Specific idea for the lasagna. See if she'll make lasagna rolls instead of lasagna casserole. Same recipe; just take the pasta, spread the filling on it, then roll it up and place it in the casserole. You can do the same thing for you only using cabbage leaves. Place it in the same casserole dish. Then top with sauce and cheese and bake. Each roll is a serving, and you can do both lower- and higher-carb in the same meal/dish.

I don't really eat a lot of bread or grains myself (even whole-wheat bread is a treat food, not part of my daily diet), but my kids do eat sandwiches and so on. So, if your family is going to continue to eat bread, here's a cost-saving tip: Learn how to make your own. A loaf of high-quality whole-wheat bread can easily cost $3 to $4 around here, but one bag of white whole-wheat flour costs me just a couple of bucks and makes many loaves of bread.

Same goes for many other baked goods. Homemade cookies, muffins, quick breads, brownies etc. are all much cheaper than store-bought. Plus, at least marginally more healthy for you (and do-able on South Beach if you're using Splenda or another sweetener in your baking instead of sugar).

I didnt read all the posts, but i HIGHLY recommend watching the movie fathead. Its on instant watch on netflix, and he proves that you can pretty much eat anything, as long as its under your calorie limit. very Very eye opening.

I completely agree with those who say eat higher fat. There is a great book (forgive me if it was already mentioned as I didn't read all of the posts) called "Good Calories, Bad Calories" that speaks to exactly this. It's a bit of a lengthy read, but packed full of information.

I eat moderate fat, moderate protein, moderate fruits/veggies, and low processed carbs. That means that I eat very tasty food, feel satisfied, and don't crash. Can't beat that!

Also, for what it's worth, I got the whole household eating this way and my daughter (who was probably about 10 pounds overweight - nothing AT ALL serious) lost 6 pounds in six months and has slimmed up. And, as far as the family is concerned, we're just eating yummy food. (Don't worry, I never had concern for my daughter I just know about the loss from her doctor's visits...)

I tell you - adding that fat back into your life will make a world of difference but you need to let go of the overly processed stuff when you do.

One other thing we just added (thanks to Oprah) was one day where we don't have meat. We're enjoying it so much, we are thinking about increasing it to twice a week. Not sure that has anything to do with your question, just sharing.

If you find "Good Calories/Bad Calories" too dry and scientific (and it is a pretty dense read!), you might look for "Why We Get Fat", a new book by the same author (Gary Taubes) covering similar ground in a much more reader-friendly way.