There are three phases in the South Beach Diet. Each phase has different types of food you can eat and some foods that are forbidden. Generally in the first phase of the South Beach Diet, your meal will contain protein, beans, vegetables, nuts, and dairy. For protein, you can have all types of seafood, lean ground beef, chicken or turkey breasts, basically meat that is low in fat. Beans include black eyed peas, great northern beans, chickpeas, and pinto beans. For the vegetables category, there is a wide variety that you can choose from but pay particular attention to tomatoes, okras, squash, lettuce, spinach and the like. You are allowed to eat low fat cheese during the first phase. You are also allowed to have only one serving of nuts. Generally, your treats for this phase have to be sugarless.
During the second phase you will be eating the foods that you've been eating in the first phase including low-GI fruits, low-fat dairy and whole grain pasta and bread. By low-GI fruits, this means you can eat from the following choices of apples, bananas, cantaloupe, grapes, oranges, or pears. In this phase you can eat semi-sweet chocolate and drink about 1-2 glasses of wine.
In the third and last phase, the South Beach Diet should already have helped you discipline yourself in terms of picking the right food for you. You can basically eat anything that you want during this phase making sure that you are making the right choices and eating in the right portions. Remember that when you reach the third phase, you will be on this phase for life. If you want to maintain the weight goal that you’ve achieved during this phase, then apply all the skills you’ve learned in the previous phases. However, if you find that you are gaining weight, you can choose to go back to the previous phases yourself.
What exactly are the skills that the South Beach Diet can teach or remind you? Basically, this diet teaches you to eat to lose. Is this possible with food? Yes, because with the South Beach diet, you will be made aware as to which food choices are better and which are not. Don’t get the South Beach Diet the wrong way. This is not solely a calorie or carbohydrate counting type of diet. There is more to the lessons in the South Beach Diet than meets the eye. You will realize why because the first phase of the diet teaches you which foods contain the right carbohydrates and the right fats. You may be limiting yourself with one type of carbohydrate and fat but you still get to enjoy other and healthier carbohydrates and fats.
As earlier mentioned, the South Beach Diet doesn't focus on carbohydrates alone, it also tackles fats. Most diets don’t emphasize which fat is right in their regimen. In the South Beach Diet, you will learn that you should be eating foods that have low saturated fats only or are sources of unsaturated fats. The foods you can eat and should be eating in this category include nuts and the use of olive oil.
One lesson you will be grateful for with this diet is learning how to read and value nutrition labels. When you are nutrition label savvy, rest assured you can eat whatever you want as long as you are keeping the nutrition and ingredients of your chosen food in mind. With the South Beach Diet you will learn how to read serving sizes and which size you should be eating. This lesson includes reading the calorie, carbohydrate, fat, sugar and sodium content of your food.
Once you're adept at reading nutrition labels you will then be able to realize that you can eat carbohydrates still. What type of carbohydrates exactly and what are you looking for in a low-carbohydrate food? Most low-carbohydrate foods in the market are not encouraged by the South Beach Diet. You will know why because the diet teaches you to read between the labels. Though the food is presented as low-carbohydrate, it is packed full of sugar and fats. Real low carbohydrate foods can be found in whole grain products. Look for these products and look at the added ingredients as well. Make sure there are no refined products added to the ingredients.
In the South Beach Diet, you will find that you won’t be suffering from diet boredom. You won’t even suffer from guilt when you turn to sweets and treats at times. The good thing about this diet is that it converts eating sweets to treating rather than cheating. You can eat sweets whichever phase you may be in the diet. As long as you are eating the right sweets, you are good to go. The South Beach Diet doesn’t restrict you to avoiding sweets at all. You can even eat sweets loaded with fats and carbohydrates in special occasions if you have to. Just remember not to abuse the privilege this diet has given you. You should always exercise discipline and make informed choices when you choose what you want to eat.
