Sacred Heart Diet

The Sacred heart diet is said to have originated in the Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital where it was used for rapid weight loss in overweight heart patients prior to their surgery. This is a soup-based diet and people following this diet tend to lose around 10-17 pounds in the first week itself.

Sacred heart diet plan

The diet consists of a basic 7 day eating plan and if followed religiously will clean your system of all impurities and give you a feeling of well being. You will also experience an abundance of energy by following this diet. Listed below is the day by day food plan for the whole 7-day period.

Day 1: Eat any fruit except banana. Cantaloupes and watermelon are comparatively lower in calories, so you can try them. Eat only soup (recipe given below) and fruit today.

Day 2: You can eat all vegetables today. Eat as much vegetable as possible along with the soup. Stuff yourself with fresh, raw, cooked or canned veggies. Don't forget the leafy vegetables but stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. Don't eat any fruits today. At dinner time, you can eat a big baked potato with butter.

Day 3: Eat as much soup as you can with all fruits and vegetables but do not eat the baked potato. You will already be lighter by 5-7 pounds.

Day 4: Today you need to eat bananas and drink milk. Eat at least 3 bananas and drink as much milk as possible. Don't forget to take your soup. This diet will lessen your cravings for sweets.

Day 5: Today you can consume up to 20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes (or 6 whole tomatoes). Do take the soup.

Day 6: Eat as much beef and vegetables as you want. You can even have 2-3 steaks with green leafy vegetables but baked potato is a strict no. Don't forget to take your soup at least once today.

Day 7: On the last day of the diet, you can have brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice and vegetables and the soup.

At the end of 7 days you would have lost anywhere between 10-17 pounds. If you have lost more than 17 pounds, stay off the diet for a couple of days before resuming it again. This diet acts on the principle that you will burn more calories than your intake.

The fat-burning soup can be eaten anytime you feel hungry and in any quantity. You can also substitute boiled, broiled or baked chicken instead of beef, though there should be no skin on the chicken.

Avoid bread, alcohol, carbonated drinks and fried foods. Drink at least 8 glasses of water as well as any of the following drinks – black coffee, herbal tea, unsweetened fruit drinks, cranberry juice and skimmed milk.

If you are feeling constipated from this diet, do take a cup of bran or fiber. Though you can drink black coffee, you will not feel the need for caffeine after the third day. Follow the diet strictly and you will feel the difference both mentally and physically.

Hot Beef ball Soup

This hot beef ball soup is a variation of the traditional meatball soup. We have whittled down the fat content as far as possible and in the process made it a little spicy. There is nothing to warm you up like a hot soup.

Beef ball:

Beef - Fat removed 400 gms
Brown bread crumbs 1 cup
Mint leaves finely chopped 1 cup ( you can use spinach, chard, or Chinese parsley)
Finely chopped Onion 3 tbs
Minced garlic 1 tbs
1 large egg
Green chili finely chopped 2 tbs
Freshly ground Pepper 1 tbs
Salt as per taste

Soup:

Chicken Stock (fat removed) 1.8 liter
Celery stalks 3

Method

Grind the beef. Add bread crumbs, onion, mint leaves and mix well. Beat the egg and add along with pepper and salt to the meat mix. Make the mix into 1 inch balls and set aside.

Bring the stock to boil. Slowly add the meat balls after turning the heat to medium. Simmer the soup for about 10 minutes. Cut the celery into small pieces and add to the soup. Adjust salt as necessary before turning off the heat.

Recipe for Vegetable Soup

• Stewed tomatoes
  
• Large green onions
  
• Fat-less beef broth
  
• Soup mix
  
• Celery
  
• Green beans
  
• Carrots
  
• Green peppers

Cut all the vegetables in to small pieces, add water and boil on high for 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook until vegetables are tender. Season with salt, pepper, parsley and Worcestershire sauce. This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry during the 7 day plan. Eat as much as you want as this soup will not add calories. You can even fill your thermos with the soup and take it to your workplace.