Category Archives: South Beach Diet

South Beach Diet, Recipes.

Jul 7 2011

High Flavor, Low Carb Dinner

Article first published as Recipe Review: South Beach Diet Mustard Crusted Steak on Blogcritics.

I decided to try out a few new recipes from my South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook for dinner. The first was a mustard crusted steak. As the book promised, it was simple to put the coating together and cook. The steak looked tasty and had good flavor. I had to broil it a bit longer than the 4 minutes per side that the recipe advised. The London broil I picked to use in the recipe was thicker than the 3/4″ they suggested so it took longer to get to medium-rare. It was an easy adjustment to make and the dish was still done very quickly.

Flavorful Steak Dinner

“Mustard-Crusted Steak”, page 219

Prep time 15 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 TBSP coarse-grain Dijon mustard

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. ground mustard

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ pounds boneless top round steak, 3/4 inch thick

  1. Heat oven to broil.
  2. Whisk together garlic, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ground mustard, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl.
  3. Line a broiler pan with foil and place steak on top. Coat evenly with mustard mixture and let stand 10 minutes.
  4. Broil steak to desired doneness, 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.
  5. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

While the steak was marinating with the mustard coating I started the next recipe, a side dish of “Stuffed Baked Tomatoes”(p.272). Again, the recipe was simple, didn’t include too many ingredients and was very fast to assemble. This was a nice side dish that had a great flavor from the basil, garlic and parmesan cheese. A lot like eating bruschetta without the bread. I will definitely make this one again.

Also pictured is a side dish not from the cookbook. I like to take some baby spinach and saute it in olive oil, soy sauce and garlic. The flavor is intense and stands up well to the natural strong flavor of spinach. I use about a tablespoon of olive oil, two tablespoons of soy sauce, and one teaspoon of minced garlic. I saute heat that in a large skillet and add several cups of fresh baby spinach leaves. It only takes a few minutes to cook down.

Together these recipes created a very flavorful and easy South Beach Diet dinner.

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/tastes/article/recipe-review-south-beach-diet-mustard/#ixzz1RIpyNzOL

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Jun 15 2011

The New USDA Guidelines “Plate” and South Beach Diet

The basics of South Beach – lots of vegetables, lean meats, low-fat dairy and selected whole grains with very limited sugar and only good fats.  If you haven’t seen it before, take a look at the USDA’s new food guide.  They’ve ditched the pyramid and gone with a simpler plate diagram to indicate relative portion size.

The USDA’s New “My Plate”

Look familiar?  Yes, I think it’s a lot like what South Beach advocates.  Don’t you?  Maybe the grains would be a little smaller for South Beach, but I think it’s safe to say that South Beach is very close to the USDA guidelines.  To me, this means that it’s a sound choice for a long-term eating plan.

 

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Jun 13 2011

Back to the Beach, South Beach That Is

Day One, Again

It’s Monday so today is a great day to start over on the South Beach Diet.  I started in January as a New Year’s resolution and did well for the first two weeks.  I lost about 12 pounds and was feeling good.  Then the third week came where we reintroduce carbs.  It was all down hill from there.

My plan this time is to modify it a bit and when it’s time to reintroduce carbs I’m going to stick with just a little fruit for a few weeks.  The bread is my downfall and then comes the sugar cravings and well, I end up right back where I was.

Some people criticize using diets to lose weight.  To them, a diet is a short-term fix for a lifetime problem.  I would have to agree with them, except for plans like South Beach and Weight Watchers.  Those programs are trying to teach people what they should be eating by setting up rules and giving guidance.

My eating plan will not be true hard-core South Beach because there are a few things that are too much of a sacrifice to make it a lifestyle that I can adopt.  Here are the things I’m doing different:

  1. I will use low-fat dairy products for most things, but I refuse to use fat-free sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, etc.  Dairy has to have a certain texture, and you just can’t get there with fat-free.
  2. Meats.  I’m good with real meats – chicken, pork, beef.  I’ve tried turkey bacon, and it was OK.  I draw the line at meat substitutes.  Again, it’s a matter of texture and taste.  Veggie patties just don’t cut it.
  3. I will eat all vegetable (carrots and tomatoes included) from day one.  The only thing I will avoid is potatoes, which are so tasty and SO BAD.
  4. I will eat all types of beans for their fiber and protein.

I have a good friend and my mom re-committing to the diet today as well.  I think the added support will help keep me on track.  I also have a wedding in the family this fall, which means I will probably have to be in a group photos.  Yikes! Wish me success!

 

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Mar 31 2011

The best pasta sauce! (And it happens to be low-carb)

This sauce is from Costco and it is so yummy!  It’s called Victoria White Linen Collection Marinara. It comes in large jars (40 oz.) and amazingly only has 1 gram of sugar.  If you haven’t checked your pasta sauce for sugar content, you might want to do that.  What is average?  In my checking of various brands at the grocery store I’d say 8 gram is common.  The best I’ve found in the store is about 5 grams of sugar, and the worst – over 12 grams!  They had a sale on a particular brand, a very good price, but it was just too high in sugar so I didn’t buy it.

For whatever reason, the two Costco stores near me don’t carry this sauce.  I had my mom bring me a few jars on her last visit so I could stock up!  Look for it the next time you’re in Costco, and I did find it on Amazon.com if you shop there.

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Mar 22 2011

Easy Breakfast Quiche Cups

breakfast quiche cupsIt is the “Blue” table’s turn to bring breakfast foods for the MOPS meeting tomorrow.  We had  enough breads and such so I was asked to bring an egg dish.  I decided to make quiche cups!

This recipe is based on one in the original South Beach Diet book, but I’ve changed it a bit and increased the quantities for a total of three dozen mini quiches.

  • 2 bags (16 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 1 lb. diced ham
  • 2 1/2 cups Mexican Blend shredded cheese
  • 1 carton (32 oz.) egg substitute
  • foil cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350°. Fill muffin tins with foil cupcake liners and spray them with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients and divide evenly amount 36 muffin tins.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are set.  A butter knife inserted into the center should come out clean. 

Variations:

Use low-fat shredded cheese to make it a South Beach “legal” breakfast for Phase 1 or Phase 2.  Non-South Beachers can substitute crumbled bacon or sausage for the ham, if desired.

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