About Kalyn’s Kitchen (How I Lost 42 Pounds and Became a Food Blogger)
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| Photo by Derek Smith |
What is This Blog About?
My name is Kalyn Denny and Kalyn’s Kitchen is the home-cooking blog I started in 2005 when I’d lost over 40 pounds on the original South Beach Diet (affiliate link) and wanted to share my recipes with the world. Now fast forward over 15 years later, and I’m still focused on healthy cooking and have transitioned from teaching elementary school to life as a full-time food blogger. My blog is focused on Easy Carb-Conscious Recipes, and you may want to read this post about different diet types and this blog to see how Kalyn’s Kitchen has evolved through the years.
What hasn’t change is the focus on carb-conscious eating and most recipes you’ll find here are low-carb and gluten-free, many are original South Beach Diet friendly and some are Keto, dairy-free, Paleo, Whole 30, and vegetarian or vegan. (If you’re following a certain way of eating you can use the Diet Type Index to see what recipes I have for your particular way of eating. There are also orange diet-type tags at the top of each recipe showing which diets I feel that recipe is suitable for.)
The carb-conscious recipes I like to create are often suitable for weight-loss or controlling blood sugar, even though I am not advocating one specific eating plan. And I’m not a low-carb fanatic and not every single recipe here is ultra low carb, but all the recipes on the site are geared towards carb-conscious eating and many thousands of people per day use this site as a source for the deliciously healthy low-carb recipes that I love to create.
Information That May Be Helpful:
Have questions? Check out the Frequently Asked Questions which might answer them. And if not, here’s How to Contact Kalyn.
Support for the South Beach Diet:
Because The original South Beach Diet was so life-changing for me, I tried to make this site a resource for other people who are following it. You can read more about that on the page for Low Carb Diet / South Beach Diet Information and Resources.
What Other Diets are My Recipes Suitable For?
I try to make my blog useful for people following many types of carb-conscious diets. You can use photo-index pages for the following diet types:
Low Carb Recipes that are low in carbs and suitable for any type of Low-Carbohydrate Diet.
Can Be Keto The lowest carb/highest fat recipes on the site, suitable for Ketogenic diets.
(The site also has plenty of low-glycemic recipes, which are Carb-conscious recipes suitable for Low-Glycemic Diets. These are recipes that might not be strictly low in carbs, but have ingredients that don’t raise blood sugar.)
The Original South Beach Diet Recipes for Phase One, Two, and Three of the original South Beach Diet.
Dairy Free Recipes with no dairy products.
Gluten Free Gluten-Free recipes.
Vegetarian Both Vegetarian and Vegan recipes..
How Kalyn’s Kitchen Got Started
Often people ask me how I started the blog, and Kalyn’s Kitchen actually began with an offhand remark made by my brother Rand. One day in early 2005 I was complaining about how hard it was to keep up with friends asking for recipes, and he said, “Maybe you should just put your recipes on a blog.” At that time I had no idea there were people on the internet writing about food, and certainly could never have imagined how food blogging would ultimately change my life.
My Family is the Greatest
My talented brother Rand still does graphics for the blog and creates beautiful pins and Facebook videos, and Kalyn’s Kitchen certainly wouldn’t be the same without him. (Thanks Rand!) He’s also a willing taste tester whenever he makes a visit to Utah.
I also have eight more brothers and sisters who do a lot to enrich my life. Thanks to my sisters, brothers, sister-in-laws, and brother in laws Sandee, Clayton, Pam, Kelly, Mark, Lisa, Janet, Dave, Amy, Laurel, Carl, Vida, Dan, Val, and Jon for all they do for me. There are also 39 nieces and nephews and more than 75 great-nieces and nephews who occasionally make an appearance on the blog, including my nephew Jake and my niece Kara, who are my cooking assistants on a regular basis.
My Life Before Blogging
In my previous life I had a business organizing catered houseboat trips at Utah’s Lake Powell. That was a lot of trips to Lake Powell, but for my day job, I was an elementary school teacher for 30 years, and it’s always fun when former students find me through the blog. During my teaching career I served as President of the Davis Education Association, and was also a board member of the Utah Education Association and the National Education Association. I retired from teaching in 2009 to become a full-time food blogger.
Other Blogging Adventures
In addition to working on Kalyn’s Kitchen I also feature from-scratch slow cooker recipes from food bloggers all around the web for my other blog Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker.
For years I was also writing about food at BlogHer.com, and even though I have now “retired” from that position, I’m still a big fan of the BlogHer/SheMedia organization and am proud of my association with them.
I’ve been lucky enough to speak about blogging at a few conferences. I was the moderator of a panel on The Art of Food Blogging at BlogHer Conference 2007 and participated in a panel about Food Blogging Best Practices at BlogHerFood 2009. I was also on a panel about Secrets of Successful Food Blogging at SXSW Interactive 2009, a panel about Food Blogging: Beyond the Basics at the IACP Conference in 2011, a panel on Building Blog Traffic Through Social Media at BlogHerFood 2012, and a panel on Pinterest at BlogHerFood 2015.
Kalyn’s Kitchen has received some nice mentions in print media and other places on the web, and I appreciate all the publications and sites who have featured my work (although for quite a few years now I haven’t been doing a good job at all of adding things to that page!)
Kalyn’s Kitchen Through the Years:
(These are the anniversary posts I’ve made each year on the birthday of my blog.)
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns One
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Two
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Three
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Four
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Five
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Six
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Seven
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Eight
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Nine
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Ten
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Eleven
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Twelve
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns Thirteen
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns 14 (and Kalyn Examines her Bucket List)
Kalyn’s Kitchen Turns 15 (and Three Questions for Readers)
Kalyn’s Kitchen is Sweet Sixteen!
212 Comments on “About Kalyn’s Kitchen (How I Lost 42 Pounds and Became a Food Blogger)”
Just stumbled across your site while looking for SBD recipes. I don't really like to cook and hate "planning" meals especially when they are specific to a particular way of eating. It looks like I found the jackpot with your site/recipes. Thanks so much for sharing all of this!!
Hi Chrissee,
Hope it will be helpful for you!
Hello Kalyn, Such great recipes and bravo for your organizational skills and hard work. Somewhat like you, I lost 30 pounds on low carbing (started with SBD and switched to Atkins) and I attribute much of it to being able to cook and make my own meals. On another note, I love legumes and miss them so one idea is to use canned black soybeans. To soften the texture, I drain, rinse and freeze in a Ziplock bag. I pull out a couple tablespoons when I need them and add to salads, taco mix, etc. Some of my local supermarkets carry them but sometimes, I need to go to a health food store. The brand I use is Eden. Thanks again for all your hard work and your great recipes.
Thanks Teresa. I still eat dried beans in small amounts and this sounds like a good way to help with portion control. Thanks for sharing!
Kalyn,
Is there any way to turn off the Blogher pop-up that comes up at the bottom of every page. It is so annoying and dissuades me from visiting your site. I can understand if it pops up on the home page, but to have it pop up on every page you navigate to on this site is just not very friendly. If there's a way to stop it, please let me know.
I'm sorry it bothers you, but I have no plans to get rid of that ad. If I didn't have ads on the blog I'd have to accept money to promote products, and that's something I'm just not willing to do.
Hi there! I enjoy your blog and would like to ask you a question about it over email, could you let me know where to reach you?
If you click the link in this post that says "How to Contact Kalyn" it takes you to a page with my e-mail address.
Hi Kalyn, what a great website and amazing recipes!! My husband loves the Broccoli, Ham, and Mozzarella Baked with Eggs recipe that I cooked last weekend :)))
Thanks Melissa; glad you are enjoying the recipes.
