South Beach Diet - I'm new to the Beach

hello beachcombers!
I just joined this forum site, and just got the md okay for south beach. having a hard time with it though, because of roommates and a little sister i live with not really diggin the good carbs good fats thing. can anyone give me any pointers on how to incorporate this lifestyle into my family's habits without making seperate meals and stuff?

i'm not sure how the arrangement works but if you could offer to cook a couple of SB meals to them and realize how tasty the meals are, they may be a little more willing to help you eat healthier.

if you're the cook you can make SB meals and I bet they won't even notice.

I'm a little confused about your post though......who are your roommates? family or friends? what's the normal eating arrangement? that would help with suggestions.

welcome to the beach. you'll find this site really helpful and all the people here are really supportive.

Well, I have just recently left college, and because of some illness and death, my teenage sister (14) lives with me and my roommate. We live in seattle wa, and are go go go kinda girls. I usually do the cooking, and love the SB recipes (especially great was learning about mashed cauliflower). However, the sister loves high carb foods...worse, my mother was Italian, so the super pasta meals reign supreme. and other family is southern, so it was a pork fat thing. I love to cook, but making meals taste like what the kid is used to is hard. then i end up buying all the crap foods, and not buying the good ones.

Can't really help with the pork fat thing - if they are determined to wolf buckets of lard, there's not a lot you can do. There just is not a healthy way to eat pig fat!

For the pasta, try switching little sis to a healthier sort of pasta, such as Barilla Plus http://www.barillaus.com/PLUS_Information.aspx or a whole wheat or whole grain spelt pasta. Use/make sauces low in saturated and trans fats and w/o sugar added (watch canned tomato products - many have sugar added). Try to use pasta the way Italians really use it - as an intro to the meal, not the main course. Serve her a little spaghetti alla pomodoro followed by an SBD friendly recipe for chicken cacciatore or something. Switch to whole wheat sourdough instead of fluffy white bread. Make a big batch of veggie soup and serve that before the pasta course. And don't forget the salad!

If your roomies are determined to keep eating everything lardy and bacony, maybe you could have them fend for themselves, if they aren't willing to eat what you cook?

Wow...that is hard, but I admire the fact that you are caring for your 14 year old sister!! That is awesome!!!
If you like the mashed cauliflower just throw a baker in the microwave for your sister that night! It will be quick and easy!!!
Almost everyone likes taco salad!!
You can serve hers with chips and you can make yourself a cheese crisp (I make mine by adding cheese to a skillet and letting it boil and cook until I can turn it..then cooking it until it is crispy).
You can serve fat free sour cream, fat free refried beans, lean ground beef or ground turkey or chicken, salsa, a salad mix, onion, tomato, bell pepper, etc..just make them individual salads and add to hers what she can have and leave off what you are trying to avoid!!
I know I always talk about them...but shish ka bobs are great as you can make them to suit everyone individually...you can put small canned potatoes on your sisters in addition to things like meat, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, small onions etc...and leave them off of yours!!!
Meat loaf is very forgiveable!! You can make is south beach friendly and your sister will probably not even know that it is!!!
You can add oats, tomato sauce, egg and whatever vegies everyone will tolerate!! I like bell pepper, mushrooms, onion and celery!!
If your sister is not too into vegies try a vegie tray of raw vegies!! You can serve it with some ranch dressing (which you can eat also)!!
For italian...try whole wheat pasta and make your own sauce with low fat meatballs or low fat sausage!!
Lasagna is something I haven't tackled yet...but I would think you could do a whole wheat noodle, low fat cheese, homemade sauce with extra lean ground beef and it would turn out to be a little high cal, but still good and filling!!
If you want any more ideas p.m. me ok!! :D ;)

Forgot to add - you'll have to forgo the bread and pasta, at least during phase 1. In phase 2 you may start re-introducing it in your diet, so you can start to enjoy those things with her then, a little at a time.

What is a pm to someone? and thanks, i never even thought of kabobs. i love those. and she does too.

