Re: Newbie saying hello

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

I too am cooking challenged. The tea thing does mean milk in your hot tea.

It is actually very relaxing and filling.

For breakfast the receipes do look hard but are very easy and usually make

more than one meal. So then it makes it easy to grab and run. You could

also make them the night before and warm in the morning (or eat cold as I

have done w/ many of the egg muffins driving my DS to school- late as

usual).

It is not as bad or overwhelming as it looks. Just be patient and slowly

work through it. This is a great support group. Welcome.

[Guest guest]

There should be an updated food list in the files. You can eat anything you want from that list. It doesn't have to be anything complicated. For breakfast you can have leftover dinner or fat free plain yogurt with flavorings in it like a little sugar free jello powder. I'd suggest learning just a little cooking though. IT is so important for your health. I don't cook anything more complicated than recipes I find where you put all the stuff in a pan, check on it sometimes and wait for it to be done. Do a search for recipes for phase one SBD. There are a lot and a lot that are easy. Even on kraftfoods.com. Just remember that you can eat anything you want from that food list, but the guidelines are to eat a protein with each meal and at least 1/2 cup of veggies for breakfast and 2 cups of veggies for lunch and dinner. It doesn't have to be tomato juice or V8, can be any veggies. You don't have to put milk in your tea. You don't have to eat or drink anything you don't want to. Just eat from that list. And don't skip your snacks. They are important to keep your blood sugar up. Carol

Newbie saying hello

I just joined this group and wanted to post a brief introduction. I'm a 43 year old female, 5'4", with my weight at around 260-270 (getting on the scale would be too depressing right now). I'm single and without kids so I don't have to worry about cooking or keeping food in the apartment for anyone but myself. In that regard I feel lucky. The temptation is probably less for me than someone who is also having to consider the eating habits of spouse, children, etc.My problem with diets is always the same. I don't cook. I'm clueless when it comes to cooking. I look at some of the recipies in the Pase One Meal Plan and think to myself, "Who in their right mind has time to prepare *that* in the morning?" Because I don't cook, everything looks overwhlemingly difficult to me. What, specifically, is vegetable juice cocktail? Please, please tell me I can have something besides tomato juice! Yuck! And I don't drink coffee. Decaffeinated tea with nonfat milk? Are we talking hot tea here? Cold tea? Tea bags? Putting milk in my tea is a foreign concept to me. I suspect the tea with milk is filling and my fear is that if I just decide to skip it I will get hungry and set my self up for failure. Can I do anything else? And I haven't got a microwave right now, although I'm hoping for one for Christmas. Somebody please just get me past breakfast and I'll start seeing what I can do to cope with lunch! lolI live in Springfield, Missouri and it seems to me it would be nice to have a real time support group to get together with. Are there any r/t support groups for SB that anyone knows of? Thanks for reading this "brief" introduction ;-) DebbieReminder: The South Beach Diet is not low-carb. Nor is it low-fat. The South Beach Diet teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats-the good ones-and enables you to live quite happily without the bad carbs and bad fats. For more on this WOE please read "The South Beach Diet" by Arthur Agatston, MD. ISBN 1-57954-814-8

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[Guest guest]

Thanks Amie, I'm not offended, appreciate the input. I am guilty of

doing the drive through thing a lot, just so darn convenient. Or

I'll go to the store and buy a frozen pizza......and eat the whole

thing in one sitting. Or buy chicken tenders and potato or macroni

salad.....anything at all I don't have to do a darn thing too is

pretty much what I eat. I realize I'm probably eating the most

processed (i.e. bad) foods I can eat. I get a free lunch at work,

and that is, again, usually cheap food, white bread, stuff that they

pick up at the local food pantry, etc. Geez, that all sounds pretty

horrendous, doesn't it? lol I think I have a book on basic cooking

skills around here somewhere. I think I've just gotten to being so

large and feeling so bad I find it hard to put the energy into

anything right now. But I *will* work on this, so thanks again for

your input :-)

Debbie

> Hi Debbie, what do you usually eat without cooking? You can eat

basic foods

> together, canned vegetables are easy to heat up on the stovetop,

lunchmeat

> with slices of lowfat cheese, things like that. Maybe get a book

on basic

> cooking skills from the library or bookstore? I don't mean to be

offensive

> just to get you through the basics.

> -Amie

>

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group, Debbie! My highest weight was 260, so I know where you're at right now...the scale is scary when you're so heavy. Maybe you should take your measurements and watch your progess that way instead? It's actually more accurate than the scale anyways.

