South Beach Diet Friendly Dinners

Our little angel always heads to the kitchen when he visits and checks out some tool or other.

Yesterday he decided on some mini cupcake papers. Little does he know about diets and such. So no cupcakes for a while! Sorry, Boaz.

Yesterday I shared some South Beach Diet friendly breakfast ideas. And today I thought I'd share some dinners.

I was given a lovely book as a gift - The Mexican Cookbook and as I flipped through it there were some tantalizing dishes I must try. Although this recipe for Mexican Style Roasted Salmon isn't in the book, it did inspire it. I served it with a simple chunky salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, chunks of yellow peppers, cucumbers and slices of red onions. Naturally I used some fresh cilantro and lime juice in the vinaigrette to keep with the Latin flavors of the fish.

Then I decided that I would travel further east for dinner. This one was inspired by two recipes I saw in fine Cooking, January 2008.

The first dish...Thai Chili Chicken was okay as a quick "throw together" dish, but I still will be making the real Indian Spiced Chicken with Lime & Cilantro (I was missing ingredients) very soon!

But the really fantastic side dish was my own version of Basmati Pilaf with Pistachios - with cauliflower instead of rice. Seriously - you HAVE to try it!

Back to salmon again, I couldn't resist the bargain at the grocery store. This time the inspiration was the left over chopped pistachios from the basmati pilaf. Pistachio & Wasabi Roasted Salmon was truly a hit. I served it with some steamed veggies and an extra dollop of wasabi mayo.

And last night it was time for a steak (after all, my Honey and I are serious carnivores!). I had to flip through a million magazines to find the one I saw with a Lea & Perrin ad, but it was worth it, trust me! I served the Marinated Grilled Strip Loin with Mashed Turnips & Thyme and steamed broccoli. All that was missing from our romantic New Year's Eve Celebration was some wine...oh well, that will have to wait for another couple of weeks.

That should keep you going for a while.

Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking South Beach Diet Recipes dinner salmon fish steak chicken vegetables turnips cauliflower