South Beach Strategies

Kristy asked me about how to keep things simple on South Beach...my answer was way to long to put in a comment, so here it is:

My menus are a lot simpler than they look, but I can see how they look complicated. I actually really like cooking, and I would rather spend some extra time cooking so that I have good food. But I know that not everyone is that way. To a point, I think that if you want to eat healthy whole foods, you have to get used to a little bit more prep and cook time. South Beach will force you to get more used to cooking. But this process doesn’t have to be terrifying or take forever. Here are some basic ideas.

Basic ways to keep South Beach simple:
1. Keep your fridge stocked with South Beach friendly foods.
2. Plan out your proteins ahead of time so you don’t have to think about it. Every night, take a new piece of frozen meat out of the freezer and put it in the fridge so that it will be ready for you the next day.
3. Make extra food at dinner and plan to eat the leftovers for a lunch or dinner later in the week.
4. If you are chopping veggies or herbs for something, chop some extra and just put them in a Ziploc bag. The next time you need them, you’ll have pre-chopped veggies all ready to throw into your dish.
5. Have some easy no fuss veggies on hand: pre-chopped broccoli, pre-washed baby spinach, green beans that have already been tipped. These things require very little of you other than sticking them in a steamer or throwing them in a pan with some olive oil. Spinach in particular cooks up in absolutely no time at all, so I always keep that on hand. If you like cherry tomatoes, I very frequently eat those as a raw side dish.

Meal strategies:

Breakfast: You’re stuck with eggs or yogurt for Phase 1. If I’m in a rush, I just fry a couple eggs in olive oil and eat them with a glass of v-8 juice or some cherry tomatoes. If I am feeling more ambitious, it really doesn’t take much extra time at all to beat up the eggs and throw some baby spinach and cheese in to make an omelet or scramble.

Lunch: I have two main lunch strategies: 1. Purposeful leftovers. I just make extra of whatever I had at dinner and box it up while I’m cleaning up the night before. Then it’s all ready for me to grab and go. 2. Make ahead! I’ll often make up a big vat of a stir-fry, soup, or bean salad that I know will keep for awhile and just eat the same thing every day for a week. I don’t mind the repetition, and it’ s so much easier not to have to think about it as you’re running out the door.

Easy go-to dinners:
Crockpot chicken curry: in the morning, throw some boneless skinless chicken breasts into the crockpot with a chopped onion, a can of diced tomatoes and a couple spoonfuls of curry paste. If you have time, you can chop in some celery and bell peppers, but if you’re in a hurry, don’t worry about. Set the crockpot and you’re done. When you come home, it will be ready to serve.

South Beach burgers: I am actually perfectly content to eat a burger with no bun, particularly if the burger is a nice, generous size. Making up burgers takes very little time and can be very comforting. Top with lowfat cheese and whatever condiments you feel like and serve with cole slaw.

Easy fish dinner: Take a piece of fish and rub it with olive oil, lemon pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt. Put it in a 350 degree oven for 12-20 minutes, depending on how thick your fish is. While the fish is cooking, throw some pre-chopped veggies into the microwave or steamer. When they are done, you can throw on some olive oil, lemon juice and salt, or just eat them plain. Done. Easy, healthy dinner. If you want to jazz things up, you can grill or sauté some sliced tomatoes to top the fish with. That step doesn’t add much time and makes the dinner seem really special. My complicated looking fish dinner was really just a jazzed up version of this. I just kept chopping things and adding them to the pan while the fish cooked, but you can keep it really simple.

Chicken tenders: These things cook up really fast and they are very versatile. I eat them all the time. One of my favorite things is to make an easy balsamic tomato sauce to go over them. Trust me, this is not hard. All you do is take some canned crushed or diced tomatoes (even tomato sauce would work) and add it to a pan with a splash of balsamic vinegar, then just let it reduce a little while the chicken cooks in another pan. Pour over the chicken with a side of wilted spinach. People will think that you spent forever and it doesn’t take long at all.

Steak dinner: If you think of it ahead of time, marinade the steak in soy sauce and crushed garlic. That's all you need. Then broil or pan-fry and serve it with some steamed broccoli or whatever other veggie suits your fancy.

Lentil soup: This isn’t a fast dinner, but it’s dirt cheap and doesn’t require much tending from you. Chop up some celery and onion and soften them in the pot with olive oil, then add a cup of dry lentils, two cups of chicken broth, three cups of water, and a can of some kind of tomato product. (You may want to add more liquid…depends on how thick you like your soup). Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 45 minutes. Season with cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and serve. My husband and I can get several dinners out of a pot this size.

Also, I feel compelled to mention that Kalyn's Kitchen is an amazing South Beach resource. She has an archive of amazing, delicious South Beach recipes with 5 ingredients or less, as well as lists of convenient snacks and breakfast foods for Phase 1. If you haven’t found her yet, I highly recommend that you check out her blog.

EDIT: The broken link to Kalyn's blog is now fixed. Sorry about that!