Turkey Manicotti

A great way to trick yourself into thinking your eating pasta! Looks JUST like pasta shells when cooked but tastes so much better w/ no guilt!

I use just the deli slices from either the meat dept or the packaged stuff (it works better!)

Ingredients:
* 16 oz low fat or FF ricotta cheese
* 1 c shredded lowfat mozzarella
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup grated parmesan
* 1 t Italian herbs (I used Pampered Chef's Italian seasoning but you can use whatever blend you have on hand or a combo of Italian seasonings)
* pinch nutmeg
* salt & pepper
* 8 slices deli turkey breasts, sliced about the thickness of a tortilla (or pounded-out chicken breasts!)
* 1 cup low sugar tomato sauce (Hunts makes a great no sugar sauce..its usually $1 for a big can of it at Hy Vee)

Directions:
Mix ricotta, eggs, 3/4 cup mozzarella, parmesan and spices.
Spoon filling down center of each turkey sliced, dividing evenly among 8 slices. Roll up.
Spoon 1/2 cup sauce onto bottom of 9x13 casserole dish. Lay rolled-up "manicotti" on sauce, top with rest of sauce.
Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 350 till heated and cheese on top is bubbly.

4th of July treat!

This is a great low sugar 4th of July dessert that Phil and I made up last year when we were thinking of something to share w/ our family at our annual 4th of July get together! This isn't phase 1 friendly but its definitely a great alternative to a full sugar dessert!

Red/White/Blue cookie trifle

2 pkgs Murrays sugar free shortbread cookies

2 boxes sugar free vanilla or white chocolate sugar free pudding

1 container sugar free whipped topping

2 cups skim milk

1 lb strawberries

1 qt blueberries

Mix pudding and milk together, fold in whipped cream and chill in fridge for 15-20 minutes

Wash strawberries and blueberries. Take stems off strawberries and cut into slices.

Break cookies into pieces.

In a glass trifle bowl layer cookies, pudding, strawberries and blueberries at least 2 times or until you run of out ingredients. Chill for at least 1/2 an hour and serve cold.

Enjoy this delicious low sugar treat and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Belgian Waffles

I LOVE breakfast at our house..we eat it for all meals...if I could I think I would eat breakfast for every meal every day...so good! So I was SUPER glad to find this recipe and I was even more glad when it was actually delicious! This with some turkey bacon is perfect for phase 1, put it w/ some fresh fruit on phase 2 and its a delicious weekend treat!

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1/4 C Lowfat Ricotta Cheese (store brand)
1 T Granular Splenda, more or less to taste
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/4 t. Cinnamon, more or less to taste
(optional)
Dash Nutmeg, more or less to taste (optional)

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron. If no waffle iron is available, recipe can also be used for fluffy
pancakes, but that is not as much fun! Beat eggs with electric mixer on high for 1
minute to make them light and fluffy. Add all other ingredients. Beat until smooth.
Spray waffle maker with PAM or other cooking spray. Pour all batter, should fill bottom tray. Close and cook as usual for waffles.

Cookbook!

I am going to share w/ you my very favorite recipe...its for Spinach/Chicken casserole! Spinach is something that I never would have probably even considered eating until I made this and now we love spinach and Maggie also loves it! I took this recipe to my MOPS group and didn't bring leftovers home which was sad for Phil! haha ENJOY!

2 cups diced cooked chicken breasts

10 oz box of frozen spinach, thawed and drained well.

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup grated parm cheese

1/4 cup low fat mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients together and spread into a 8x8 greased pan (I use my Pampered Chef square baking stone). Sprinkle w/ mozzarella cheese if you have extra...I usually use almost a whole bag just on the top! haha Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. Enjoy! We make a double batch of this for us to eat for 1 supper and then usually 3 lunches (leftovers). It reheats awesome!

Meals

Now what I did when we first started was to google SB phase 1 recipes and printed out 30 pages of recipes that I thought we'd like and went from there...I don't know what you like but I do know what we like and I promise to share with you a recipe as often as I remember (I might need reminded!) so that you find delicious new things you would normally have never tried and things that will keep you from getting bored with the ENJOY list.