I just recently discovered the K. Kitchen blog and signed up for the daily e-mails. Great recipes! I saw your "Shop Amazon And Support This Site" phrase on the r.h. side of the page, but didn't see a clickable link. I'll be placing an order with them soon and wanted to start via your site. Other sites that I support each have links to Amazon that I've actually bookmarked, so that whenever I start an order I just review my list, select one bookmark and off we go to shop!
Thanks – also just signed up for your slow cooker blog!
Steve
Thanks Steve! If you enter something into the search bar on the right and hit search, that will take you to Amazon.com, and anything you buy there will support my site.
Hi Kalyn…I go to your every week for new ideas. I'm not sure if I'd written you before but I just wanted to say AGAIN how much I love your site. I love the recipes, the pictures, the humor in the writing AND most of all (I think) is all the links you post to help with the references. So glad you created this site…and so glad I found it!!! Keep up the GREAT work, it's really appreciated!!
PS…I don't like to cook…but your recipes are SO easy!!! <3
Thanks Suzanne, so glad you are enjoying the site! Thanks for taking time to tell me; that always makes my day.
I love this blog so much and it's been a great resource. I was wondering if you were ever considering making some of the recipes into a e-cookbook (or if you already have one and I just have failed to find it)?
Renee Claire, thanks for the nice feedback. I've turned down a few offers to do a paper cookbook, because I figured why would people buy it when they can get the recipes for free on the blog. But I have been giving serious thought to doing a "Best of Kalyn's Kitchen" type e-book. Maybe if I could find a good person to help with the project because I can barely keep up with my blogs right now as it is.
I just found your site searching summer soups. It all looks fantastic. Looking forward to digging deeper.
Welcome Julia, hope you enjoy!
I'm really glad I found your site! I made your Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas Recipe with Ground Beef and Cilantro tonight. It turned out great! I added sun-dried tomatoes and lime to put my own twist on it. I found a few more recipes of yours I want to start out with and I can only imagine how many more I will make. Thank you for sharing your journey!
Hi Kalyn, I used to put your recipes in my zip list recipe box and I had a little bookmark on my tool bar. I understand we can now use epicurious recipe box-which I have also-but I don't know what icon to use for automatically transfering it/=. Is there one?
Thanks
Hi Tobie,
All I know about Epicurious is in this post. I'm not going to add a special button for them (kind of frustrated with the idea of that after what a pain it was to promote Ziplist for a few years and have them shut it down) but I know that if you use Evernote, it can be accessed through the last button (green one) in my row of social media buttons.
BTW, I will check and see if Epicurious can be added to the options there, but I'm doubtful.
Okay, just checked on that and Epicurious is not an option there, sorry!
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your recipes. I got recent doctor's orders to cut down on carbs, and your blog has been a wonderful resource!
You feature a lot of my favorite ingredients. But you also a lot of ingredients I wouldn't normally cook, but packaged in interesting ways that I'm definitely going to try. (For instance, the mashed cauliflower with cheese and dill was a definite success tonight.)
I look forward to cooking my way through all of the recipes I've bookmarked so far 🙂
Kalyn, just stumbled upon your blog after a bunch of clicks on Pintrest! Glad I found it! I recently lost 15 pounds on Weight Watchers, and while it's not the South Beach Diet, they are very similar in the way the plan is followed. (if you are familiar with WW I am on the Simply Filling Plan) I'm always looking for new recipe ideas, and after reading your blog, you need to know I just got back from the supermarket purchasing a ton of ingredients featured in your recipes! I tweak them a bit to fit in with my WW lifestyle and my husband already asked me "who is the Kalyn and why is her website now programmed as our home page every time I use the computer?" !! Need I say more? Thank you!
Sincerely,
Lori Dateno – a new fan
Elaine, obviously you can use any ingredients you'd like, but the cookies won't be sugar free if you use brown sugar or cane sugar. I've made those cookies with both Splenda and Stevia in the raw granulated and both worked well, but I haven't made with other types of sweeteners so I can't say how it will work. I imagine it would be fine though.
Hello Kalyn, I fell upon your site last week and have since printed out a few recipes to try. The one Im most excited to try are you flour free sugar free chocolate peanut butter cookies. I showed it to my boyfriend and he is not thrilled at al with the idea of usinf any substite sugars! sheesh! lol..Can I add more brown sugar? How much?Or can I use Cane Brown Sugar?
Please get back asap Im dying to make tese. Thank you Elaine
Mom~ster, †hanks so much!
Kalyn,
So many of your recipes are in our go to recipe box. My kiddos are getting older now and they are starting to enjoy them too. After a busy and somewhat sedentary fall/winter we are renewing our pursuit of healthier eating so I'm back to get more ideas. Always love your recipes and recommend them to people all the time…you have a knack of making healthy food taste better than junk food…which I love. Just wanted to wish you a great new year.
Kalyn,
So many of your recipes are in our go to recipe box. My kiddos are getting older now and they are starting to enjoy them too. After a busy and somewhat sedentary fall/winter we are renewing our pursuit of healthier eating so I'm back to get more ideas. Always love your recipes and recommend them to people all the time…you have a knack of making healthy food taste better than junk food…which I love. Just wanted to wish you a great new year.
Thanks Catherine; glad you have been enjoying the vegetarian recipes! I am not a vegetarian, but I am trying to eat mostly vegetables myself (and enjoying it!)
I've tried several of your recipes, and they have been perfect for my husband and me as we transition to vegetarianism! It seems like every time I see a link to a recipe that looks good, I end up getting shunted over to your blog. I think it's a sign that I just go ahead and subscribe already! Added you to my reader!
–Catherine
Kalyn, Congratulations on your weight loss success! Thanks for so many great recipes too! I can relate, I lost alot of weight after juicing fresh fruits & vegetables & it inspired me to start my own blog too…thanks again!
Frank
Good luck with your new commitment to healthier eating!
Kalyn! I found you on a website on a list called "100 Food Blogs to Inspire Your Healthy Eating." Your blog is definitely an inspiration – I've been eating unhealthy all my life, convinced that a healthy diet equated yucky, boring food. But your blog has convinced me otherwise, because all your food looks delicious! I can't wait to try out one of your recipes.
I've been reading your blog for a few years now and just recently decided to try my hand at this. I just wanted to let you know that your site is only one of a handful that I visit on a regular basis. My favorite recipe from your site is the halibut with parmesan sour cream sauce. Best Wishes!
Jay, so glad you are enjoying the recipes and learning to enjoy cooking.
The wife and I are doing the South Beach and love it! I'm a full time student now since being laid off and have taken over all the house duties including all the cooking. I'm traditionally not someone found in the kitchen doing anything other than eating and am completely new to cooking. Your blog is a treasure! Thank you for providing such wonderful and easy to make recipes. You've gained a reader for life! I made black bean marinated chicken thighs tonight and they were a huge hit and OMG your Brussels with pecans and gorgonzolla. Sigh….
I found your blog via Pintrest and I am so glad I did!! Your recipes looks wonderful and I can't wait to try them out! Thanks!!
Hi Nancy,
One reason I chose South Beach to manage my weight is because I didn't want to calculate points, carbs, calories, etc, so I'm afraid I don't know a program that does that. But I bet you could find one pretty easily if you google something like "calculate nutritional information." I'm guessing there are many options available, I just wouldn't know one to recommend.
Happy New Year Kalyn. I discovered your blog in 2011. I always love your the look and sound of your recipes. I would love to have the nutrition information on many of them. Just wondering if you have a suggestion for what would be the easiest way for me to get that. Is there a software I could plug them into that would give me that?