I was never much of a cook either, and still don't like to do it, but I have found this diet to be very simple, if you let it be. For starters. I don't follow the recommended meal plans in the book, they just weren't appetizing to me. Get a copy of the foods to enjoy--think there's a copy in the files of this group at the website (Tink will tell ya if so). I just use that list of things I can have and create my own meals.

For breakfast I have scrambled eggs with salsa mixed in and some veggies on the side. Just spray the bottom of your pan with some canola cooking spray (or something else allowed), put in your eggs, stir them around and push them off the bottom of the pan as they cook. My husband mixes his eggs in a separate bowl with milk, but I just dump them on in there When they're done, I stir in some salsa. I use mostly frozen veggies, just boil some water and dump them in, let them boil a bit, then drain. Spice however you want, I like lemon pepper seasoning best, you could even put salsa on them as well I guess.

Sometimes I will make an omelet with veggies and LF cheese as well. Fry the eggs on one side, flip over, add your stuff on one side, fold in half. Easy and yummy. Or, if I can't cook in the morning, in a hurry, I have cottage cheese and some veggie from the fridge, maybe cut up a cucumber or grab some carrots, whatever I have.

For lunch, I have fallen in love with salad. They are so simple and you don't have to cook at all to make them yummy. I slice up veggies into the bagged lettuce, add LF cheese, slice up some LF lunch meats, sometimes add in heated beans (just heat in a pan since no microwave) and that is really good, makes it all warm and yummy. Sometims I might boil an egg and put it in as well. I like lots of stuff, and they are simple and quick to throw together, and yummy.

Jennie-O makes these turkey burgers that are already in patties, and they are really good. I got them in a big box at Walmart. It's raw meat, and inside they are packaged two together. Take out one package and thaw it a big, you could put it in hot water to do this. Then spray your pan and put them in, fry them until cooked through on both sides. You can top them with anything on the foods to enjoy list, to get your veggies. I love chopped broccoli with ranch dressing (under 3g sugar per serv. is the guideline). Also, putting mushrooms and onion in the pan with them, with some worcestire sauce, that is really yummy. You could use those for lunch or dinners, make extras and save them over for lunch the next day, great.

Another easy, yummy thing is to fry up some meat, turkey or lean burger (thaw, put in sprayed pan, stir around until all brown, drain out the grease), then mix it with salsa. Put that over bagged salad or shredded lettuce, it is yummy. Even my 2 year old loves that.

For snacks, I like string cheese (no cooking at all) and sometimes cottage cheese, sugar free Jello, or if I have a small bit of leftovers, too little for a meal, I might have it for a snack so I don't throw it to the dogs. Some people on the list have great ways of mixing up plain FF yogurt to make great snacks that taste good without cooking.

You don't have to follow the book meal for meal! I haven't eaten any of the meals in the book and am doing just fine. Welcome to the group, just shout if you need more help or specific questions.

Theresa__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the input and support, , and Theresa too. Maybe I

*am* making this more difficult than it actually is. Cooking things

the night before would probably work for me. And you wouldn't want

to know the things I've eaten cold, right out of the fridge ;-)

Debbie

> Debbie,

>

> I too am cooking challenged. The tea thing does mean milk in your

hot tea.

> It is actually very relaxing and filling.

>

> For breakfast the receipes do look hard but are very easy and

usually make

> more than one meal. So then it makes it easy to grab and run.

You could

> also make them the night before and warm in the morning (or eat

cold as I

> have done w/ many of the egg muffins driving my DS to school- late

as

> usual).

>

> It is not as bad or overwhelming as it looks. Just be patient and

slowly

> work through it. This is a great support group. Welcome.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Welcome! One little suggestion would be to get a crock pot. You can just dump in the ingredients and in a few hours it is done. Since you are cooking for yourself you can freeze the remainder in individual portions.

[Guest guest]

I created something yummy from a basic stir-fry idea. I stir fried

some meat strips, add some onion and peppers and browned. Then I

topped with broccoli, cauliflower etc etc until the pan was full. I

poured in a cup of chicken stock (was all I had) and let the how

thing boil and steam away with a lid half over the pan until the

stock was reduced. The meat was very tender and the veges were

delicious.

<chrissieberg@y...> wrote:

> Debbie, another option that we discussed quite a bit last week (I

know that you weren't part of the group to see it) was stir-fry

meals.

[Guest guest]

Thanks , I'll add that to my wonderfully growing list :-) I've

been cutting and pasting in a word document all the wonderful

suggestions everyone has been giving me. I'm not actually going to

try to start this diet until late in the week next week (no money to

shop until then), but when I finally *do* get to shop I want to be

prepared.

