Category: Diet

My Diet Journey

With the chagim behind us, and a few extra pounds later, it’s time for me to face the music. All that honey-sweetened food was as satisfying as it was delicious, but it wasn’t as friendly to my figure. Not to mention the extra pregnancy weight I’ve been carrying around (did I mention my baby is almost 1?)…And so the time has come for me to take the diet plunge.

I’ve been dieting ever since I can remember. Weight watchers, Somersizing, Atkins, The Blood Type Diet…I’ve tried them all. The good news is that I’ve learnt which diets work for me and my body type and I pretty much have it down to a science.

To jump start my weight loss, I do PHASE 1 of the South Beach Diet. This is no easy feat. For two whole weeks, one cannot eat any bread, oatmeal, pasta, rice, cereal, fruit, certain veggies, and some dairy. This phase of the diet is a sort of cleanse, where you eliminate cravings and stabilize your blood sugar.

After completing PHASE 1, where I typically lose about 10 pounds, I move onto a low glycemic diet (which is more or less Phase 2 of the South Beach diet, but I don’t follow it by the book). Without getting into too much detail, I basically only eat foods that have a low GI value (this is a value assigned to all foods that contain carbs to indicate how fast and how high that food can raise your blood sugar level). On this phase, I typically lose about 2 pounds per week. The last time I did this, I lost 40 lbs. This time, I have my sights set on 50.

If I hit a plateau and I don’t seem to be losing any more weight, I just do Phase 1 of the South Beach diet again to jumpstart my weight loss.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is my diet plan in a nutshell.

So. Being the generous spirit that I am (jk!), I thought I’d make you guys an offer to follow along with me. If you’ve got weight to lose and you’ve been pushing it off, join me on my diet journey! I’ll lay down the rules and provide the meal plans and recipes. All you have to do is follow along! Don’t worry, non-dieters, my blog will continue to feature delicious recipes that you can use too!

I’ve created the following pages to help guide you. There are also handy shortcuts under the BIB Diet Tips (just below the categories).

Getting Started
Phase 1 Rules
Phase 1 Menu
Phase 2 Rules

If you have any additional dieting tips or recipes that you’d like to share, feel free to post a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

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Persimmon Yogurt Smoothie

Persimmon is one fall fruit that doesn’t get the same limelight as apples and pears, but is equally delicious. I first fell in love with these orange fruit when I spent a year studying in Israel. I bought them whenever I had a chance, biting into them like I was chomping on an apple.

There are 2 types of persimmon – the heart shaped hachiya and the tomato-shaped fuyu. Hachiya persimmons contain high levels of tannins causing them to taste “furry” if eaten before fully ripening. Believe me, I know this because I’ve spent a lot of time scraping the “pithy” substance off my tongue. Fuyu persimmons, on the other hand, are non-astringent and can be eaten when firm. Upon ripening, they become freckled with tiny brown specs which add sweetness and flavor to the fruit.

What do persimmon taste like? Channeling Ron Ben-Israel on Sweet Genius, I would describe a ripe persimmon as, creamy. juicy. sweet. fragrant. peachy. hints of mango.

Freezing the persimmon and blending it with yogurt results in a thick, creamy consistency that is almost as good as ice cream!

Persimmon Smoothie

2 ripe fuyu persimmon
1 container thick plain yogurt, such as J&J
1/2 cup milk
honey
cinnamon
nutmeg

Method:

Peel and quarter persimmon and freeze overnight. Add frozen fruit, yogurt and milk to a blender. Drizzle some honey and add a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend, and add more milk to reach desired consistency.

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Stuffed Roasted Eggplants

With the chagim behind us, I think we can all use some light and healthy recipes for a while. While I’m transitioning to a low carb diet, I don’t want to feel hungry, and I definitely don’t want to feel deprived. For me, the trick is to spice it up, so that I’m not left with bland and boring bowls of salad. Preparing healthy recipes that are packed with flavor helps to curb my cravings and keep me satisfied. Which brings me to this recipe…

Fire-roasted eggplants are traditionally used to make chatzilim or babaganoush, but using them as a base for the Israeli salad really turns this dish into a complete meal. I like to smear roasted garlic hummus on the eggplant when it’s piping hot and then load it with Israeli salad, sprinkle some chickpeas all around, and finish it with a drizzle of tahini and olive oil. Feel free to load on your fixings of choice. Feta cheese works really well too!

It seems like every recipe book I open has a different recipe for Israeli salad. You’d think it impossible to come up with so many variations, it’s a salad after all. But that’s just the thing. Israeli salad is almost as diverse as the people who eat it. Some like its texture to be chunky, others tiny. Some load on the fresh herbs, others stare clear. Take my husband and I. He’s squarely a tomato & cucumber kind of guy. No onions, no herbs. Just 2 simple veggies, in a ratio of 2:1. Me? I’m not too picky. Leave out the cilantro and I’m good to go. Feel free to follow my basic recipe below, or create your own.

What’s your favorite way to prepare Israeli salad? Share it with me in the comments below!

