South Beach Diet - Shrimp Dinner & Ricotta Dessert

John and I decided to give the South Beach Diet another whirl, just to lose a little jiggle we've managed to gain around the middle. ;)  

I did it once a loooooong time ago - it was successful, but I was so paranoid about gaining weight back that I never left Phase 1.  When I finally caved, I gained the weight back and then some.  So clearly it works - I just have to follow the succession of phases so that I can keep the darn weight off!  Guess there's a reason for them making the rules that way... haha!  

Last night I made a DELISH thrown-together shrimp dinner that I absolutely loved.  It filled me right up, and I didn't miss my carbs at all.  It was much better than just having a salad too. :) 

Here's how I did it.... 

Carb-free Shrimp Dinner
(serves 1)
- 1 cup of uncooked shrimp
- spray oil / olive oil
- handful of spinach
- chopped onions
- chopped red pepper
- minced garlic
- diced tomatoes
- black beans (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 an avocado (diced)
- queso fresco (optional), about 2 tbsp
- hot sauce (optional)
- spices (cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper)

In a medium pan over medium-high heat, sautee the onions, garlic, and peppers for about 1 minute until hot.  Throw in the shrimp and cook until just turned pink (about 3-5 minutes), then turn off the heat.  Add black beans and spices to season (to taste).

On your plate, add the spinach, avocado, tomatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil, then top with shrimp & veggies from the pan.  Sprinkle queso fresco on top, and splash with hot sauce.

John was very jealous that this was the meal I had!  Haha!  Well, if you aren't home, you don't get any! :) 

 

Some of my favorite recipes from the South Beach Diet are the ricotta desserts.  They are SO GOOD and they satisfy my sweet tooth somethin' crazy!  They really do taste pretty ice-creamy.  I made a chocolate one last night... 

It's basically a 1/2 a cup of part-skim ricotta cheese (honestly I'll probably only use about 1/4 or 1/3 a cup next time - this was a bit much!), some vanilla extract (or almond - I used a combo of both), unsweetened cocoa powder, no-calorie sweetener (I like Truvia), and 5 (yes, I had to count only 5 of them out) chocolate chips.  

I know it sounds a bit strange, but it's really yummy!  

So far we're doing pretty well!  The first 2-weeks is the most restricting, and honestly I'm glad I have a buddy doing it with me (since we live in the same house & all).  I hope we can keep it up and lose the weight for good!  It's not like we have a ways to go, it's just something like 20 pounds for each of us.  We're stayin' positive! :)