Debbie

> Welcome! One little suggestion would be to get a crock pot. You

can just

> dump in the ingredients and in a few hours it is done. Since you

are cooking

> for yourself you can freeze the remainder in individual portions.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Way to go, Debbie!! You are doing great!

Sometimes I boil up a dozen eggs at once and leave them in the fridge. I

mark them with and H or X to let the family know that these are not for

scrambling LOL!! Then I can just grab one and take it with me to work for my

morning snack.

Now that you can boil eggs, you can make deviled eggs for a stay-at-home

lunch or snack. These are also very easy. First, boil the eggs and let them

cool. Peel the eggs. Cut them in half the long way and pop the yolks into a

bowl. Put the whites on a plate. With a fork mash the yolks. Add in a bit of

mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir and mash until it's all mixed.

Using the *back* of a spoon, scoop some of the yolk mixture up and place it

in the white where the yolk originally came from. You can kind of mound it

up because chances are you'll have slightly more yolk mixture than the yolks

that came out. Sprinkle the deviled eggs with a bit more paprika (go easy as

it can get spicey pretty quick!) and enjoy.

--

Ann

You spend your life fighting dirt, and when you die they bury you in it.

hayakawa@...

North Bend, Oregon, USA

> Do you want to hear the funniest thing of all? This should amuse

> some of you who have been cooking for years, and I saw it was one of

> the things Ann suggested as well. This morning I boiled eggs for

> the first time in my life. 43 years old and I¡¦m just now

> learning

> how to boil and egg. That¡¦s sad, isn¡¦t it? And they were

> perfect!

> I am so proud ļ I think I can do this as something for

> breakfast,

> boil the eggs ahead of time and put them in the fridge overnight if

> I want to. I seem to be oversleeping a lot these days so don¡¦t

> trust myself to even get up in time enough to boil an egg in the

> morning. I feel so proud I found something I can do though and it

> came out good. Silly, I know, but a first for me. Thanks for the

> other ideas too Ann, appreciate all the tips I can get. I used to

> eat spaghetti for breakfast *cold*! That¡¦s how lazy I am about

> cooking; I didn¡¦t even want to bother to heat it up first.

>

> Debbie

[Guest guest]

great suggestion even for those who aren't such a newbie to cooking ! Thanks!

-Amie

From: Ann Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 1:10 AMTo: South-Beach-Diet-Getting-It-Right Subject: Re: Re: Newbie saying hello

Way to go, Debbie!! You are doing great!Sometimes I boil up a dozen eggs at once and leave them in the fridge. Imark them with and H or X to let the family know that these are not forscrambling LOL!! Then I can just grab one and take it with me to work for mymorning snack.Now that you can boil eggs, you can make deviled eggs for a stay-at-homelunch or snack. These are also very easy. First, boil the eggs and let themcool. Peel the eggs. Cut them in half the long way and pop the yolks into abowl. Put the whites on a plate. With a fork mash the yolks. Add in a bit ofmayonnaise, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir and mash until it's all mixed.Using the *back* of a spoon, scoop some of the yolk mixture up and place itin the white where the yolk originally came from. You can kind of mound itup because chances are you'll have slightly more yolk mixture than the yolksthat came out. Sprinkle the deviled eggs with a bit more paprika (go easy asit can get spicey pretty quick!) and enjoy.-- Ann You spend your life fighting dirt, and when you die they bury you in it.hayakawa@...North Bend, Oregon, USA> Do you want to hear the funniest thing of all? This should amuse> some of you who have been cooking for years, and I saw it was one of> the things Ann suggested as well. This morning I boiled eggs for> the first time in my life. 43 years old and I¡¦m just now> learning > how to boil and egg. That¡¦s sad, isn¡¦t it? And they were> perfect! > I am so proud ƒº I think I can do this as something for> breakfast, > boil the eggs ahead of time and put them in the fridge overnight if> I want to. I seem to be oversleeping a lot these days so don¡¦t> trust myself to even get up in time enough to boil an egg in the> morning. I feel so proud I found something I can do though and it> came out good. Silly, I know, but a first for me. Thanks for the> other ideas too Ann, appreciate all the tips I can get. I used to> eat spaghetti for breakfast *cold*! That¡¦s how lazy I am about> cooking; I didn¡¦t even want to bother to heat it up first.> > DebbieReminder: The South Beach Diet is not low-carb. Nor is it low-fat. The South Beach Diet teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats-the good ones-and enables you to live quite happily without the bad carbs and bad fats. For more on this WOE please read "The South Beach Diet" by Arthur Agatston, MD. ISBN 1-57954-814-8