Thank you!!!
Kalyn,
I just wanted to let you know that I make at least one of your recipes EVERY week… if not more 🙂 And I love blogging about them!
Thanks for doing what you do!
Nikki
Kay what a wonderful before and after story. This comment really made my day. (And I can't quite get the hang of Zumba, so my hat is off to you for that!) So glad the blog has been this helpful for you.
Dear Kalyn,
At the age of 51, and a dance teacher by profession, I had pretty much given up losing weight. Believe me, I tried….for 10 YEARS!!!! To most people, I didn't look that bad, I hid it well! I had lots of excuses, 5 kids (Including twins), thyroid disease, approaching menopause……I looked around me, and thought I still looked o.k. for a woman my age. The problem for me was, I felt lousy all the time. I was tired, and I felt old! BUT….something happened! I decided to give it one more try, and went on the South Beach diet. Your recipes were the ONLY thing that helped teach me what I needed to do, to stay on this diet. I can proudly say, I have lost 35 pounds, and my BMI went from 31 to 20!! I went from struggling through the 6 dance classes I taught each week, to currently teaching 20 classes per week, half of them Zumba! I feel like I am in my 20's and most think I am in my 30's!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for helping all of us people who don't know where to begin with this diet! A week doesn't go by where I don't show people, before pictures of me, and I always tell them to check out your webpage if they really want to know how I did it!
Miranda, how fun to hear that. Still hanging in there (with quite a few times going back to phase one for a little tune-up!)
I just found your website from an old Woman's World magazine of 2006. Crazy! So great to hear that you're still going strong on being healthy and posting great recipes :).
Sam, I am sold on it as well! And truthfully I don't think it's that hard to follow it. Just get back on phase one if you get off track; I do that several times each year.
I think the South Beach diet is the best. We've pretty much adapted it as our lifestyle.
Sam
Stacey, you're welcome and good luck!
Thank you for your wonderful website! My husband and I just started the south beach diet and after two weeks, it has changed our lives too. I love food and am happy to discover that we can still enjoy food.
I am not really qualified to give that kind of advice. I recommend you read the books so you understand how the various phases work. Phase one is generally recommended for two weeks, at which time you start to add things back into your diet.
hi! your blog is very inspiring!
i need your advice. i need to lose 30 lbs at least and i want to know how long should i stay in phase 1? is there a formula like phase 1 for 2 weeks then 2 weeks for phase 2 then go back to phase 1 for 2 weeks?
i'm just on day 3 of SBD phase 1 and as of end of day 2, i already lost 1.5 lbs!
thanks!
Marilia, welcome. It really does work doesn't it? (BTW, love your name.)
So happy I found your Blog and wonderful recipes! I've been a South Beach believer since I first tried a few years back and had success folowing it.
Looking forward being your follower too! Thank you!
Marilia Clark
Dallas, TX
SP, Thanks for the nice feedback about the blog! Hope you have fun with yours. I like the way the blog is always forcing me to learn new things.
Hi Kalyn,
While I'm not a South Beach dieter, I've been very inspired by your blog. Food is a major part of my life in terms of it bringing family and friends together. The way that you've beautifully put together your blog with all the lovely pictures is amazing, and looking at it has actually spurred me to create my own blog about my food experiences (with my girlfriend). We really enjoy looking through your site! Thanks for sharing your food!
Hope you enjoy the recipes!
Hello Kalyn!
You are so inspirational and I love how your recipes are oh so healthy yet look absolutely delish! Definitely looking forward to trying some soon! First up on the list are your egg muffins! 🙂 Keep up the good work!!
xx
Kathy, welcome and hope the recipes will be useful for you.
Just found your blog while looking for South Beach Phase One recipes on the internet. Am so excited to use some of your recipes which look delicious! I am a South Beach fan, have had success on it in the past, but have lost my way in recent times, so have made a comittment to get back at it. I've got my spouse doing it with me, so I KNOW I will need recipe variety to keep him interested and to keep me on track. I'm a Master Gardener, love to cook and am a published home and garden and cooking juournalist, having had my own newspaper column in the past. So nice to find you and klook forward to checking in often!
Rachel, what a fun adventure to live in Singapore. I went to China in 2001 and loved visiting Asia. If you can't find Spike, any general-purpose seasoning blend will work. And good luck with the diet; I promise it will work if you stick with it!
Hello! I did a google search today for "south beach diet recipes" and found your blog. I was amazed at all you have to offer here! Thank you so much for taking the time to share what you know with us. I'm really looking forward to trying your recipes. I just started phase 1 today and am optimistic about losing the extra 15 pounds I'm carrying at the moment. I'm an American living in Singapore, so not sure I'll be able to find the Spike seasoning you mentioned on some recipes, but you never know. If not, I'll just substitute until I can buy a few jars during my trip home this summer. Thanks again for such a great blog! Best regards, Rachel
Really enjoying your blog and can't wait to spend some more time looking around. You've got a real talent for creating recipes… and healthy ones to boot!
I look forward to being inspired by things I find here 😀
-Mary
Sara, thanks so much for that nice feedback. I love knowing that my blog is helpful for people, and getting a comment like this really makes my day.
Hi Kalyn,
I have been following your blog/recipes for about 7 weeks now. I started South Beach around that time and wanted some good recipes. I've lost about 17lbs so far and your recipes are amazing! My favorite is the Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas with Cilantro. Yum! You have definitely helped me open up my eyes on the world of cooking and vegetables. I'm eating veggies that I've never tried before just because of your blog! I love going to the store and picking out whatever is on sale because I know you'll have a great recipe for it. So thank you again for all your hard work at making these recipes, I'm sure I'm not the first to say they are much appreciated.
Alex, thanks for the nice feedback. I do love knowing that people are using the recipes, enjoying the food, *and* having good results from the diet. Thanks for taking time to write.
Kalyn,
I wanted to say thank you so much for this wonderful website. There has not been a recipe that I have tried that has not been fabulous! Everyone rants over the food I make and I tell them about you!
I too am a SBDieter. I lost 27lbs my first go round and kept it off for two years. After the birth of my daughter I lost the weight with South Beach again and am now smaller than I was before!
This lifestyle works and I feel so much more healthy and alive! I love that this site has so many new and exciting ways to eat healthy. Thanks for all that you do!
Alex in S.C.
Thanks Diane, Fun hearing from someone who grew up in Ogden.
I am looking forward to making some of the good recipe soups. Born and raised in Ogden, Utah, I know the value of home cooked recipes and canning. I took the skills with me when I moved to Miami. I enjoy your site.
Hi Maria,
Glad to hear you're enjoying the phase one recipes, and that the food is getting the approval of your husband as well!
Hey Kalyn,
I'm a new reader & just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your blog and especially your recipes. My hubby & I are in the midst of our 2 weeks of Phase 1(again). SBD is pretty much the only way for me to lose weight w/ an underactive thyroid but the limited food choices made it VERY difficult to stick to the diet. Thanks to you, Phase one is a little less drudgery than it was before. Also, thanks for the tip about reduced-sugar ketchup. I made your cocktail sauce for Hubby last night & he said it was great! He's a food snob, so "great" is not an adjective he uses very often. 🙂
Nicole, that's great. So glad it's helpful to you.
Hi Kalyn,
Just wanted to tell you that I love your blog! You are doing a fantastic job and I truly appreciate everything you have done.
I am a vegetarian just finishing up my first week back on the South Beach Diet. I've done the diet before, but very quickly became sick of eggs and salad. I'm also a beginner cook so finding appropriate recipes has been very frustrating for me.
