I'm only one stomach flu away from my goal weight

     I'm on this new diet, I don't eat anything, and then when I feel like I'm going to faint, I eat a cube of cheese. Its working! I'm only one stomach flu away from my goal weight!

     That's a line from the movie, The Devil Wears Prada, where the fashionable and thin secretary to a famous fashion magazine editor comically admits her struggle to be the kind of thin that the fashion industry pressures women to be.
The funny thing about this line is that stomach flus, and being sick in general, have always been an easy way for me to lose a few lbs, and when I stick to eating healthy and exercising I usually don't gain much back.
     Upon reading the book, "The Joy of Fasting" by health Guru and longevity expert Paul Bragg I learned that a cold is actually quite a healing miracle. He believes that a cold is your body telling you that you are too toxic, and with every nose blow your doing a serious detox and healing your cells. Bragg goes on to suggest that, to conserve energy to fight off the virus and continue the detox, you should eat little to no food, and try to just lie in the sunlight, sleep and drink water, lemon juice and detox tea. Colds are a natural healing process and instead of drinking more toxic poison in the form of cold medicine or ruining your digestive health with antibiotics, you should just go with it, take the day off, sleep and sweat it out.

so here I sit, warm, stuffy, runny, sipping hot vanilla herb tea with lemon.

     I find that, when I'm sick, a hearty veggie soup is pretty much the best thing in the world. It sticks with the idea of eating very little food, yet packs a ton of nutrients. It also, when sprinkled with chili pepper, helps clear the sinuses and fill my empty stomach. Below, I've shared a family recipe for a delicious, hearty, spicy and low cal soup that's perfect for more than just when your sick, but great all winter long.

     Red Russian Root Stew:

4 cans diced tomatoes

1 sm can diced green chilis

2 lg beets

5-6 Lg Carrots

2 lg red peppers

2 cups mushrooms (diced or whole, I love mushrooms so I make it with whole ones)

1 sm head or 1/2 lg head cabbage

water to desired thickness

Sea Salt

Any spices that you want, be creative

Dice all veggies, cut cabbage into strips, (cut beets last as they will stain everything red) put into x large pot and simmer until veggies are tender (bout an hour, maybe more. The longer the better). When finished, add cooked chicken if you want. Enjoy!!!