Saturday, January 3, 2009

It's Time to go to South Beach....

The holidays are just about over, the pants are snugger and it's that time again...thinking about losing weight, promising to diet and exercise....big sigh. I mean, honestly, Portuguese tarts, party sandwiches (that got devoured like a bag of chips), all those dinners we had in Toronto...

Actually it's not that difficult for us...okay, the first week or so will be a challenge because we both still crave lots of carbs, but the dishes on South Beach Diet are perfect for us...even in Phase One (the strict no carbs part, which means no fruit, no bread, no sugar).

I picked up the latest The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life standing in line at the grocery store (that was before the holidays) and earmarked a few recipes to try, so stay tuned. And of course I'll be visiting Kalyn's Kitchen often...the SBD Goddess of the web!

Even before getting really serious about it, we started our post holiday, pre diet week with lots of simple and healthy light lunches and snacks...like smoky chipotle hummus and homemade whole wheat pita chips (still healthier than a bag of store bought chips). I made a batch of roasted red pepper pesto that will liven anything up.

We had caramelized onion and mushroom quesadillas (on wholewheat tortillas - not phase one, but an easy, healthy step in the right direction) and used the left over filling with some of the pesto and a spoonful of pureed chipotle in adobo to kick up the heat in the Arugula Mushroom Omelet this morning.

Dinners were fun and healthy too...this Spiced Rubbed Roasted Salmon which was served with Sweet Potatoes (really for SBD Phase Two), but great with Cauli-fried "Rice" that is Phase One friendly...and so good, you'll be making it forever, even if you're not dieting.

So, for those of you trying to eat healthier....good luck, and visit here often for quick and delicious meal choices.

8 comments:

Kalyn Denny said...

Same thing is happening around here too! Lost one pound so far.

Glenna said...

Congrats Ruth. Hang in there. I re-kick-started my Mediterranean Diet and am now remembering how much I love vegetables and how worth the prep work is for roasted vegetables and soups. This morning it was good vine-ripened (paid a fortune but it was worth it) tomatoes on multigrained english muffins. Healthy eating tastes so good!

Ruth Daniels said...

Kalyn, given that tomorrow is Boaz's first birthday party, with pizza and cake...I'm not weighing in until Monday! Congrats to you, though, on losing the first pound.

Glenna, the Med diet and SBD are very similar and both tasty easy ways to go.

Wishing both of you a healthy, happy, skinnier 2009.

Johanna GGG said...

good luck with the SBD - it interests me - I could cope with no sugar, maybe no bread but the idea of no fruit is just terrible at this time of year when fresh fruit abounds - probably different in the depth of winter - I love the idea of chipotle hummus - must check that out!

Ruth Daniels said...

Johanna, given that it's winter here and all our fruit is imported...looks beautiful, but has little flavor...it's not such an ordeal.

pam said...

That omelet looks way tooo good to be diet!

Sara said...

I need more than luck! :)
Hope 2009 is off to a grand start for you!

Melissa said...

Could totally go for that omelet or those quesadillas.

And Kalyn is totally the queen of not just SBD, but truly tasty healthy stuff. I love her posts for that... I just need to actually follow through and make the healthier stuff more often he he.