South Beach

My parents have started doing the South Beach diet and they’re doing really well – both of them hit the gym four or five times per week and have each dropped over ten pounds.

I had read the SB book at one point and liked it for its heart healthy emphasis, but I don’t remember it being as similar to Atkins as it seems to be now. My folks are eating a lot of protein, particularly a lot of eggs.

As a low-to-no animal protein person I keep looking for good legume recipes to send to them instead, but I’m not sure if they’re supposed to be consuming that much bean on their plan.

I’m very firmly anti-Atkins diet, which is why I have slight concerns – but overall they’re both happy with their food, the results and feeling good, so I’m happy for them. I know that Atkins swamps you in animal fats and puts your body into a state where it sort of eats itself alive, but SB with its heart health emphasis can’t work the same way. Can it?

Is anyone out there more familiar with it than I am? Feel free to sound off here.

My own developing plan is similar in a sense that I’m focusing more on what I eat rather than how much (beans, glorious beans) but I’ve got the added avoidance of animal fat if possible. The stuff is a really hard habit to kick… like cheese. And I’ve got a developing jerky addiction to contend with now. It’s salty, chewy, has almost no fat and is very low calorie. But of course, I’m pickling myself in salt. Argh.

Also having a lot of trouble controlling my cravings for sugar. Could that be some form of seasonal defective disorder? I’ve never felt that I get the blues in winter, I’m okay with the season rotation, but I can’t seem to keep my hands off cookies right now.

And no, a piece of fruit does not help.

Anyway, in the spirit of beans – here’s a garbanzo salad I’m enjoying right now:


Garbanzo-Bonanza Salad

3 cans of garbanzo beans, thoroughly rinsed
Small package of crumbled feta cheese
A small dark green leafy like baby spinach or baby arugala (several handfuls)
A handful of chopped fresh basil
A handful of chopped scallions
A cup of kalamata olives, cut in half or chopped as you prefer
A package of grape tomatoes, halved or quartered

Combine all of the above; then make a simple dressing by combining three or four tablespoons of EV olive oil with the zest and juice of a fresh lemon. Add two teaspoons of kosher salt, one teaspoon of pepper, one teaspoon of sugar – whisk thoroughly and pour over salad.

Toss and enjoy!