There are times when we need to detox and treat our bodies right. That doesn’t necessarily mean going on liquid diet or fasting for days at a time, at least not for everybody. I was never able to last more than one day without food, but I can last many days with clear fresh cabbage soup. Nutrisystem taught me that you don’t need to starve to be healthy and even though I am not on that diet anymore, I follow some advices religiously.

In my humble opinion, there is nothing better for you than home made from scratch cabbage soup with chicken drums and wings cooked in it. My Russian husband agrees! Kids are not so sure yet, but they eat it and don’t complain because I made it for them since they were babies. It’s simple, healthy, easy to make, and can last for a few days in the refrigerator. This is why I make it often and in big batches. It can also be eaten is large portions and even Nutrisystem experts wouldn’t frown about it.

Cabbage soup will fill you up, but won’t overload you with calories. It has plenty of protein from chicken and vitamins from vegetables. If you don’t feel like cooking raw chicken there, you can use organic chicken stock. But for me chicken is the tastiest part and I serve it whole right from the pot. Most people would pull the meat off the bones and put it back in the soup, but for us cleaning those delicious bones is the best part of this soup. So let’s take a look at how to make this delicious staple of Eastern European cuisine:

Ingredients:

• 6-10 organic chicken drums/wings
• ¼ sweet organic onion
• 2 medium organic carrots
• 5-6 organic mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons of organic olive oil or butter
• ½ head small organic cabbage
• 2/3 cup pearled barley
• 3 medium potatoes
• 5 bay leaves
• 2 small organic tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• Dried or frozen dill

To start wash your chicken and place the pieces on the bottom of a large pot.

Fill the pot with water and put it on the stove on high heat until it starts boiling.

While you are waiting for the pot to boil, you can start peeling and chopping your onion, carrots, and mushrooms.

When the pot with chicken starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium and take off the white foam.

Then add seasoning or salt and pepper, and bay leaves. Leave it cooking for about half an hour and focus on vegetables.

Put all chopped onion, grated carrots, and cubed mushrooms in a frying pan with olive oil or butter.

Fry the mixture on medium heat until softened.

After about half an hour put them into the soup pot together with pearled barley and cut tomatoes.

Taste the soup liquid to make sure it’s seasoned enough. Close the lid and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes.

During those 10 minutes, chop ½ of cabbage head. If you have a very big and firm cabbage, ¼ of it will be enough.

My organic cabbage was very soft, so I used ½ of its head.

Put cabbage straws into the pot and then move to the last step – peeling and cubing potatoes.

Add them to the soup and cook for another 10 minutes. Total cooking time should be a little over an hour. All chicken parts should cook thoroughly during this time. If you are cooking a whole chicken, you might need more time.

At the very end, as soon as you turn of the heat, add dried or frozen dill. I always use frozen dill because I made some myself from my garden in the summer and it smells heavenly as soon as it hits hot liquid.

Enjoy a full bowl of this delicious soup guilt-free and watch pounds melt away! If you serve it without sour cream and bread that is, as Nutrisystem would advise.