Recipe: Italian Cabbage Soup

Have any of you ever tried that "cabbage soup" diet? I have actually, it does work- I lost about 8 pounds in a week. I used to try all sorts of diets a few years, bit of a yoyo dieter. These days I don't really bother about diet plans/ calorie counting, I just try to not over-do it on the booze and portion size, and I exercise more (I have discovered Zumba recently and it is the best thing ever!!). Whilst I was on the cabbage soup diet, I didnt use the recipe that you are supposed to follow (as to be honest it was revolting) so instead I always used to cook it this way. Nowadays I just cook this soup if I fancy it- even a weeks worth of eating it twice a day hasn't put me off this dish- it's a classic, but I love it.

Italian Cabbage Soup (makes 2 servings)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion
1 celery stick
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp thyme
100g diced/shredded savoy cabbage
Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
½ tin tomatoes
200ml vegetable stock
50g frozen peas or soy beans
Sugar, salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the onion, celery, carrot and garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Add all other ingredients, except the peas (or soy beans), and cook covered for a further 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve!