Move over cabbage soup diet! There’s a new kid in the block and while it’s low calorie, packs a ton of health benefits and so yummy I could actually enjoy it seven days a week, I’m not recommending that!
Who else can remember back in the day when the cabbage soup diet was all the rage. For those of you who don’t remember, you basically make a giant vat of soup and eat a bowl for every meal and by the end of the week, viola! You’re a new skinny woman. The soup was pretty much a few chopped veggies like celery, onion, carrot and you guessed it, cabbage, with some chicken bouillon and water. I tried this diet many of times in my youth and I can tell you I never once got the results I was seeking long term. Not even the time I paired this approach with the just-as-popular cayenne pepper and lemon juice diet.
Thankfully, low calorie, low nutrient, low flexibility diet fads have been replaced by more sustainable habits. Currently, protein is all the rage and I’m here for this focus. Proteins are the building blocks for so many things in our bodies – from our brain, to our muscles to our bones. I’ve found getting in enough protein is a challenge many of my female clients struggle with, but being mindful and learning ways to increase your protein to your desired goal can be easier than you think.
Simple swaps like replacing sour cream or regular yogurt with Greek yogurt, adding cottage cheese to your baking and swapping out regular chicken broth for bone broth in recipes are a few examples of how you can make small changes to achieve great results.
Using bone broth as the base for this recipe adds so much flavor in addition to protein and collagen. Talk with your doctor if you have a health concern that may limit your protein intake, but for the rest of you, this is a great protein hack I recommend you try. I love using Dr. KellyAnn’s bone broth. Her broth is gluten free, has 15g of protein and 90 calories in one cup and yummy enough that you can sip it plain. I get mine at Whole Foods but you can also order it online.
The meat in this recipe is interchangeable. You could use ground beef, ground turkey or ground sausage, but I prefer the leaner 93% meats to keep my saturated fat intake at a minimum. When cooking this with ground turkey, I add a tablespoon of olive oil before browning the meat to keep it from drying out. I find beef to have a little more forgiveness here.
Ingredients
- 1lb ground 93% beef
- 1 brown onion, decided
- 2 large carrots, sliced like coins
- 18oz container of pre-chopped butternut squash
- 1 bunch of kale, deemed and roughly chopped
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 6 cups chicken bone broth
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- 1. Heat a large soup pan. Add ground beef and break up while cooking, 3-4 minutes.
- 2. Add carrots, celery, butternut squash and sautéing for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for additional minute.
- Add salt, pepper and bone broth. Bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and turn heat to simmer. Simmer for ten minutes.
- Add kale and simmer for five more minutes.
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