Your blog gives so many wonderful Phase One vegetarian options! I'm excited to continue with the diet knowing that there's a resource out there that will help me on my journey.
Thank you for everything you do!
Nicole
I'm not sure if these two comments were from the same person (and I was publishing from my phone, so I couldn't reply right away) but I think 20 pounds by the end of November is definitely not realistic. It's probably a big goal even for the end of December. Just start on phase one and concentrate on eating the right kinds of foods, and I promise you will steadily lose weight. I would start by reading the book if haven't read it.
Good Luck!
Kalyn
Hi: Im just getting started on my SBD today. I have LOTS of weight to lose…..80lbs…..so I will make my first goal taday of 20 pounds by the end of December
Today is my first day on the South Beach diet. I am determined….I have over 50 pounds to lose. I will say around 80. But taking small steps so I will stay on track. My first goal is to lose 20 pounds by the end of November…..is that too much?
Ritters, good luck this time. Hope the blog will be helpful for you.
Wow you blog is great! I am about ready to start the SBD again for the second time. This time with my husband. The first time I did it was when it first came out. I am so excited about you blog because I don't want to eat the bland tasteless food I ate last time on was on SBD. Thank you so much for your time in effort.
Wow.It is a long time since I last came here.This blog is my favourite.I had taken some information from this blog.
Thanks Kalyn.
Taiko, thanks so much for the nice feedback. If you're having trouble on phase 2, my brother and I often go from phase one to what we call phase 1.5 where we continue to eat phase one foods mostly with one small item a day that's phase two (like a small serving of rice, a piece of bread, or a starchier vegetable.) That can help stretch out the benefits of phase one for another week or two and make an slower transition to phase two! Good luck!
Dear Kalyn,
Thanks for such a very informative blog. I came across your site when I was looking for some cooking ideas for a dinner party I'm throwing and I am kind of stalling in South Beach Diet Phase 2 (with some misdeed here and there), but I just want to say I really appreciate what you're doing with the blog and the phenomenal recipes.
Thank you so much and greetings from Tokyo!
I am going to do my first attempts to stay thin, well I have been thin all of my life and now hitting the 30 something is not as it used to be. I hear about the South Beach diet all of the time (I live in Miami), so I will give it a try, although I am not happy about having to limit what foods I can eat, but the more I age, the more this comes a reality.
Cheers,
I love your blog!
Hi Kalyn.
I just wanted to tell you that I find your site to be extremely inspirational. I'm only looking to lose about 10 pounds, but find this 10 pounds to be extremely stubborn. I genetically carry it around my middle, which is extremely unattractive, makes clothes fit weirdly, and is the most dangerous, especially with a family history plagued by heart disease. My research indicates that a low glycemic style of eating is most beneficial for my body type and will help with the tummy flub. Thank you for the site. I love to download and try recipes and your site will be my "go to" place as I start phase 1 tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Teresa
Sarah you can check my link for "losing some weight on the web" (in the left sidebar) for other blogs focused on weight loss. Not sure if any are specifically South Beach but you might find some recipes that will work.
I just came across your blog when I was searching for SB diet phase 1 recipes–what a great resource!!! I am saving it on my favorites so I can refer to it often =)
Thought I might ask–are there any other free websites you recommend for recipes for South Beach? My friend and I are starting it this week for the first time and are searching for more recipes, that perhaps our families would enjoy also? Any advice is much appreciated–thanks in advance!
Sarah
Nancy, you're very welcome, glad to hear you're enjoying the recipes.
Kalyn! You are providing such an amazing public service!!! I started the South Beach Diet two weeks ago and immediately found your site. I LOVE to cook and LOVE to eat delicious, fresh foods. I am so impressed with your recipes and have already tried several (Greek meatballs, tsadziki, roasted cauliflower, white bean/basil spread) and have found it very inspiring. I'm down about 8 lbs. and have 40 more to go. Having access to such great ideas will make this journey much easier. Thanks again – Nancy in California
I found your blog from Pioneer Woman's favorite blog sites. I started SB on 1/11/10 and I've already lost 22 lbs! I love to cook and I'm so excited that I found this blog. I just became a Facebook fan too!
Elisabeth, welcome. (I hope to visit the Netherlands someday!)
Becca, thanks! I love getting that feedback.
Hi Kalyn,
I just want to say , I love your website. I'm a cook as well and doing the South Beach Diet is easy, when you're fun and creative with the food. I love the way you have this all set up . And, I am always going to your site first when I need a bit of motivation for my cooking. Keep up the excellent work ! and KEEP BLOGGING!!!
Becca
Hi, I stumbled on your blog 6 months ago looking for a sweet potato receipe, and since then found it very inspiring! I love gardening and cooking. Now I want to loose 20 pounds so I am going to read about South beach diet. I know I have a great source for receipies! Greetings from the netherlands
Kathy, hang in there and I promise you it will work!
Hello Kalyn: I have just started the South Beach Diet and roaming on google found this site. Your recipes look amazing. I can hardly wait to try some of them. You will be my inspiration to carry on. I have already lost 5 lbs since starting and have 46 more to go. I am sure that your recipes will help me along the way.
Thanks
Kathy
Patti, I'd say that's completely your choice, no rules about it. Personally I never mind losing an extra pound or two to have a little more leeway when I go off of phase one though.
I have a question – since I only have 5 pounds to get back to where I want to be and I've started Phase I again, do I go ahead for the whole 2 weeks or just until I've dropped that 5#? I really don't want to lose any more than 5. That weight is perfect for me. Thanks for your expertise!
Oh Patti, you are not a failure. I can't tell you how many times in five years I've slipped and gone back to phase one again to recover! That's one reason I love this diet. Good luck to you and thanks for the nice thoughts about the blog!
Kalyn – your website is a godsend. I started SB back in September and have lost 20 pounds (my goal). I had kept it off up until Christmas and now I am back up 5 pounds. I have felt so defeated and out of control and to be honest, like a failure. I started back to hard core Phase I this morning, and after looking through your website, I see this is somewhat normal. I'm not going to beat myself up but instead just get back into it and all will be ok. SB is the only diet I have ever been able to do that I'm not starved to death. My favorite part is the lack of cravings. Thanks for your help and support. I'm writing up my grocery list for the week and have included several of your recipes. God Bless!
Rich, what a wonderful comment! I'm thrilled to hear that your family has had such success and that my blog has been helpful. (That pretty much made my day!)
I just wanted to say thanks for all your work on this site. Two of my daughter in laws started South Beach a little over a year ago and had great results. My wife and I started last January with the same amazing results. We just restarted phase one to take off a little holiday gain and to jump start another year. I want to lose some more to go back to my high school weight. That will be 85 lbs total and it is do able. Most people groan when they think about losing weight. Your site has helped make SB eating enjoyable. You do not need sugar to make foods enjoyable. None of this has been bland or boring. If anything I have enjoyed using different foods and spices. Our whole family enjoys it now. Keep up the interesting site. I suggest it to anyone who asks how I have lost so much weight. PS our family on SB has shed over 160 lbs total and are all healthier and happier!
Jerry, you're welcome! There really are a lot of tasty options. Good luck to you. (Stick with it and I know it will work!)
I just discovered your site and I can't tell you how happy I was to find it. I was beginning the South Beach Diet and was thinking that the recipes were pretty bland. Then I found your site and I feel encouraged that I can attain my goals. Thank you for this site and your hard work and dedication.
Schmooman, I don't know a lot about eating specifically eating to control diabetes, but I know there is a lot of overlap between low-glycemic cooking and diabetes friendly cooking. I think most of my recipes should work for you, especially the ones that are phase one or two. Good luck.
