MelissaGoesLowCarb

Today was an overall success, I think!  My smoothie for breakfast kept me plenty full until lunch time, and that was refreshing because I’m usually famished by 9am on a starchy breakfast.  My salad at lunch was great - except I’m still on the fence about the sardines.  They are super good for you - very high in vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid, but I can’t get the fact that they are sardines out of my mind.  The taste was even decent.

The salad was fantastic - it was a mix of organic spring greens, red bell pepper, sliced campari tomatoes, sunflower seeds and feta cheese.  I used an olive oil and balsamic dressing from stonewall kitchens, my favorite!   This was so simple to make.  The health benefits that I enjoyed were:

salad greens - high in vitamins A and C, and loaded with calcium!
red bell pepper - also loaded with calcium
campari tomatoes - also high in vitamins A and C, as well as lycopene, a potent antioxidant
sunflower seeds - high in manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin B6
feta cheese - it is a great source of riboflavin, protein, calcium, phosphorus and Vitamin B12

For dinner I made New Chicken Parmesan, and I was so excited to dive in that I forgot to take a picture, so when I make it again next week (which I WILL), I’ll stick a picture up then.  It was so yummy!

What I had planned on doing for day one was JUST THREE meals and dessert, no snacks, but I was really hungry when I got home and had some lots of peanut butter.  Tomorrow, and from now on, I will make sure that I eat enough at each meal so that I’m not prematurely hungry.  After dinner I did have dessert, and it was just what the carb-addict ordered!

Plan for tomorrow:
Breakfast - Fruit smoothie and (one)egg and cheese scramble
Lunch - eat out most likely - salad with chicken
Dinner - shrimp and tofu stir fry with broccoli
Dessert - repeat of today!

I wanted to make this on my first night of low carb living for a few reasons:

• It looked yummy!
• My husband loves traditional chicken Parmesan
• I wanted to make this life style of mine easy on him
• It looked rather easy to make, with all of 9 ingredients!

It came out great! Instead of the grape tomatoes, I used olive-oil-packed sun dried tomatoes and they were fantastic. I grated the Parmesan cheese just before making dinner so it was super fresh. I put some sundried tomatoes on the chicken while cooking and then placed mozzarella slices over that during the last 2 minutes like the recipe states. To go with this dinner I roasted some broccoli, and it was the perfect side dish. Because it was roasted, it had a lot of crunch and sweetness. My husband really liked it to, so that means that we’ll definitely be having it again shortly. I will post a picture the next time I make it - I was so hungry that I forgot to photo it and just started eating!

Here’s the recipe!

New Chicken Parmesan - Bon Appetit, June 2008
4 servings

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 12-ounce container grape tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
large pinch of dried crushed red pepper
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (~6oz each)
1 1/4 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese in water, drained, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 500F. Whisk first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Place tomatoes in medium bowl; mix in 2 tablespoons garlic oil, then oregano and crushed red pepper. Add chicken to large bowl with remaining garlic oil and turn to coat.

Place 1 cup Parmesan in pie dish. Dip 1 side of each chicken piece into cheese to coat; arrange chicken, cheese side up, on 1 half of large rimmed baking sheet. Scatter tomatoes on the other half of sheet.

Roast chicken until just cooked through and firm to touch, about 10 minutes. Arrange mozzarella slices atop chicken Return to oven; roast until cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer chicken and tomatoes to 4 plates. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Its day one and I am really craving something sweet. Really sweet. I compromised and made something South Beach friendly (barely a tad of phase two stuffin’s). This totally satisfied my sweet tooth - I think this will be a regular dessert. I based this on the chocolate ricotta dessert from the original South Beach Diet book. I had made the original dessert a few times when I had dabbled with South Beach in a non-committed fashion…

This version was *way* better with a much more complex taste and no artificial sweeteners. It was really creamy, and the nuts added crunch and more protein. The agave nectar is a totally natural, raw sweetener, and its much sweeter than table sugar, so a little bit goes a long way. The benefit of it on the South Beach Diet is that it has a very low glycemic index - sources say between 27 and 32, versus honey which is between 60 and 90. To put this in perspective, the GI of something comparable to that of agave nectar are bean sprouts with a GI of ~25.

Even Better Chocolate Ricotta Dessert

1/2 cup part skim ricotta
2 teaspoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
10 hazelnuts, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons unsweetened coconut

Mix all ingredients together, reserving just a touch of the hazelnuts and coconut for topping. Enjoy!

I found a brief listing of fruits in regards to their sugar content on about.com and this is what it had to say:
Fruits lowest in sugar:
* Rhubarb
* Raspberries
* Blackberries
* Cranberries
* Strawberries
* Peaches
* Blueberries
* Cantaloupes
* Honeydew Melons
* Apples
* Apricots
* Plums
* Grapefruit
* Oranges
* Pears
* Guava
* Cherries
* Papaya
These are fairly high in sugar:
* Grapes
* Tangerine
* Pineapple
* Kiwifruit
These are very high in sugar and generally going to be very infrequent visitors to the low carb diet:
* Bananas - I was eating one of these per day!
* Dried Fruit
* Mango - This is my all time favorite fruit. Of course.

