Midway through South Beach Diet....

OK. I cheated on Sunday. Or more so over the weekend. Not a good sign. But determined not to give up in the middle and to see this Phase 1 through to completion.

On Saturday we attended Satya Narayana Puja at a friend's place resulting in a bit of cheating. Had a cup of rice alongside sambhar, vegetables, curd etc. That was not bad. But on Sunday which happened to be Karthigai Deepam hogged on 2 Puris with channa, rice with rasam and cabbage and tomato pulao. And tempted with sweets a friend brought from India ended up eating a badhusha and 2 unniappams made for Karthigai deepam. So a lot of cheating in one day ;-)

Weighing machine shows me at 157 lbs which is good news!

Sunday's menu:
Moong dhal dosa
Unniappam, pori urundai(for karthigai Deepam)
Tomato pulao, raita, rice, rasam, cabbage thoran, vaazhaka fry
Badsha, tea
Moong dhal dosa

Monday's menu:
Omelette with eggs/onions
Leftover quinoa, moog dhal with methi leaves, raita, pickle
Broken wheat, urad, whole moong dhal kanji with brinjal pepper kootu, kovakkai fry

Tuesday's menu:
Chickpea sundal
Leftover Broken wheat, urad, whole moong dhal kanji with brinjal pepper kootu, Yu Choy in tamarind sauce
quinoa, winged bean salad, rasam, fuzzy melon kootu, eggplant in garlic and red pepper

South Beach Diet again!

Okay, so I have fallen off the wagon and determined to lose those extra 20 lbs that seem to have creeped in since August 2012. The solution that comes to  mind first - Exercise! However I have not been able to do justice to that. think. Think. Think. Voila! South Beach Diet! Now with the added challenge of doing it vegetarian! Thanks to Google found a list of vegetarian options besides salads and soups that make up a carb-free Phase 1 menu. Long list of shopping done in the Indian store for veggies, beans and lentils. Another big shopping in the Asian store for vegetables and greens. (Some fun new items - wait till I post on them) So this is Day 1 of South Beach Diet - Take 2.

Day 1:
1 cup coffee with1 tsp  sugar (Cheating!)
Breakfast: 2 eggs with onions, green chilles, red peppers, broccoli, salt and pepper
Morning snacks: 1 cucumber
Lunch: Cabbage soup with cabbage, zuchinni, leeks, green onions, mushroom and lots and lots of tomatoes
Afternoon snack: 10  almonds
Late evening snack: Tea with 1% milk and sugar substitute
Dinner: Horse gram sundal tempered with ginger, green chillies, (coriander seeds, red chilly) – roasted and ground. Adai with coconut thogaiyal. Have  more soup if u feel inclined.
Late night snack: 8oz warm milk 

Baingan Bharta

A memorable day at NASDAQ Times Square!

Last week was a whirlwind week. A quick trip to NYC my old backyard, brought back nostalgic memories but this time we were there for an exciting and bigger reason than just to visit Times Square. our company Tradier(that 5 of us founded late last year - 2012) was ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq stock exchange along with Nasdaq OMX and Amazon to celebrate our partnership. June 18, 2013 was a big day. It gave us all the incentive to be doing what we do everyday. A moment to celebrate and to be thankful...Here is it in pictures...

Welcome summer with salads!

This summer has been weird of sorts....Hot and wet and windy at times...but I am not complaining. As long as you give me any weather with rain now and then I am good :-)

I'd love to share this salad with you. It is simple, makes a fine presentation and shoo-s peoples' inhibitions about eating a salad. I have come to realize that one way to make eating salads fun is to keep varying them every day. A different vegetable, some bright colors, a secret ingredient...Keep 'em guessing. And its half the battle won. And accolades will follow!

I am not giving a detailed description of this salad. The picture speaks for itself. Try it without any dressing or your favorite light vinegar dressing. Enjoy!

Bon apetit!

For those of you who have tried South Beach Diet, trying it now or thinking of trying it - I'd like to share my experience with it. I tried it back in 2010 and lost almost 32 lbs on it, combined with exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

The reason I am reviving this thread is because I myself am thinking of going on that diet now as I have  not been good to myself between 2012 May and 2013 May - in the process putting on almost 20 lbs back again. I am going to maintain this blog as a diary to my South Beach Diet journey with the hope that it will keep me in track and helps others too in the process.

I am going to begin my 2 weeks with no carbs starting Saturday June 22, 2013.

Its good to be back!! While I was away I did try a lot of new recipes and cant wait to blog about them...I am trying to blog regularly as it helps me channel my thoughts and aspirations :0