Kalyn-I was referred to your site by Stephanie at crockpot.365. My DH was diagnosed with diabetes last week, and what I can grasp thus far really seems not to be strictly focused on only getting rid of sugar but regulating carbs, so this sounds ideal! I'll probably need to get the books, but I think your site is going to be a wonderful resource!
Thank goodness my hubby is a big veggie lover! It's still an adjustment, but not so much of one as it might be!
Whenever I find myself needing diet inspiration I always end up on your blog. Thank you.
Hope, you're welcome, and I do think this type of diet will be great for you! It really changed my life, good luck as you go about changing your way of eating.
Kalyn,
I found your blog via another food blog that I read and what a breath of fresh air! I need to lose about 10-12 lbs and really am interested in the South Beach diet/low glycemic index eating. I suffer from PCOS and we want to try to start a family early next year…..I think eating low GI foods will help us with that. Thank you for creating a blog that shares with us non-veteran South Beachers your wonderful recipes!
~Hope
Maura, so glad to hear you're enjoying the blog. I promise, you can eat good food and lose weight (and keep it off too!) Good luck, and nice to hear from you.
Hi Kalyn,
I am just starting South Beach Phase 1 and came across your wonderful blog. I have appooximately 50 lbs to lose and have gained steadily over the past few years. I am a devoted foodie with a huge cookbook collection (lots from Cook's Illustrated), shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and order my spices from Penzey's. I have been living in dread of going on a diet. I thought it would mean surrendering all my good cooking and eating for Weight Watcher's entrees. I have been studying your site for a number of days and cannot tell you how thrilled I am to find wonderful recipes from a fellow devoted cook and foodie. I find the South Beach notes at the end of your recipes particularly helpful and can actually imagine cooking food that complies with the various phases of South Beach.
I cannot thank you enough for your huge contribution. I feel optimistic about making this change in my life.
Maura
Merriam family, hope you will find my blog to be useful. I agree, the glycemic index has really been the key to eating well without gaining weight for me!
Oh bless you for making this blog! I just found it and it is a Godsend! I will return often. 🙂 I recently started using agave nectar. It has been quite helpful. Low glycemic is the only thing that keeps my body from getting out of whack. I notice that I can use whole wheat in all sorts of things since I have been grinding it with a grinder that grinds it very fine. Wow – what a difference! My husband will say, "now this is whole wheat?" and is very pleased.
Thanks everyone for the nice thoughts! Regarding Salad dressing for the South Beach Diet, simply check the sugar grams on the label. Anything with 2-3 grams of sugar per serving or less is fine. ( used to try to stay under 2 grams of sugar, but the latest book says 3 grams.) You'll find there are lots of commercial dressing that will work. (Don't buy fat free dressing which has added sugar.) I usually check to be sure the dressing has olive oil or soybean oil, (not a saturated fat) which most do.
I just wanted to say again how much i love your blog!
I also had a quaestion for you….when you shop for salad dressing what do you buy? I useally get balsamic vin. and oil and vinager. are these considered low carb? also what a bout a low carbn cesear? do you know of one?
Thank you so much for this blog! I was struggling to find tasty things to cook during phase 1 (and later) and your blog is so much help. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kaylyn,
I came across your blog searching for the infamous Cafe Rio dressing recipe. Thank you for sharing. We are using it tonight for a rather "large group." I sent it to the others who are preparing it and it has become a big hit.
(then again, is anything from Cafe Rio not?) After exploring your blog, I have become hooked. Amazing and well done! Keep on cooking, Leslie
Pam, thanks so much. I do work pretty hard on it, but it's a lot of fun!
I just discovered your blog. It is really professional. I enjoy it very much…Keep up the good work. : )
Gracie, that's fantastic! Thanks for sharing the news.
Thank you so much for sharing. I have had the South Beach Diet book for years and never got past day 2 or 3 on Phase I. I stumbled on to Kalyn's Kitchen when I was looking for recipes for SB that my family wouold like. Anyway, I completed phase I and lost 8 pounds. I am now on to Phase II.
Thanks again!
Hi Kalyn! I just found your blog today and I LOVE it! Everything looks so yummy, and yet I can see that they are recipes that are good for us. I'm planning to try one new recipe per week in an attempt to start cooking and eating more at home (I've developed a horrible fast-food habit). I can already see that I'll be trying many of your recipes. I'm also excited to see that we live in the same state. Congrats on your great blog!
I just found this site and its what I need to cook for my husband. He lost 40 lbs on south beach, but I want to cook meals that we can eat as a family. I need some suggestions so as not to eat the plain ingredients to a point we cant stand them anymore.
Rebecca, good luck on your South Beach journey. I know it will work if you follow the plan. If you haven't read it, I recommend you get the book at and read it, which will help you understand why some foods are recommended and others aren't.
Hey Kalyn,
I have just found you blog and web-site and am amazed at the food, receipe selection, and advice you have. I have just started SB and survived the first 2 weeks (with just a few slip ups). Getting my family on it too in Phase 2. We all want to eat healthy and live that way for life. I live in Roy, UT. Good job. I will be back soon. Thank you, again. :}
Connie, good for you! I also had a big improvement in blood pressure and cholesterol numbers when I started eating this way (enough that I've been off medication for more than 4 years now.) Hope you enjoy the blog!
Hi Kalyn,
I was referred here by a friend just starting SB. I lost 30 lbs on SB back in 2006 and love how good I feel on this eating program. I also lost 32 points each in my Blood Pressure and Cholesterol levels when I lost the weight, so it has truly been a blessing for my health. I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to eat healthy and will enjoy following your blog!
Connie ;p
Mary, I really can't make suggestions like that as there is no way for me to know what foods you like and there are literally hundreds of dishes on the blog that could make a good lunch. I suggest using the search box, type in some things you like and look at the recipes. Or type the ingredients you have and you'll get recipe suggestions.
Good luck!
Congrats on your retirement. I'm jealous as I have at least 7 years to go! Could you suggest what foods to take for a healthy South Beach lunch at school? We do have a microwave, but need to eat in 20 minutes. Thanks for all you do.
Wendy, thanks for the nice feedback. I'm using an older model Canon Rebel XT, but I do have a number of very good lenses (especially the 50mm 1.8 and the 100mm macro lens.) If I ever get through with my house renovations and get the house refinanced, I want to get a better camera, although I love this one and have really had good success with it. I bought the camera at Costco, where they often had good deals on the newer models of Rebel.
Hi Kalyn!
I love your recipes! I found you by googling summer squash recipes two years ago and came across the "creamed" zucchini recipe. What a fabulous tasting and easy recipe!
What I love are the pictures you take of your food. They're great. And I know you listed it in your blog but can't find it now but what camera are you using to take these pictures?
Keep creating these wonderful recipes (and pictures!)
Beth, you're welcome and good luck for continued success!
Hi Kalyn! I am just wrapping up phase 1 and am down 8.5 pounds. My hubby is also down 7. I am excited to go into phase 2 and am looking for exciting recipes that don't make my husbands face all scrunched up! Lol. Your website is just wonderful. Thanks for all of your hard work and helping other South Beach hopefuls! 🙂
Beth
Chesterfield, Mi
Claudia, you can buy the dressing at Costco in Utah. I wrote about it here:
Le Parisien Vinaigrette.
Hi. I found your Blog when I was searching for Max Mercier's Salad Dressing. I know that Max passed away several years ago. He used to make the dressing at his home for me many years ago. It's too bad it's not sold anywhere any longer. Do you happen to have his recipe?
Thanks Claudia,
e-mail: camaral@canyonco.org
Hello Kalyn,
Thanks for your recipes for us “South Beachers”. It was wonderful to find your site today I have already made the roasted Garbanzo beans that were really yummy!