Here is an example of what I eat on a typical Phase 1 Day:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey bacon and a spoonful of natural peanut butter

Snack: some cashews/almonds/macadamia nuts (South beach mix from Planters!)

Lunch: Chicken/Spinach casserole

Snack: String cheese

Supper: Something on the grill (brats, hamburgers, steaks, chicken) and a salad or sliced raw veggies.

Dessert/Snack: sugar free jello or fudgesicle

That's just an example of a typical day for us back in Phase 1. Everyone thinks they can't give up sugars but its much easier then you'd think and once its out of your body you stop craving it and before you know it you'll be thinner and feel better!

Now the list everyone hates…what to avoid the 1st 2 weeks!

VEGETABLES

Beets

Carrots

Corn

Potatoes, white

Potatoes, sweet

Yams

BEEF

Brisket

Liver

Other fatty cuts

Rib steaks

POULTRY

Chicken, wings and legs

Duck

Goose

Poultry products, processed

PORK

Honey-baked ham

VEAL

Breast

FRUIT
Avoid ALL fruits and fruit juices in Phase 1, including:

Apples

Apricots

Berries

Cantaloupe

Grapefruit

Peaches

Pears

DAIRY

1/2 cup of plain fat-free yogurt (once per day max.)

Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2, Nonfat milk, 1% milk,

Soy milk allowed with coffee. Otherwise avoid all other dairy products (unless listed under protein choices or sweet treats).

Limit to < 2 TBS per cup of coffee. Otherwise, avoid all milk products in Phase 1, including:

Yogurt, cup-style and frozen

Ice cream

Milk, low-fat, fat-free, whole

Milk, soy

STARCHES AND CARBS

Avoid ALL starchy food in Phase 1, including:

Bread, all types

Cereal

Croutons, all types

Matzo

Oatmeal

Rice, all types

Pasta, all types

Pastry and baked goods, all types

CHEESE

Brie

Edam

Non-reduced fat

MISCELLANEOUS

Alcohol of any kind, including beer and wine

No regular ketchup or cocktail sauce

No pork rinds - too high in saturated fat

No jerky - too high in sugar content

Limit Caffeine-Containing Beverages to 1-2 servings per day

Don’t worry…this will all be stuff you can eat again later…either one phase 2 or in moderation later. After being on the diet for over a year its not a diet anymore…it’s a lifestyle change and we love this new lifestyle!

Phase 1 (2 weeks of missing fruit!)

Phase 1 lasts 2 weeks and is the hardest because you're basically detoxing your body of all the sugars and bad carbs. It's the strictest and the hardest and you get crabby in those 1st few days but its worth it once you get past the first few days and you will notice that you don't even crave the food that you used to eat all the time.

Here is the list of foods to enjoy:

BEEF Lean cuts, such as:

Eye of Round

Ground beef:

Extra Lean (96/4)

Lean (92/8)

Sirloin (90/10)

Tenderloin

Top Loin

Top Round

LAMB (Remove all visible fat)

Center Cut

Chop

Loin

PORK

Boiled ham

Canadian bacon

Loin

Tenderloin

POULTRY (SKINLESS)

Cornish hen

Turkey bacon (2 slices per day)

Turkey and chicken breast

SEAFOOD

All types of fish and shellfish

TOFU

Use soft, low-fat or lite varieties

VEAL

Chop

Cutlet, leg

Top round

EGGS

The use of whole eggs is not limited unless otherwise directed by your doctor. Use egg whites and egg substitute if desired.