The Languedoc is a vast area stretching from the Camargue in the east to the borders of Catalan Spain in the South and in the North to Toulouse and Albi; it covers a great diversity of food and cooking types, all with one common feature - excellent local ingredients - fruit, vegetables, wines and cheeses, all of which express the taste of the sun and the region. Searching for the secrets of le sud profond has taken us to many secret corners of the area and on a remarkable journey across the region. We have seen some of the most beautiful countryside in the south of France, Mediterranean scenery scorched by summer sun, full of pines, rosemary, thyme, wild garlic, wild leeks, bay and olive trees and a vast acreage of vines, for this is the largest wine region in the world. Here you will find all conceivable types of wine to suit every palate and pocket; from soft supple aged reds, young fruity reds, port-like wines, sweet Muscat, excellent sparkling wines, to fruity or oaked whites and rosés bursting with summer fruit and sun. You will be simply amazed at the sophistication and value for money of today's Languedoc wines, a very far cry from the 'plonk' of the past. Unlike its well-trodden neighbour Provence, the Languedoc has kept its secrets jealously guarded, preferring to keep them to those in the know. We find that the best local recipes of south of france cooking and Mediterranean fooduse the delicious local ingredients in a simple manner, emphasising their character without overlaying too many fussy flavours. This is the traditional food of the region, making use of ingredients in an economical but inspirational manner. Here we share with you some of these secrets which we are delighted to serve to our guests at Le Domaine aux Quat'Saisons.Summer days and evenings in the Languedoc are always enjoyed out of doors and what best to serve for dessert but summer fruit. The flavour of local ripened peaches and nectarines is truly astonishing and we favour the white ones for their heady combination of juiciness and taste. Puréed the flesh needs no embellishment to make the most gorgeous white peach Bellini; two tablespoons of this in a glass of sparkling wine is divine. In northern climates, the fruit will need sugar to bring out the flavour, lost in transport and in under-ripe picking, but not here.Garriguette strawberries retain the full flavour of days gone by and make the most gorgeous dessert when served with a little of their own coulis and a home-made vanilla ice cream. This desert offers the most beautiful colours, flavours and textures, of pink purée and slightly soft pale red fruit against white ice cream - yes this variety of strawberry is not the lipstick red of those toughies that supermarkets seem to enjoy. Local melons are at their best served with a little chilled Muscat wine from St-Jean de Minervois inside them and perhaps a little air dried ham from the Montagne Noir as a great summer starter. Local figs, apricots and cherries are all simply delicious and we like to poach them in Muscat wine and serve them chilled on warm evenings for another refreshing desert.Local sourced vegetables bought freshly that day at the market form small growers also benefit from the sunshine and the flavour of tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and courgettes are particularly wonderful as all these vegetables are sun worshippers, light years away from their northern relatives grown in glass houses. The Languedoc uses these vegetables to make wonderful alternatives to ratatouille, the well known dish from Provence. Our own local dishes are called cichoumeille (from Montpellier) and samfaina (from Catalonia) and each consists of a preparation of aubergines, tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and onions cooked in olive oil. You will rarely if ever see these dishes in restaurants, only in private homes. The region has always been a favourite with fish lovers and the production of oysters, mussels and clams from the vast étangs of the coast provide locals with excellent seafood at great prices. This has brought famous fish restaranteurs like Rick Stein to the area. What better than a platter of huîtres de Bouzigues enjoyed with a bottle of Picpoul de Pinet (the regions' excellent seafood wine, crisp and very fruity, much more enjoyable than Muscadet in our opinion) at one of the restaurants along the coast. When talking of le sud intense, one must never forget that most Languedocien of preparations, brandade de morue. An unlikely sounding unctuous but light puree of salt cod, milk and olive oil, flavoured often with a little garlic it makes a great starter, and the leftovers are just irresistible as a filling for jacket potatoes or spread on toast. It is rather tricky to make though and the pureeing of the cod with the milk and oil takes a little practice. Another of our guests' favourite fish dishes is loup au beurre du Montpellier, poached sea bass with a green herb butter sauce flavoured with anchovy and capers.The venerable Roquefort cheese is still produced in the northern hills of the Languedoc in the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as it has been for centuries. The cheese is made entirely from ewe's milk and its flavour and creamy texture is due to the ageing in caves and the pencillum glaucum roqueforti mould which is unique to the cheese. Across the region, goats' cheeses are widely produced from frais (fresh curds in a mould) to sec (air dried and aged for 9-12 months). The majority of our goats' cheese is sourced from small farms situated within 10 kms of Le Domaine in the Montagne Noir. These are delicious and the frais variety especially so when served with a little mountain honey, a Languedoc speciality. We love them too with fresh figs from the garden served warm from the sun that ripened them; great for breakfast on the terrace. Across the region, pelardon cheeses are wrapped in poitrine, (thin slices of bacon-like ham) and grilled, served with a little salad of mildly bitter leaves such as chicory or endive (or dandelions) and with an olive or nut oil dressing. Walnuts can be added too, if you like, but we prefer the simpler version, just make sure that the cheese is not cooked too long or it will lose its shape.Another lovely cheese dish is made by mixing faisselles of goats' cheese with a little finely chopped fresh mint, serving them with a salad of thinly sliced oranges marinated in mint syrup. A cool, fresh dish for when the days are hot and appetites' flag.Weather in the winter can be cold, although bright and sunny; what better to warm the spirit than a traditional daube de boeuf. Shin of beef is marinated in red wine, spices (cloves, juniper berries and nutmeg), a little orange peel, herbs, onions, plenty of garlic and a little oil and vinegar and then cooked for hours until meltingly tender. Served with macaroni it makes an excellent dish for cooler weather and one we enjoy preparing immensely. All the flavours of the region seem to be concentrated in this dish. Cassoulet is another winter dish (or perhaps feast) enjoyed by many French people. To enjoy it at its best, go to Castelnaudary, its spiritual home, and enjoy it over a long lunch with a good bottle of local red. The preparation of beans, cooked with meats, tomatoes, garlic, wine and confit of duck or goose and saucissons de Toulouse makes a hearty dish and if well made it is truly magnificent. We hope that you will enjoy some of these specialities when you visit us at: Hotel Le Domaine aux Quat'Saisonsbed and breakfast carcassonnesouth of france hotel
Both Keith Jacobsen Sr. & Sebastien Marquet are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Keith Jacobsen Sr. has sinced written about articles on various topics from Environment, Alarm System and Dog Grooming. Keith is considered a well known distributor of for b2b sites where you can discover lots of leads for. Keith Jacobsen Sr.'s top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
Sebastien Marquet has sinced written about articles on various topics from Recipes, south beach diet and Landscaping. Sebastian Marquet is an accomplished chef and author and an expert in regional cooking of the South of France. He has been a chef for over 30 years.. Sebastien Marquet's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.