I realize now that I had this misconception that I could eat all the fruit I wanted without penalty. I was wrong. Fruits may be a source of natural sugar, or fructose, but it is still sugar! The body still responds with an increase in insulin production. Remember that diabetics and those with hypoglycemia will often drink a cup of orange juice when they are feeling faint. I’ve learned that whiles fruits are a great source of vitamins, minerals and fiber, they are not a green-light food. They need to be consumed in moderation, just as we consider corn, peas, and potatos - the non green-light veggies.

I’m starting this blog as a commitment.  A commitment to myself to change my eating habits for good to ones that are healthy and beneficial to my wellbeing.  A commitment to others out there that also want to try this, and would like more info.

I understand that diet (and preference of) is a very personal thing.  I am going to base my lifestyle strongly off of the South Beach Diet.  The only modifications I am going to make at this point are:

• I am not as concerned about low fat vs full fat.  I believe that fat is tasty and healthy.  I’m not saying that I enjoy a fatty slab of meat every day.  I’m saying more that I’ll have two tablespoons of a full fat dressing before I’ll choose two tablespoons of a low fat dressing.  Same applies for things like half-and-half - full fat only for me, but I’m having a whopping 2 tablespoons in my coffee, not 3 cups.  Same goes for cheese.  I’m big on ingredients, and I feel that when food items are changed from their natural state, a LOT more (unhealthy or neutral) ingredients are added, and I think that keeping a little extra fat is worth keeping a lot of extra chemicals outside of my body.
• I will have about 1/2 cup of low sugar fruit to put in my vitamin/mineral morning smoothies.  If you’re interested in the what I’m talking about, see here.  There is only 14.9 grams of carbs and less than 1 gram of sugar per serving and it offers a ton of awesome nutrition.  To help bulk up the shake, I add to it a 1/2 cup of organic frozen berries (cran, straw, blue, black).
• I will add one tablespoon of agave nectar to my smoothies as well.  Agave nectar is considered to be one of the lowest glycemic index natural sweeteners that exists.  Its raw, unpasteurized, and metabolized much more slowly in the body so there is not a spike in one’s blood sugar after consumption.
• Coming back to the fats - I really believe in them.  To my morning smoothie, I add 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil, 1 tablespoon of fish oil, and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.  I know that Dr. Agaston says in his latest book The South Beach Diet: Supercharged that researchers are still “out” on coconut oil, but I’m in.  I really believe that the benefits far out-way the fact that it is a saturated fat.  It’s unlike any other saturated fat that exists.
• Lastly, I’m going to focus on just three meals a day and (maybe) a dessert at the end of the day.  A low carb one.  I am willing to re-evaluate this statement later, but as a friend of mine said about his eating habits (and I could really relate to this one) - “I’d rather only let the tiger (my compulsiveness) out of its cage only three times per day - instead of 5 or 6″.  My challenge with this one is to make sure that I get enough fuel at each meal so that I’m not ravenous two hours later.

Other than that I’m totally on board with true “phase I”.  My problem isn’t the fats.  Its not the 1/2 cup of low sugar fruit.  Its that I like love cannot live without bread and sweets.  To see how much I love said items, please see my other blog. Its not that I’ll no longer bake - I mean, shoot, I just spent some $ having that blog designed.  BUT, as I saw the example that my instructor at SFBI showed - he can make these lovely things, and pass on them, or just take a bite and give the rest away.  Meaning, I can still love the act of baking, but I don’t have to participate so intensely in the act of eating.

My inspiration for this blog comes from Kalyn’s Kitchen.  She has no idea that I even lurk on her site - but she’s been wildly successful on the South Beach Diet, and has kept up her blog (and her weight loss) for over two years - recipes, product reviews, helpful tips, etc.  Thank you, Kalyn!

So tomorrow I officially begin.

Here’s my plan:

• I’m going to use this site in much the way that Kalyn does.  I’m going to post recipes that I’ve created and those from cookbooks/other sites.  I hope to post the pictures of all of them as well (as long as they look appetizing!)  I’d also like to talk about the nutritional value of what I’m consuming - more so that I’ll learn and retain that info than for you all to read about.  But if you find it interesting, all the better!
• I’m going to be honest about my successes (and lack of).  Honest is the only policy here.
• I’m going to (try) to plan on here my meals - as best I can - for the following day.  Sort of like a journal.

So!  Tomorrow’s plan is as such:

• Breakfast - my morning smoothie with 1/2 cup frozen berry mix, 1 tbsp each of: flaxseed oil, coconut oil, and fish oil and agave nectar.
• Lunch - Salad of mixed greens with a sardine/mayo mix on top.  I’ll add some sunflower seeds, and lots of mixed veggies, along with some feta cheese for topping.
• Dinner - My preference is to eat in tomorrow - although I’m not sure I’ll win that vote.  If we do eat in, I’ll make chicken breasts marinated with olive oil, herbs and a touch of agave nectar (like 1/4-1/2 tsp total for two breasts) and cook on the stove top grill pan.  I’ll also roast some broccoli and asparagus. Yum!  If I lose, and we eat out, I’ll get a chicken caesar salad or other protein topped salad with dressing on the side.
• Lots of water!
• We’ll talk about workouts this weekend!

All for now…