Congrats on the big weight loss and for being able to keep it off! 🙂
Richard, thanks for the feedback. I’m currently using a Canon Rebel (I have a three year old model rebel, but if I was buying it now, I’d buy the Canon XSi, great camera. The two lenses I use most are the Canon 100mm macro lens (pricey, but a great lens for food) and the very inexpensive Canon 50mm 1.8 lens.
I feel like I’m barely starting to get the hang of photographing food after three years, and hope to get a more professional camera soon, but truly I’ve loved my Rebel and it’s a great all purpose digital dSLR camera.
Hi Kalyn,
Great blog! Very useful; thank you.
One question: What camera/lens do you typically use to take your photos? The pictures are very nice!
I am a Chinese who lives changchun, jilin province(the northeast of China) , I like cooking very much. I like you recipes , hope hear more from you
yours
Dongdong
Anonymous, good job! Stick with it and you’ll be surprised how well it works and what good foods you can eat.
Hello!
I ran across this website last week when I first started South Beach and thought it was great so I wanted to log on and tell you how my last 5 days has went. I’m down 6.2lbs. in 5 days, I can’t wait to see what the end of the 2 weeks is going to bring. Good luck to everyone. I have way more to lose.
Anonymous, wish I could help. I bought halloumi quite a few times at Smiths on 2100 South, but the last few times I went to buy it there they didn’t have it any more.
I live in Salt Lake too and have a food crisis. I picked out a recipe to serve tonight with haloumi cheese in it, and can’t find it anywhere. You mentioned finding some here in the city, where? I know I can make something different, but I really don’t want to and would love your help. Thanks!
Whitney, I’ve never grown it from seed. I always find the plants for sale here in Utah, have gotten them at several garden centers. Sorry don’t know where to get seeds, but worth looking for! You might try searching for Really Big Butternut; I’ve seen it called that too.
Kalyn,
I am searching the web looking for Really Big Squash seeds and having no luck. Would you be willing to sell some to me, or could you tell me where you bought yours?
Thanks so much!
Whitney
whitney@whitneyalvis.com
Anonymous, you’re very welcome. Good luck on the diet, and I agree, the food *must* be interesting!
I just found your blog today. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for it already. My husband and I are starting the SB Diet together tomorrow. I read the book a few years ago and kind of tried to incorporate its ideas but this is the first time I plan to really follow it to a T. I knew that I would need the food to be interesting or I would not stick with it and neither would my husband. Your blog is the answer to my problem. I can’t wait to try all the recipes. I have a breakfast casserole in the oven right now for this week’s breakfast. I also plan to try the roasted broccoli with garlic this week. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the work you have put into this to make it possible for others to (hopefully) succeed at this new way of eating!
Heidileon, thanks! It’s so nice to hear from someone who likes the blog even though they aren’t dieting. As far as teaching and doing the blog, I have to confess it’s hard. I’m going to retire from teaching in June 2009 and be a full time blogger!
Dear Kalyn,
I’ve being reading your blog and following you on twitter for not quite long (about a month) and I need to say to you this: You are a (damn) inspiration!.
I wonder how you do to teach to your students and still are able to write this amazing blog. I love your recipes,and I’m not a South Beach Diet or any diet fan. But I love a healthy and yummie home cooked meal.
Thanks so much for being you, I will be coming back for more.
Saludos from China,
Heidi Leon (aromasysabores)
Robin, thanks. And never too late to start South Beach again. I must have done phase one at least 20 times myself, whenever I need a “tune-up!”
Supriya, can’t wait to try curry leaves. Thanks for the offer.
Ree, way to go! That’s the kind of comment that really makes my day. So glad you are enjoying the blog, but even more glad that SB is working so well for you.
Hi Kalyn,
I have been following your blog for several months now. My husband and I started on the SB diet in Aug 08. I have since lost over 40 lbs! Like you, SB has completely changed my life.
I have tried quite a few of your recipes, and want to say thank you for sharing them. You also inspired me to begin a blog of my own about the things that I have learned while trying to become a healthier person. Thanks again!
Kalyn,
I just wanted to let you know that I a regular follower of your blog from way back when! You Rock!
I also just read your comment on Weekend Herb Blogging event page hosted by Haalo to my Curry Leaf and Methi Leaf recipes.
Thank you for that and I would be happy to answer any questions you have on them.
Thanks,
Supriya
Kalyn:
I just want to tell you, you rock and I so appreciate your blog! I visit it many times a day, as I have attempted the South Beach diet and had some success but not as much as I would have had with your blog. You are a God send!
Sincerely,
Robin
Martha, thanks and you’re definitely welcome to link to the blog.
What a wonderful idea for a blog! Congratulations on your weight loss!!! I lost 20lbs last year, and I’m afraid of gaining them back because I really don’t have very good eating habits. Your recipes look so delicious – I will be visiting your blog again!
Is it ok if I post a link to your blog from my blog?
Martha in Massachusetts
Hi Kalyn,
I’ve seen the name a few times but never actually met anyone that had the same name. Do you say it Kay-Lynn? That’s how my name is pronounced, and my mother made up the name (or at least she thought she did!)
Hey,
Just was looking up my name on google and found this website. Your food sounds so good. My name is also Kalyn. So Cool!
Mandy Cat, that’s great. I promise you will feel great too when you quit eating lots of simple carbs and replace them with whole grains and lower-glycemic foods. Good luck to both of you!
The Internet is bringing a whole new meaning to the word serendipity:
“the accidental discovery of something pleasant, valuable, or useful.” I got to this site starting with Google; after that it was all a blur. My husband and I had a consultation with a nutritionist last week and she recommended that my husband go on a low-glycemic diet, both for weight loss and to see if it would help with arthritic inflammation. I’m a pretty experienced and versatile cook but giving up my bread, pasta and rice recipes was kind of a downer. If it works for him AND I shuck the extra 15 pounds I’m hauling around myself AND we can eat well at the same time — hmmm, this could be worth it.
Becky, thanks so much for letting me know you are enjoying the blog, and congrats on the weight loss too!
Dear Kalyn, Just thought it was about time I dropped you a line -have been reading your recipes and stories for over four months. I recently found out that I ought to be following a Low GI diet and all of your posts are just so helpful in creating family friendly meals we can all eat together taste delicious ,and are easy to prepare.Thank you so much for your blog, I have lost 10kilos and love it!!
Schotzy, thanks so much for those nice thoughts. And don’t worry about the photo, I can tell by your reaction that it was indeed inadvertent. I do like to think that my blog can do some good in the world, so I hope you will find it useful.
Even though I am horrified and extremely sorry to have inadvertently, and because of my ignorance, used on of your photos on my blog, I have to say that it was very providential that I found your blog. I need to study every recipe and catch the inspiration you offer here to stay focused and stick to a healthy eating reginmen. I know that the SB diet is really great and helpful in reducing blood sugar, as an obese person is maddens me to know what I should do and actually do it long enough for it to become habit or second nature. Your blog really inspires me. I am thanking a higher power for drawing my attention to your blog even if it was through my error. Thanks for such a wonderful blog!
Hello! I just came across your blog via “Stephanie’s Kitchen”…I too love the South Beach way of life and have had succes with it too! I’m all about eating fresh healthy foods…I’m going to have to check out your Weekend Herb Blogging b/c that is my other hobby!
Congrats on the weight loss and look forward to visiting your blog often!
Lenka, thanks for taking the time to leave such a nice comments. Comments like this just make my day!
