Cabbage and Onion Soup

This week my mom and I are doing some funky 7 day diet. Normally, I think those weeklong "cleanses" or diets are bogus, but this one seemed pretty safe because every day you're changing what you're eating. No all fruit or all veggie fast. But the one constant is this great cabbage soup we get to eat for dinner every night. Day one is all fruit, day two is all veggies, day 5 is beef and veggies, and so on and so on. I even get to have a baked potato for breakfast tomorrow!!! Anyways, I have never been a fan of cabbage, and, in fact, I've always thought it was stinky and weird. But this soup smells so good!!! I've had it cooking on the stove for the last hour and it's packed with tomatoes, onions, and tons of Lipton's Soup Mix (I'm not sure why it calls for that but it's amazing!). You don't have to be on a weird diet to eat this soup, just craving something full of veggies but still tastes a little naughty (thanks to the soup mix). And now that the nights are getting pretty chilly here (ok 50's is chilly for us LA people!) the smell gives the house a really cozy feel and totally warms you up. This is a great weeknight meal that you can make on Sunday and have every night until it's all gone (which will be pretty quickly, I promise!)! P.S., make sure that anything you add into the pot that is canned has NO seasonings ESPECIALLY SALT!!! Add as many herbs as you want as it's cooking, but keep the veggies plain! OH! And feel free to drink a nice glass of white wine with this soup; it pairs beautifully!

What you'll need:
1 head cabbage, shredded
1 28 oz. can plum tomatoes
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 packs lipton soup mix
10 cups of water
1/2 cup chopped peppers (green is best, but you can use any you'd like)
4 large onions, thinly sliced
5 stalks celery, finely chopped
10 cloves of garlic, pressed (or VERY finely minced)

1. Slice your onions thinly. Add them to the pot with the can of tomatoes. Give it a good stir.
2. Add the remaining items (to get the 10 cups of water, just refill the plum tomato can 3 times) plus any seasonings you think it needs (try to stay away from salt, though).
3. Let cook on high for about 90 minutes to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

4. Once the onions are tender, it is ready to go! Serve immediately :)

enjoy!