Roasted Eggplants with Israeli Salad
1 eggplant
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
Israeli salad (recipe follows)
roasted chickpeas, optional
1/4 cup store-bought or homemade hummus
1/4 cup tahini
fresh parsley and lemon, for finishing
optional additions: falafel, shawarma, red cabbage salad, Israeli pickles, harissa

For the eggplants:

For optimum flavor, you can fire-roast the eggplants over an open flame on your stovetop. Because this is messy and time consuming, I prefer to broil them. To do this, cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and place flesh-side down on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and and sprinkle with salt and broil on high on the top rack for 20-25 minutes, until skin is charred and the flesh is soft. Turn over and sprinkle flesh with salt (and pepper, if desired).

For Israeli salad:

2 plum tomatoes
1/2 english cucumber
1/2 red pepper
1/2 red onion
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, to taste

Method:

Finely dice tomatoes, cucumber, pepper and onion. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley or chop finely and add to salad.

To plate, place 1/2 eggplant on a dish. Season with salt and pepper. Smear with hummus. Spoon Israeli salad onto eggplant, garnish with parsley and sprinkle on some roasted chickpeas. Drizzle with tahini and finish with a final squeeze of lemon.

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Roasted Chickpeas

After an extended weekend of nonstop meals, I’m sure we can all use some healthy recipes, expecially with the fast coming up.

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are inexpensive and easy to find. They are full of fiber, and a good source of folic acid, iron, copper, magnesium and zinc. Chickpeas can be bought canned or dried and are extremely versatile. They are famously used to make hummus, but are also a great addition to salads, stews, soups and pastas. With a high protein content, and low glycemic count, chickpeas are great for low carb dieting. You can even purchase chickpea flour to use in cakes and cookies.

Roasted chickpeas are an especially fun and tasty treat. The beans get all toasted and crispy and take on whatever flavor you choose. The beans can be dry roasted or coated in oil (see methods below), either way, you’ll love this addictive snack. Just be careful, it’s easy to overindulge!

See below for my classic recipe, or, try these other flavor combos that I’ve found online!

Savory:

• coriander, cumin, chili powder, sweet paprika, cinnamon, allspice, ginger
• cinnamon, cumin, chipotle powder, smokey sea salt, smoked paprika
• red wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, kosher salt
• tarragon, fennel, roasted garlic, honey, lemon juice
• brown sugar, rosemary, cayenne pepper
• lime juice, chili powder, pepper, cilantro
• apricot jam, wasabi paste, horseradish
• tamari, rosemary, lemon juice, agave
• soy sauce, sesame oil, chili powder
• tomato juice, curry powder
• garlic, pepper, rosemary
• smoked paprika, sea salt
• curry power, sea salt
• garam masala, sea salt
• sage, roasted garlic
• peanut flour, salt

Sweet: 

• maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon
• honey, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
• agave, basil, white pepper, cinnamon
• cinnamon, brown sugar, sea salt
• maple syrup, ginger
• honey, cinnamon
• honey, sea salt

Other ideas: basil, oregano, parsley, cloves, herbs de provence, chinese 5 spice, roasted garlic

Roasted Chickpeas

1 can chickpeas
olive oil
smoked paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
black pepper
salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375. In a strainer, rinse the chickpeas well. Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with paper towels and blot gently until completely dried. Drizzle with olive oil and spices and mix to coat. Bake for 30-45 minutes, shaking them around every 10 minutes or so, until browned and crispy (they should make a rattling sound when you shake the baking sheet). Watch them carefully towards the end so they don’t burn. Leave to cool. Chickpeas will crisp-up more after cooling.

To dry-roast (roasting without oil), bake the chickpeas for 30-45 minutes, shaking them around every 10 minutes or so, until browned and crispy (they should make a rattling sound when you shake the baking sheet). In the meantime, toast the spices in a pan and add oil to the spices to infuse the oil with flavor. Remove chickpeas from the oven and toss immediately with the infused oil. The heat from the chickpeas bakes the flavors just right.

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Honey Roasted Figs


Fig season is in full swing, but you don’t have to save them for the shehechiyanu tray on your Rosh Hashana table. While dried figs are available year-round, there is nothing like the taste and texture of fresh figs – sweet, chewy, with crunchy seeds in the center. Figs are rich in fiber and potassium and range in color and taste. Popular varieties include black mission and calimyrna. My local produce market had brown turkey figs, a mildly sweet variety, on hand and I knew just how I wanted to make them!

Roasting fruit concentrates its flavors for a richer, sweeter taste. A drizzle of honey and a pinch of sea salt, takes it over the top for a mouthful of sweet summer goodness in each bite.

Figs pair really well with tangy fresh cheese or yogurt. You can stuff them with goat cheese, spoon them over yogurt or farmers cheese, or top off an ice cream scoop with their chewy goodness.

Honey Roasted Figs

Fresh figs
Honey
Sea salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently wash figs and pat dry. Remove stem and cut in half lengthwise. Place in a pan, flesh side up, and drizzle generously with honey. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and roast for 15-20 minutes, until edges start to brown.

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