We’re welcoming the new year with a more flexible approach and a few new Recipes-by-Diet-Type categories on Kalyn’s Kitchen!

I love the way a brand new year always feels loaded with possibilities and inspires you to re-think what you’re doing and how you can improve. And for most of 2016 I’ve been thinking about Kalyn’s Kitchen, how it has changed through the years, and just what I want it to be. For those who might be new here, let me start with a mini history lesson.


How Kalyn’s Kitchen got Started:

I started Kalyn’s Kitchen in 2005 after I’d lost over 40 pounds on The original South Beach Diet. I followed that diet strictly for many years, so you’ll find lots of recipes from the early days of my blog that are suitable for different phases of South Beach. And I will always do whatever I can to be a resource for people who are using the South Beach Diet to lose weight, because I know how it worked for me.

What has Changed:

But the last few years, my thoughts about carb-conscious eating have evolved in a way that was at odds with some aspects of the original South Beach plan. And currently I’m less focused on dieting and more focused on healthy carb-conscious eating in general, with a generous dose of exercise added into the mix. What works well for me now is to have meals that are relatively low in carbs, while allowing healthy treats once in a while.

And although I still consider The South Beach Diet to be a healthy way to eat, and I am 100% convinced of the effectiveness of the diet, in 2016 South Beach was sold to a company that’s now selling pre-packaged meals, and that was the trigger for me acknowledging to myself that on this site I’m not interested in promoting one certain type of diet. I know a lot of healthy eating bloggers become diet experts and give advice about what they consider the optimal way to eat, but after years of trying to help others follow a plan, I’ve come to feel that most people will be happiest and healthiest with an eating plan that works with their personal food preferences. And that may be different for everyone.

What I Want to Do on this Site!

And what I really want to do on this site is focus on creating amazing carb-conscious food that’s so delicious you won’t even think about whether there are carbs!But beyond that, I would love to have my blog be a way to offer healthy recipes that are helpful for readers who want to follow any type of low-carb or carb-conscious eating plan, whether it’s for weight loss, controlling blood sugar, preventing or treating insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome, or any other reason a person chooses to limit carbs in their diet. (And for those who don’t care about carbs at all and want to eat my recipes with a side of rice and pasta, I’m fine with that too.)

Making the Blog a Resource for Anyone Who Likes My Recipes:

I added a Diet-Type Index to the site two years ago because I was starting to realize how my recipes are actually suitable for many different types of diet plans. Of course not every recipe works for every type of diet, but I’ve had good feedback about how that feature can help you find recipes that work if you’re following a specific plan. In 2017 I’m going to be redesigning the blog to help more efficiently spotlight which diet types each recipe is suitable for. (I’m on the waiting list for a great designer to do that; be patient!)

What is Happening Now?

Over the next few months I’m going to be adding to and expanding the Diet-Type Index so it will have more carb-conscious diet categories including low-carb, Keto, and The Original South Beach Diet, as well as categories for other diet types such as gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian.

How Can You Give Feedback?

Of course when I’m focused on creating any recipe, I make choices about what types of diets it will be suitable for in how I develop the recipe. If you’re following a certain type of diet and want to make sure it stays on my radar, leave a comment on this post telling me which category(s) in the Diet-Type Indexare most useful for you! Or if you’re following Kalyn’s Kitchen on Facebook, you can give feedback on this post where I discuss adding new categories to the Diet-Type Index.

Happy New Year everyone. Here’s looking forward to lots of great tasting recipes in 2017. And it’s January when I’m guessing most of my readers are trying to lose a few pounds, so I’m going to be posting a little more often than usual for the first few weeks of the month!

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