Kalyn – I found your block just yesterday, trying to search for some new ideas how to grill chicken breast. What a wonderful recipes !!! – my husband commented it “the best chicken in his life”. We are not dieting, but trying to eat healthy – lean meat, fresh herbs, a lot of veggie and fruit. Today I did browsed more thru your collection – I love it it’s exactly what my family would like to eat… I also like the “organization” of your site – it’s very easy. So thank you very much for the effort to share it with all of us.
Lenka
Ranee, I’m glad you’re finding the blog to be helpful. Good luck with your weight loss efforts.
Hi Kalyn!
Last week I stumbled onto your blog site and had been batting around South Beach. You have truly inspired me to try it. I have recently changed alot of the foods I eat to less processed, more veggies, fruits, whole grains and water. I have been about 3 months without a coke or caffein really. Just decaf tea or water. I have lost 5 pounds that way but I really want to take it even farther with Southbeach and try to get down to my healthy weight range (30 lbs) and then even farther to a weight that would be unreal to imagine being at.(another 20 lbs) lol
I think my greatest challenge is going to be my husband. He is very slim, 6′ and weighs 130 pounds soaking wet so he can’t afford to loose any weight but he does have cholesterol problems or on the verge. He has really been liking the changes in our menu and I hope to fit in things that he can still have so he doesn’t loose weight but still keep the menu right for myself. If you have any suggestions on how to do that I will love you forever. lol I look forward to visiting you often!
Thank you for your great recipes. I will be trying several of your phase 1 recipes this week, especially the egg muffins, and finishing the book. I know you said to read it thouroughly (sp?) but I am amped to get started and used alot of the ideas for the menu from the book to start. I have a 20 year reunion next year and want to be at my desired weight. I started my exercising as well this week and told my husband make me get out of bed. Help support me in this. Call me names if you have to. That was really a joke though. He gets really upset if I call myself a cow or something. Really the only time I can find to exercise is the morning.
I better go. I have the gift for gab and could gab forever.
Ranee in Oklahoma
Kalyn,
Thank you so much for posting your recipes on the web. I am 9 days into phase one and lost 6 lbs. I was beginning to worry I’d have to buy a lot of recipe books in order to get the information. Your recipes give me hope for a normal range of food that is healthy and also yummy. I am not hugely overweight, but diabetes runs in my family and going off of sugar was so very hard for me. I felt like an addict. Now that I’m not enslaved by sugar I do feel much better and want to keep that feeling going while eating foods that actually taste good too:) Thanks again for your recipes. They look delicious and I plan to try them. CK in Virginia
Thanks Kalyn. I’m sure you are very busy and I hadn’t even thought of all the answering you might have to do if you gave me some ideas. I’ve thought of a couple of your recipes – would love to make the Grilled Lime Chicken w/mango salsa. So pretty, but not sure how practical with cooking for 80. Our school has just a standard size oven, so I would have to keep them warm in a chafing dish or crockpot. Might be too labor intensive… I’ll keep browsing! Thanks again for this great blog.
Hi Patty,
It’s very hard to recommend menus without knowing what foods you like and what kind of cooking facilities are available (and quite honestly, I don’t really have time to get into doing this for people, I’m 100% overbooked in my life as it is.) What I’d suggest is that you think of a category of recipe you might make (such as stuffed chicken breasts for example) and then use the search bar on my site and it will show you any recipes that fit into that category. You should be able to find something fairly quickly that way.
Hi Kalyn. I’m hoping you can help me think of something to serve for a teacher/staff luncheon during Teacher Appreciation Week in May. I have a large staff – serving about 70-80!
Last year I made crockpots of taco soup, very casual and fun. This year I have rented tablecloths, table runners, have my centerpieces and will turn the library into a beautiful place that looks more like a restaurant. So, I was thinking of something SBD friendly as an entree, a salad and maybe some ww rolls; serving ice tea and lemonade for drinks. I was thinking of getting some students to assist with waiter/waitress jobs.
So, do you have any good ideas for an entree?
Hi Patty,
I think the advice that South Beach gives about adding carbs back into your diet is a good one year. I’d start with an average size serving (same as you would eat with any other type of pasta) and see if you can eat that and continue to lose weight.
I’m not even sure what’s considered a “standard” size serving of pasta, but I’d guess about 2 ounces of dry pasta? I have noticed that since I’ve been eating this way, I’m likely to eat a smaller serving of pasta and lots of salad and veggies to go with it.
Hi Kalyn. I have a question about the Dreamfield Pasta. I am on phase 2 of SB. How much pasta should I make as a serving for myself?
Patty, I definitely cook on the weekend and eat the food all week, and it really helps me keep on track. I’m glad you’re finding the blog helpful, and fun hearing from a fellow educator.
Hi Kalyn. I just wanted to say a big thank you for all of the work you put into your blog. I just finished week one on SB, and lost 3.8 lbs (even though most of the week I was out of town). Yesterday started week two. I found your blog and have made your egg muffins for the week; your chicken picatta (yum); the roasted asparagus & mushrooms; and today the black beans in the crockpot which was wonderful. I cut up and bagged my snacks for the week at school (I’m an elementary school principal in Juneau, Alaska), put together salads for the week and vacuum sealed them so they will be nice and fresh for my lunches.
Your blog helped me to realize that I can prepare things ahead of time, which will be a big time saver (when I have no time to spare). I used to do a weekend of cooking and cook for the month. I bet that I could do the same thing with the SB recipes…
Thanks for helping me simplify and make this healthy diet work for my busy lifestyle.
The link for a month of South Beach recipes goes to the archives for the month of January 2007, when I posted only phase one recipes for that month. It’s not a menu, and not every post is a recipe (like the snack post, which is the last post for the month.) If youc click that link and wait for the months post to load, you can scroll down and see all the recipes for the month.
You can also find phase one recipes using the recipe archives. Every recipe category in the archives lists recipes with a note indicating which page it’s suitable for.
Kalyn – I am getting ready to start the South Beach Diet for the first time and know that your wonderful blogspot will help me tremendously. However, on your home page I was looking for your site entitled “A month’s worth of phase 1 recipes”. It’s not there. Instead, the site for favorite snacks, or something like that, appears. I’m hoping this can be fixed as I look forward to using it often as I begin my “new me” journey. Thanks in advance.
LSH, I posted that recipe back in 2006 and didn’t even remember about the shallots, but here is the original recipe from Epicurious.com. Hope that helps.
Hi. I have a question about the balsamic glazed pork chops recipe. You said that the original recipe called for shallots, but you didn’t have any so you didn’t use them. The recipe you posted also left them out. I’d like to make the recipe with the shallots. Do you remember how they were used…sliced, minced, pureed into the sauce? Thanks.
Hi Kalyn,
I just started by blog and found yours. Wow! great job I also did the South Beach Diet and loved it too. I will be reading your blogs on a regular.
Thanks
I just started South Beach a week ago after gaining all of my “baby weight” back by simply eating poorly. I’ve been on your site everyday since I started and I love, love, love it. I’m very hopeful and am off to a great start thanks to you.
Maria, that’s great. So happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipes.
Hi Kalyn,
It’s Maria from Plymouth Mass. Thanks for your note on the cranberry Jello salad. I have been reading your blog for days and happily trying recipes. I just wanted to say HOW MUCH my family and I love your food. The kids don’t even realize I’m cooking “South Beach” for Mom. When I made the ground beef and sauerkraut soup, I thought I might get some resistance, but my husband and all three kids adored it. My 7-year-old daughter said “This is EXCELLENT broth…and I know good broth!” (future foodie?) Our 9-mo. old baby drank every drop of that broth out of his bottle! 🙂
Many thanks for happy dinners in the past few weeks, and many to come, I’m sure.
