considering the Scarsdale Diet, but not sure if it is the right for me: scarsdaledietplan.com/what-is-the-scarsdale-diet/
    What’s your thoughts on this diet?

    Kind Regards,
    Ranveig from Norway

  9. Dawn

    Can type 2 diabetics do this diet safely?

  10. nono

    can i go on a diet while on arv medication?

    • Ted

      Hi Nono, You really should consult your doctor about this.