What's up Weather Girl? Thought I'd toss out a "howdy ho!" Welcome to the beach! My dad is a meteorologist. Welcome!

hey thanks!! i think my parents thought it was clever to name me misty, but hey! waddaya gonna do?

pm = private message; click on a username and select the option to send a private message.

Hi and welcome to the board... good luck on finding a solution to the eating habits problem!

Welcome Weathergirl!!

shortiemetoo - wow what great ideas you just gave me on some meals! Thanks!!
:dancer:

Oh yes, and welcome to 3FC! The forums are all very helpful - be sure to look over the FAQ and recipe forums, too!

Good luck!

Welcome to The Beach, weathergirl. The Chicks have given you some good suggestions.

Weathergrrl, this is a tough situation! However, I think you still have to make a stand. The pork fat and super carb diets your sister and roommate want to eat aren't healthy for either of them and you do them no favors (nor do you help yourself) when you cater to them. Tell them that if they want that stuff they have to cook it or buy it on their own. As long as you are cooking, this is what's going to be on the menu--you hope they'll try it because it'll help improve their health, too! :D

That said, your roommate may not need to lose weight and your sister definitely shouldn't be following Phase 1 at her young age. So, make sure you provide lots of healthy options for them. For instance, when you make the Taco Bake (see Phase 1 Emergency post in FAQ or recipe forum), you can eat it on shredded cabbage but give your sister and roomie WW tortillas or brown rice. You can freeze most of the starches so you can take out only enough for them to keep from tempting yourself. Put only SBD safe snacks in the house, like Triscuits, soy nuts, veggies, hummus, low fat cheese, Stoned wheat thins, etc.

I don't think Barb's chimed in here yet, but she does a great job of cooking for her husband and son while staying on SBD herself. I bet she'd have more good tips. :)

Good luck hon! :crossed:

Thanks, Laurie. Yes, my family does eat the WW pasta. I buy Hodgson's Mills and the whole family loves it. The lasagna is great. In phase 1 what I did was fixed meals that had sauces and I would serve it with pasta or rice for my family and I would serve it over grated or sliced cabbage for myself. I have just altered many of my pasta recipes to add additional vegetables to them.

For lasagne, I use lean beef but I also add sliced zucchini and/or spinach. Since my son doesn't like the veggies in his lasagne, I leave one corner without the veggies. Most of the things that I cook are eaten by my husband and my eight year old. Even the oven roasted vegetables work since he will eat the asparagus and DH and I eat it all.

Hey Beachcombers!
The ideas you gave me were great, and last night we had a house meeting. I explained to my house that I gotta be me, and me is not a size 22. They seemed really supportive when I suggested some of the ideas you all gave me, and we even attempted a SBD type meal. Just a simple italian dish, but instead of pasta, I used spaghetti squash. just the squash, some shredded zucchini and carrots, olive oil, garlic and fresh parmesean tossed together in a pan. layered some grilled chicken over it, and it was a hit. simple and tasty. My little sister loved the idea of kabobs, and so did my roommate--fingerfoods are fun, she said.

I gotta say, the instant acceptance I have recieved via this forum in the last 24 hours has been supremely gratifying and overwhelming. Instead of being embarrased, I am feeling empowered to know that there are women like me all over the world, and some of you have been so successful that I know I can to, even with my thyroid disease.

I went to the gym last night, for the second time this week, and I plan on going again this evening. Curves for women is a great gym for us girls starting out, and for you older women who can't handle the heavy impact of a big name gym. Plus, no men. Nice. and the trainers there really care. I told them about this support site, and they are going to start telling others.

So thanks, Beachcombers. I have a feeling this is the start of a beautiful friendship.....

Welcome. You do have some challenges but stay tough. I don't have the temptations you do because I am queen of the kitchen. I usually end up cooking a SB safe food for me and then having something different for the family. More often than not they end up eating my food. I have changed most of my recipes to be SB friendly.