Cabbage Soup Diet

Have you noticed I did not have any yummy food posts this week? 

 

Well, we have been eating lots of cabbage soup - it also has onions, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, celery and mushrooms. 

 lots of fresh fruit

 lots of green salad

 more fruit

a few baked potatoes with vegetables.

I first heard of this cabbage soup diet after my son Jimmy was born. My mom sent me a xerox copy of it that was going around her office. I remember I ate that soup pretty much for a week and lost most of the baby weight. Well, I came across it again and I think it may of had a few changes over the years.

I made the first batch of soup on Saturday and it is actually really good. It tastes just about like soup-stew I normally make but with no potatoes or meat.


I have been very, very  hungry while on this diet.  But I think that may be a good thing.  It certainly is a vivid feeling and helps to imagine how so many people feel all the time,  and not because they have chosen to go on a weight loss diet. 

I did modify it somewhat.  We ate fruits and vegetables every day. We ate the soup at least once every day, sometimes more.   By Wednesday,  we were "allowed" to add meat.  I did eat a few bites of meat but I've also eaten 2 ounces of nuts Weds. and Thursday. 


and so far I've lost 8 pounds. 

Disclaimer - I don't think doctors would approve of this diet.  I know what I am doing, have NO health problems,  take NO prescription meds,  don't have high blood pressure and have normal blood sugar rates. 
Even the diet says to only do it for 1 week and don't repeat until another month has passed. 

there are many links to the cabbage soup online, so if you are crazy like me,  then you can do  a search and do your own conclusions.

Harvesting seeds

 Here is one more baby step I just took in my hope to be a better gardener. 
I planted some marigold seeds this spring,  I got them as a freebie when I signed up for a sample of a cereal. 
They grew so tall and bloomed but they were really too big for the pots they were planted in. 
Well,  it is very hot here and I think they were about through for the summer.  Many of the old blooms were brown and dry as the desert. 
It occurred to me that there should be a way to save the seeds and replant them next year.  So I did search "how to harvest marigold seeds"  and found out.

 Inside the dry flower are many many seeds,  you just pull off the dry petals and the seeds are under the petals. 

See how many seeds  were in just one flower? 

that is a sandwich bag packed with marigold seeds,  all ready for sharing and for planting next spring.

There are 2 kinds of zinnia in my yard that should harvest just about the same way as marigolds. 
Our portulaca/moss rose has lots of tiny seeds in their dry buds too.  I will harvest them when they get drier.
I looked at the petunias but could not seeds in the dry flowers on them. 

Seed harvesting is very frugal - can you imagine how much that many marigold seeds would cost if you bought them in the little pouches? 

so, do you any of you harvest seeds and have any advice for me? 

and if you want to harvest your own seeds,  you might want to do a search to get more details in case I left out something in this post.