LUNCHMEAT

Fat-free or low-fat only

VEGGIES

Artichokes

Asparagus

Beans, Green

Beans, Italian

Beans, Wax

Beans or Legumes:

Black Beans

Butter Beans

Chickpeas or Garbanzo

Pigeon Peas

Soy Beans

Split Peas

Broccoli

Bok Choy

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Celery

Collard Greens

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Lettuce (All varieties)

Juice (Limit to 6 ounces per day)

Tomato

V-8

Mushrooms

Mustard Greens

Okra

Onion - Limit to 1/2 per day

Peppers (All varieties)

Pickles - Dill or those sweetened with Splenda®

Radishes (All varieties)

Rhubarb

Sauerkraut

Snow peas

Spinach

Sprouts, Alfalfa

Squash, Spaghetti

Squash, Summer

Yellow

Zucchini

Tomato - Limit to 1 whole or 10 cherry per serving

FAT CHOICES (with some suggested serving sizes) The following monounsaturated oils are recommended to be consumed daily:

Olive Oil

Canola Oil

Other Oil Choices that may be chosen (Polyunsaturated or a blend of Monounsaturated):

Corn

Enova

Grape seed

Safflower

Soybean

OTHER FAT CHOICES:

Avocado - 1/3 whole = 1 TBS oil

Guacamole - ½ cup = 1 TBS oil

Margarine - Chose those that do not contain Trans Fatty Acids such as Fleishmann's Premium Olive Oil or Smart Balance

Mayonnaise - Regular or Low Fat

Olives (Green or Ripe) 15 = 1/2 TBS

Salad Dressing - Use those < 3 gms sugar per serving

DAIRY

Low-fat (1 percent) or fat-free milk or soy milk

Plain or sugar-free low-fat or fat-free yogurt

Fat-free half & half

CHEESE (FAT-FREE OR LOW-FAT)

American

Cheddar

Cottage cheese, 1-2% or fat-free

Cream cheese substitute, dairy-free

Feta

Mozzarella

Parmesan

Provolone

Ricotta

String

TOPPINGS & SAUCES use sparingly (check labels for added sugar)

Hot Sauce

Salsa - Limit to 2 TBS during phase 1

Soy Sauce - 1/2 TBS

Steak Sauce - 1/2 TBS

Worcestershire Sauce - 1 TBS

Whipped Topping (Light) - 2 TBS

SPICES AND SEASONINGS

All spices that contain no added sugar

Broth

Extracts (almond, vanilla, or others)

Horseradish sauce

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Spray

Lemon Juice

Lime Juice Pepper (black, cayenne, red, white)

SWEET TREATS (Limit to 75 calories per day)

Candies, hard, sugar-free

Chocolate powder, no-added-sugar

Cocoa powder, baking type

Fudgsicles, sugar-free

Gelatin, sugar-free

Gum, sugar-free

Popsicles, sugar-free

Sugar substitute Some Sugar Free

At our house string cheese and sugar free fudgsicles are a must at all times. I remember after eating breakfast one day I was craving something sweet and ate a fudgesicle just to get me through the day…it worked and eventually I didn’t need that sweetness to get me started!

Getting started...

If you've seen Phil at all in the last year you've noticed he's looking a little different...a little 145 lbs thinner different...I'm also 40 lbs thinner but really who notices that when you stand next to Phil...most people don't even recognize him anymore. So anyway, after our class reunion a few weeks ago I had several people asking me what we'd been doing and how we do it so I offered to send a few recipes to some friends and now here I am putting it out for everyone to see...but first...our story!

Back in April of 2010 I saw a picture of myself wearing some khaki pants that I loved..they were so tight it literally hurt my stomach wearing them. These khakis were bought in Sept of 2009, right before I got pregnant w/ Mags...they fit perfect a few months after I had Maggie (while I was nursing/pumping a million times a day...or so it seemed) fast forward a few months after I quit pumping and the weight slowly came back on. Uh OH! So this picture bugged me and I didn't have the money to buy a new wardrobe...so I asked Phil (who BTW, has always hated when I dieted for weddings and what not and basically just hates diets anyway) if he'd do the south beach diet with me since its SO much easier to do with a partner/spouse. He agreed! Yay! So we started the South Beach diet the day after Easter of 2010. Since then we've lost a combined 185 lbs and 20 inches from our waists! Also, we both have tons more energy, are healthier, have better complexions, and a new outlook on what we put in our bodies...Maggie's included! My kid prefers applesauce over ice cream...how awesome is that?!