Thanksgiving Leftover Soup

I struggled on naming this HCG 2.0 recipe. It's made with the carcass from the Thanksgiving turkey so I thought, ok, Turkey Carcass Soup...just doesn't sound very appetizing. So, I went with Thanksgiving Leftover Soup and it's ideal for HCG 2.0.

This works because of the leftover turkey is the perfect source of fat and flavour and it's better than just throwing it out. On top of that, I basically through in all of the leftover Thanksgiving vegetables, minus the kitchen sink.

With this HCG recipe, there is plenty of room for creativity so make it your own. I used the green beans and brussel sprouts, added a lot of cabbage, some onion and some tomatoes. You can also roast the green vegetable for a deeper flavor but the real flavor comes from the seasonings and the cider vinegar gives it unique kick. You can substitute any vinegar that you prefer or have on hand.  You may also have to cut up the carcass depending on what size stockpot you use. I used mostly dried herbs in this recipe because I just didn't feel like going out to the grocery store this week. We did enough of that last week! 

Now this makes a lot of soup. My HCG 2.0 recipes aren't usually this big but with the whole turkey and some extra meat we can't really help the larger amount. If you aren't going to eat it all this week, it's fine to freeze for 2-3 months.

When I say that I used the leftover vegetables from Thanksgiving I am referring to the few that I didn't already cook with. Although it would have been interesting to use the beans from the green bean casserole, that's not what I recommend for the low-calorie phase of the protocol. Like I said, lots of different vegetables will work, even some root vegetables depending on what phase of the diet you're in and whether or not you are doing intermittent fasting. 

If you are doing the fasting then maybe you can afford to put some carrots or lentils in your soup. This is because you are probably going to be eating most of your calories and carbs in this one meal towards the end of the day. You can find out more about intermittent fasting in the second edition of Dr. Zach's book or in the blog on the website. *For the Family - I would make some lentils or barley in a pot on the side. Place the lentils and/or barley in the bottom of the bowl and spoon the soup on top.  Thanksgiving Leftover Soup Servings: 10 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours Ingredients: 1 turkey carcass plus any extra turkey you have - up to 2 cups 3-4 quarts of water  1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce 2 tsp cider vinegar 1 tsp dried parsley (I did use fresh because I had it on hand, 1 TBS) 1 tsp dried basil 2 bay leaves (1 big, 1 small) 1 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper 1/2 tsp of poultry seasoning* extra pinch of dried thyme 2 cups fresh green beans, chopped up 2 stalks celery, diced 1 medium onion, diced 4 cups cabbage, shredded 1 1/2 cups brussel sprouts 1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes *Poultry seasoning is a blend of all the Thanksgiving spices - thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, and nutmeg Instructions: Place the turkey carcass in a large stock pot. Add water almost covering the bird; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the remaining meat start falling off of the bones, about 1 hour.Remove the carcass; let cool a bit and remove remaining turkey meat.Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean soup pot; bring to a boil then reduce and stir in the seasonings: Worcestershire Sauce, vinegar, parsley, basil, bay leaves, salt and pepper, poultry seasoning, extra thyme. Slowly whisk together.Bring the stock back up to a boil and add the vegetables. Reduce and simmer the vegetables until tender, about 1 more hour.Remove bay leaves before serving. A splash of lemon right before serving is tasty in this soup as well. Enjoy! 

If you're unfamiliar with HCG 2.0, the blog linked here is a great place to learn the differences between HCG 2.0 and the original HCG diet, Pounds and Inches; A New Approach to Obesity.

You can also join our private Facebook group. If you're still bit skeptical of HCG weight loss, it's a great place go for genuine information from people just like you that once had the same questions and concerns that you have now.