Best,
Maria
Mike, I do have a food dehydrator and I’ve made dried tomatoes. They don’t turn out quite the same as the slow-roasted tomatoes (although the dried tomatoes are nice too.) I prefer the oven-roasted tomatoes. If you’re going to dry them in a dehydrator, I’d skip the olive oil.
Hi Kalyn,
I am a 52 year old corrections officer for The Missouri Dept. of Corrections that loves to garden and can my produce.
I am looking forward to trying your roasted tomatoe recipe, it sounds delicious !
Thanks,
Mike Thomas
Ste. Genevieve, Mo.
P.S. will a dehydrator work ?
hello ;
thanks.
Hi from Spain,
Your blog is overwhelming!!! Beautifully ordered and practical… I’ll go for some of your recipes!
Mine are typical Spanish, maybe you find something exotic…
You are welcome to visit
http://recipespicbypic.blogspot.com
Salud!
Congrats on losing the weight first of all, I have also recently started the SB diet and you are an inspiration 🙂
Linda, good luck to you. I hope the site will be helpful.
Kalyn,
I was so happy to find your web site. You make the diet sound so easy. I tried it before but wasn’t really successful. I believe your advise/menues/ and suggestions will be most valuable. I feel I can lose these 50 lbs because you are a great example. I, too am 58 and also an educator. Thanks for taking the time to help us.
Thanks everyone for the nice words about my blog. I will forward the design compliments to my brother Rand, who does all the design work, and his partner Bradley, who does the techie applications. I’m so thankful to them for all their work.
hi Kalyn, I just wanted to compliment you on the GORGEOUS design of this blog. I think it is the nicest looking blogspot blog I have seen. wonderful work!
Wow! Just found your blog, after 2 weeks on the South Beach Diet. I’ve lost 10 lbs so far, and have about 10 more to go. I’m sticking with phase 1 for another week as I’m finding it pretty easy.
It’s great to find a site with different recipes, as most of the ones I’ve found so far have been a bit samey. So thanks! And congratulations on your success.
Your blog is absolutely beautiful. I’m a big fan of the idea behind it: I just started writing a ‘how to entertain while on a diet’ type blog after years of being frustrated myself (and hearing others feel the same). I’m curious, do you do all your own photographs? If so, you have a lovely eye for capturing the food.
I look forward to reading your blog more regularly…its a great find.
Hey Kalyn, I’m going to Utah for 2 weeks this summer – where in Utah are you? I’d love to be able to meet up with you at some point! Send me an email?
Ameliyatlar, you’re very welcome, and thanks for letting me know you like it.
I am everyday reading your blog …
Thanks…
Diyetler, you’re welcome to link to this page, but maybe Why I Love the South Beach Diet would be more interesting for your readers. Either page is fine to link to, thanks.
Hello,
I have a Turkish diet site .I m surfing to collect people’s experiments about diets.And if you let I will publish this in my site 🙂
Bye
diyetler
Hi lsh,
Thanks for the nice words about my recipes. I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog.
It’s a conscious decision not to include nutritional information for the recipes, since South Beach doesn’t count carbs or calories (one reason I thought it might work for me; I’m not a numbers person!) Instead they focus on teaching what foods are “good” or “bad” carbs or fats. Once you know that, you can tell at a glance whether a recipe would be good for the diet. I recommend reading the South Beach book if you haven’t read it.
BTW, fun to hear from two fourth grade teachers! 28 years for me, probably two more to go.
Hi, I stumbled upon your blog about two weeks ago, trying to find some more interesting low-carb recipes, and boy, did I find them. Thank you so much for your collection. I have yet to make a bad recipe from here.
My husband is on South Beach, and I am doing it with him as support. For me, it’s more to start eating healthier, as I am fortunate enough to not be very overweight. I lost about 8-10 pounds during Phase 1, and am keeping it off. More importantly, I am eating healthier. I shared your site with my teaching partner (we are both 4th grade teachers, too) who began South Beach last spring and looks GREAT. She also loves your site.
I notice you do not list nutrition facts for your recipes. I can tell from the ingredients and comments that the many recipes are low carb/low glycemic, but I always wonder how much. Am I missing a link, or do you just not have it posted.
Either way, I do love your site.
Ashlee, of course I remember you. I used to see your mom and dad at Lake Powell and your brother Tyson was in my class too. Thanks for visiting. I hope you like the blog!
Hey Ms. Denny!!! Do you remember the Taft kids at WB Elem.? We are so excited about your blog and plan on visiting often! We love you!
Ashlee, Heidi, Tyson and Dixie Taft
Hi there. I just wanted to say thank you — like so many people this month, I am just starting South Beach, and it’s great to read your friendly comments and interesting recipes. My husband has lost a ton of weight (not quite literally) over the past year doing Adkins, and so he’s more than willing to eat low carb with me. Many thanks.
Sandy
Kalyn~
I came to your blog from Pille’s Nami-Nami. WOW, congratulations to you! I’m adding you to my ‘daily reads.’ I can’t wait to try some of your recipes!! Thanks!! 🙂
hiiiii kalyn …
came to ur blog from mahanandi … happy diwali to u … loooove your blog and congratulations on ur weight loss… i’m a new mom ( delivered a baby boy in may ) and gotta lose all tht pregnancy pounds (around 23lbs)… i hope to do this with ur recipes … wud loove to see more vegan recipes as well …
Saw you on fat free vegan. Nice place! Congrats on the weightloss.
I’m at:
http://harmonia.bloggoing.com incase you’re blog hopping some day! 😉
Hi Anonymous,
You are completely correct that beans are allowed on South Beach phase one, different than other “low carb” plans. Beans are what South Beach considers a “good” carb.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Kalyn
Hi Kalyn –
Love the recipies.
I started the South Beach Diet 5 days ago and am doing great on it. I made a nice batch of lowfat chilli at home yesterday (perfect on a “chilly” fall evening!) however, someone just told me that kidney beans are carbs and therefore not allowed in Phase 1. Since you seem to know quite a bit about it, any ideas on whether my friend is correct?
I am praying that they are not (I’ve always beleived they were a source of protein and not carbs). What a pity it would be to ruin a whole week of staying off carbs completely by mistake!
Your guidance would be so appreciated!
Happy Thanksgiving! (that’s this weekend in Canada)
Hazel, thanks for stopping by, and congratulations on the great accomplishment. I know what you mean about not being sure what number you want to be; I’m still kind of doing that too! Overall, I’m happy with how I look now, but there’s always that thing about, losing just a few more pounds! Hope you like the recipes.
Hi there!! looking forward to trying some of those delicous looking food! I too have had much success with my 90lbs loss so far, i still have about 30 – 50lbs left to go (not sure what number I want to be on the scale as yet haha) But wanted to come by to congratulate you on your superb loss and tell you, you look fantastic 🙂
Judy, way to go. That sounds like a real success story. I feel like it’s totally changed my life too. I’ve been amazed how easy it is to maintain the weight los and I’m planning to eat this way the rest of my life.
Hi!
I just heard of your blog and Congrats on your success on South Beach.
I’m a South Beach person too. I am maintaining a 120 lb loss since this past December, 2005. It has changed my life!! I am truly loving eating the Low GI way. It took me 20 months to lose my weight.
I look forward to trying your recipes.
Hello :),
Just recently discovered the “low glycemic index” and yes…it does seem to do the trick! I have lost 8lbs. in the last two weeks. Also walking helps alot. I am a foodie, love cooking and luckily love beans, whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits too. But the real trick is not necessarily “low fat” but “Low glycemic index”. Thank you and keep up the geat blogging!