so wait, it's just broth with the veggies floating in it? or you cook all that stuff and then puree it in the food processor a la carrot soup?

What a timely post. I make soup every weekend. I have most of a head of cabbage (used part of it to stuff Cornish game hens) & was thinking about making cabbage soup, but I am not in the mood for my own standby cabbage soup recipe, which includes beets & carrots & carraway seeds. Broccoli's on sale this week at A&P. And I have some of that garlic chili sauce already on my fridge shelf among the condiments.

That sounds yummy. I love spicy and I love my homemade veggie soups. I just finished eating a bowl of my gazpacho, extra spicy w/ cayenne and pepper sauce. I do a lot of vegetable soup w/ a rainbow of veggies in it, the thing about soup w/ me is I will overeat it and I have to watch the salt. I sometimes really bloat up several pounds after a few days of swimming around the soup pot. I'm going to try your soup. Thanks for the recipe.

recidivist thanks for this post! soup is definalty the way forward for me. I always have it before dinner as it helps to make me feel fun. as youve pointed out they can be spiced up so are not all boring. Iv not tried cabbage soup though... may give it a whirl

I'm going to make a big pot of cabbage soup this week! My WW leader recommends having a big bowl of broth-based soup before a meal to fill you up quicker and cut back on your total calories! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe, I think I'll throw some salsa in there!

Preach it. I put it on hamburgers, in cabbage hot dish, and I haven't had it on pizza for a while and should do it tomorrow night. Just a few drops really fires it up. And yes, you got the spelling right

The product I use is Tuong Ot Toi VietNam, Chili garlic sauce. I buy it by the gallon, because I use it in just about everything. It's delicious in your morning oatmeal. You could make your own...it's just hot red chilis (seeds and all), garlic, salt, distilled vingar.

This is a website for the brand I buy. www.huyfong.com. They also have the sriracha sauce, but it doesn't have garlic in it...just chili. I love the garlic flavor of the garlic chili sauce.

mmm love that stuff. i always thought it was called Sambal but now i see it's the garlic chili one that we use too. We call it cock sauce in my house. cause it's funny- and the rooster on the front of course.

i've never tried cabbage soup but that sounds good. is there an actual recipe you could post? i seem to always ruin soup- i don't know how i do it.

See post 13 for how I make it usually...but I normally don't follow recipes and you can add whatever veggies you have in the house. Last night I added mushrooms and napa cabbage that I needed to use up. I've used spinach and brussel sprouts in it too. And if you don't have chicken broth you can use the paste chicken base, or mushroom base. I'll often add a spoonful of the mushroom base.

I tried adding stewed tomatoes once and didn't like that flavor as much. I don't use any starchy veggies.

Here's the recipe from the cabbage soup diet. That diet stinks but the soup is pretty good.

Cabbage Soup Recipe

6 large green onions
2 green peppers
1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
3 Carrots
1 Container (10 oz. or so) Mushrooms
1 bunch of celery
half a head of cabbage
1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional) I use Better Than Boullion.
1 48oz can V8 juice (optional)

Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc.

Directions:

• Slice green onions, put in a pot and start to saute with cooking spray.
• Cut green pepper stem end off and cut in half, take the seeds and membrane out.
• Cut the green-pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.
• Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.
• Clean carrots, cut into bite size pieces, and add to pot.
• Slice mushrooms into thick slices, add to pot.
• If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now.
• You can use beef or chicken bouillon cubes for seasonings. These have all the salt and flavors you will need.
• Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the V8 juice), cover and put heat on low.
• Let soup cook for a long time (stir occasionally) - two hours works well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

awesome thanks!

Veggie soup is one of my go-to items when I'm trying to drop a couple of pounds. I make a huge pot of it with fat-free chicken or beef stock and all of the low-carb, low cal veggies I can find -- cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, onion, tomatoes.

I don't season the whole pot, I add seasoning to the bowl as I heat it for serving. Depending on my mood, I'll add curry, or garlic/italian, or chili powder, or ginger/soy, or pepper sauce, or just eat it straight up. Sometimes I eat it chunky, and sometimes I blend it smooth. I'll add in lean protein, or unsweetened plain yogurt, or tofu sherataki noodles.

The variations are endless and it's efficient and cost-effective. A big pot can last me for several weeks and it is a lot cheaper than buying the canned low cal soups for lunch. A lot less sodium too.

But I count it as 40 calories per cup (just like any other cup of veggies), there are definitely calories in there and will add up if you eat enough. It's just relatively high bulk/low calorie, it's not zero calorie!

I too make a variation of cabbage soup, but mine is more of a stir-fry. I usually add cabbage, onions, cauliflower, (or broc.) tomatoes, garlic, yellow summer squash, zucchini, and a small bag of those julienned carrots. I start with a good splash of olive oil and stir fry the cabbage, onions and carrots until caramelized. I add the faster cooking vegetables near the end. I season it to suite my mood, though I often make it "Italianish" by adding lots of fresh basil and a bay leaf or 2. I count a huge bowl (of the stir-fry alone) as 100 calories because of the olive oil. It's AWESOME topped with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and a tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese!

If I make it southwest (or curried) flavored, cut up chicken breast is good.
If I make it Asian style, I'll add sesame oil, soy sauce, water chestnuts and peeled shrimp.

I have never been constipated since I have begun my weight loss journey...LOL

Oh my gosh, I live off of that chili sauce. I keep a chicken broth container of broth boiled with a little ginger, lemongrass and chili paste in my fridge, and add veggies when I heat it up every day. Delicious! And when it's extra spicy, I have to eat even slower, so it lasts forever.

I've got a pot of "your" soup simmering on my stovetop today, Recidivist. With a few changes:

1) I stir fried the carrots, onions, celery, garlic & bell pepper in light olive oil, with a bit of sesame oil mixed in.

2) I added 14-oz can of finely diced tomatoes along with the broth. Just enough to give color. I don't think this was very Asian, but I like bits of tomato in soup.

3) Added some jarred ginger.

4) Added soy sauce.

5) My chili paste says Sambal Oelek on it & I used less than you did -- several tablespoons full, but not one-quarter cup.

I'll report on how it tastes later tonight. I'll have a cup before dinner.

ETA: I forgot another ingredient. I froze some tofu, then thawed & pressed it, so it had that sponge-like consistency that helps it soak up other liquids. I cut this up in chunks & added to the soup.

And I just ate about three tablespoons full of the soup while it was cooling on the stove. It's tasty but my mouth is still burning. I probably like it a little less hotter than you do. Glad I did not add a whole 1/4 cup of the chili paste.