Lemony Salmon

Throughout the weekend, my mom and I did this great little exercise called We-Are-Only-Going-To-Cook-Meals-With-The-Ingredients-We-Have-In-The-House. And besides going to get baking soda for cookies - we succeeded! I found a nice salmon filet in the freezer and was planning to grill it but had some grill trouble so I searched for an idea on how to bake it.

In the back of my mind I've been thinking about going on the South Beach Diet again so I picked up the book to look for a recipe. I once made a great poached salmon from the SDB book and I was actually after that recipe but instead I made Phase Three Lemony Fish in Foil...

* I modified the below for one big piece of salmon

4 large fish fillets
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup chopped green onion (I used red onion)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 lemons thinly, sliced
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut four 2-foot lengths of foil and fold each in half to make a 1-foot square. Place 1 fish fillet slightly below the middle of each square of foil. Sprinkle 1/4 of the carrots, celery, onion, and parsley on each fillet. *I also sprinkled generously with salt and pepper.* Top with lemon slices.

Fold the foil over the fish and crimp the edges together slightly. Place the foil-wrapped fillets on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.




This was very easy and delicious - you get the omega oils from the fish and a serving of veggies. Make sure to squeeze the baked lemons over the fish to get the most lemon flavor as possible.

You may need to add more salt and pepper to taste.


These foil packets would also be good to do on the grill.

Thai Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry

Last night I made a scrumptous Thai Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry. I got the recipe from the South Beach Diet Cookbook that Angie let me borrow, but I changed it a little. It doesn't call for chicken but I wanted to give it more substance. Sadly, I didn't take a picture last night.

1 13.5-oz can coconut milk (no sugar added)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp. grated lime peel (and lemon peel if you have it)
1 cup asparagus, cut in 1-in. pieces
1 red pepper, sliced in strips
1 cup sliced mushroom (I used baby bellas)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup dry roasted cashews (or peanuts)
1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, oven roasted with olive oil and salt & pepper, chopped into bit-sized pieces
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce (preferrably soy sauce but I didn't have any and this tasted good too)
1 tablespoon lime juice (& 1 tablespoon lemon juice but I didn't have it)
2 tsp. dried basil (but a handful of fresh would have been sooo much better)

With a hand blender, combine the coconut milk, garlic and lime peel. Pulse to process (the cookbook says it will turn into a paste but mine didn't, which is ok). Pour into a large skillet. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the asparagus, mushrooms, bell pepper, cashews, and red-pepper flakes and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken, worchestershire sauce, lime juice, and basil and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.




If you have bok choy, you can add some just to give you more greens.

Let me tell you, this was great! I had to add some more salt at the end but it was hot and sweet. It was not quite like my favorite Thai dishes at restaurants, bit it was good enough. The unique combo of coconut milk, cashews and hot pepper flake... so good, I crave it!

You have to be careful not to over-cook the vegetables. I let mine simmer for longer than the recipe calls for because it was my intention to let the flavors meld more, but I guess it's not necessary - I like my veggies a little crunchy.

I cooked up some couscous (we were out of rice) to serve with it for Greg.

Surprise Chili

Because I hadn't had meat in a few days, I was craving it. So I searched for a SBD-friendly chili recipe. I have made chili before on this diet - and several times not on the diet because it's easy, filling and delicious. And it's a good way to pack a lot of protein into a meal. I was inspired by this recipe but as I went forward with the soup, I omitted and added according to what I had on hand. I thank Marisa at Slashfood for the inspiration!

This is how my recipe went down:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Roma tomato, chopped

1lb ground beef (90/10 - or less fat if you can), browned and drained

1 14-oz can black beans, rinsed (I used the Giant brand Nature's Promise)

1 14-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed (I used the Giant brand Nature's Promise)

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (I used Hunt's Fire Roasted with Garlic)

1 14-oz can tomato sauce (I used the Giant brand Nature's Promise)

1 tablespoon (approx.) chili powder

1 teaspoon (approx.) cumin

Salt & Pepper

4 or 5 dashes hot sauce (I hope this didn't have sugar!)

1 large leaf (I should have added more) green chard, sliced in 1-in ribbons

Make sure all ingredients are free of added sugar.

In a 3 quart saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onions and a minute later, the garlic. Saute until soft but not brown. Add all ingredients, in the order listed, except the chard. Let it all simmer for about an hour. Next add the stalkier parts of the chard to get it cooking - about 10 minutes. Then add the remainder of the chard and let it cook on low for 20 minutes - keep checking to make sure chard doesn't get over cooked and lose it's greenness.

Greg ate his with tortilla chips as I jealously watched. Fat free cheddar would have been good on top too.

Oh and I call this a surprise because of the chic peas, chard and dashes of hot sauce which gave it an extra kick! They were great additions and the chard gives you some green veggies in the meal.

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs...

... and more eggs!

That sad time has come when I have to go on Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. What this means is no sugar, fruit, carbs, caffeine or alcohol - all of which I love! What I can eat is beef and chicken breasts, vegetables, beans and EGGS!

I originally started this diet last Thursday and was good until Friday when we had lunch at the 3rd Street Deli and then everything went downhill... until yesterday.

So I ate Scrambled Eggs with Sauteed Mushrooms and Feta Cheese for dinner last Thursday, breakfast on Friday and again for breakfast yesterday morning. It was soooo good (sadly, I forgot to photograph it)! By clicking above, you'll find the recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen, a great blog with South Beach recipes. I will be trying more of her recipes in the near future, especially some soups.

Last night for dinner, because I forgot my chicken at home and only have veggies, eggs and turkey bacon at Greg's, more EGGS it was! I get the SELF magazine recipe of the week and yesterday the feature was Veggie Scrambled Eggs. I tried it (minus the carrots because of SBD) and found it quite satisfying.

Below is the origional recipe, which serves 8.

From SELF Magazine

8 asparagus stalks
6 whole eggs
6 egg whites
2 small carrots, grated
1/4 cup reduced-fat Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons sweet chili powder
1/2 teaspon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil cooking spray
2 teaspoons olive oil
8 slices whole-wheat bread
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (plus sprigs for garnish)

Steam asparagus 1 minute; chop. Whisk next 9 ingredients in a bowl. Add asparagus. Coat a large pan with cooking spray. Add oil; heat on high heat; reduce to medium. Cook egg mixture, stirring, until eggs are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

However, this is what I did for just myself:

5 stalks asparagus, chopped into 1-in pieces, microwaved for 30 seconds
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
a few shakes of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil

Heat a skillet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and then turn heat to medium-low. Crack eggs into bowl, add spices and beat with whisk until a bit frothy. Add asparagus and cheese. Pour into pan and immediately start turning until done to your likeness.

Three eggs with chili powder, s&p. The chili powder gave the eggs an unexpected kick!

I probably shouldn't have had this cheese on SBD but it's great cheese from Italy that I found at Wegman's.

The final, yummy product! It was a satisfying dinner (well, I am trying to convince myself it was).

I intended to have another egg scramble for breakfast but I think I need a break from eggs for a little while!

Oh and don't worry... lots of yummy things can be made on Phase 1 so I'll have plenty of good recipes/inspirations to share along the way. And I don't do the diet in it's entirety - just Phase 1 for 14 days because it does wonders for the belly! Then I'll be back to chocolate- and carb-filled creations (in moderation, of course. HA!)!