[pink pinball]

i am in phase 2 and i wonder how many of the phase 2 frozen entrees i am allowed--can i eat 1 for lunch and 1 for dinner too? also does anyone know if jellow sugar free pudding snacks are something we can have?

[annarenee]

This is only my opinion...Although technically the Kraft SBD frozen dinners are SBD-friendly...I would try to avoid them. They are highly processed and not really a good whole foods choice. I do eat them when I need a really qucik meal (rarely, though, maybe once or twice a month).

I know you can have the SF Jell-O Pudding that you mix up yourself...I'm not sure about the snack cups. As long as they are SF / FF, I'm sure they are okay.

HTH

[Barb0522]

When we make the SF jello pudding ourselves, we should be using Skim milk. I believe the SF jello pudding cups that my store sells are not fat free or even low fat. Check yours. If they are made with skim milk then they should be okay. It isn't hard to make up a bowl of the pudding yourself and then put it in individual containers to take with you. You can use small snack containers.

I tend to agree with Annarenee on the dinners. South Beach really emphasizes staying away from processed foods and those dinners are not that good for us. You would also have to add extra vegetables if you were eating them in order to get your 4 1/2 cups of veggies that day. I recommend you keep them for rare occasions.

It is easy to have quick meals if you make extra for dinner and freeze it for lunches. I can make up a batch of soup or chili and freeze enough for many lunches. When I make homemade sloppy joes, it makes enough for two dinners.

[beachgal]

Pink! Glad to have you with us!

I realize that everyone has different situations in their lives...if you feel that you are super busy and just don't have any time to cook, that you are looking for a plan where you can mostly 'grab and go,' then you might want to look into a different plan, to be honest. You can look at a ton of different plans and see which is for you by reading the 3FC book...it has awesome reviews! If you like the ideas of South Beach but need to have more processed food for the ease of prep time, you might consider doing Weight Watchers Core program.

If you really feel dedicated to SBD and can find the time to make food yourself, you'll do much better. The basic idea of SBD is to get away from as much processed food as possible...and to eat and feel healthier. The Kraft foods are almost all pretty much chock full of things that aren't technically part of the plan...not sure why Dr. A did it other than to possibly make money or to try to get people who aren't doing anything different to eat a bit healthier. They are certainly healthier, as a whole, than many frozen dinners out there. I know the nutritionist here in town prescribes the SBD granola bars all the time because she says they are the healthiest option out of all the ones available.

Bottom Line: SBD can be pretty easy to do...but you will need to make most of your own meals. A frozen dinner here and there when you're in a pinch is one thing, but making them the majority of your meals is not going to help your health, though you may lose weight.

Hope you find a plan that you know is right for you...and that if SBD is the one, you'll post a thread where we can help you see how easy making most of the food yourself can be.

As to the pudding, while Barb is totally right about it being easier (and cheaper) to make your own pudding, I use the pudding cups all the time. I find it much easier to stick with one portion....when I make my own I end up fudging on portion size. That's just me though... I also like Kozy Shack's NSA pudding cups.