Eating Light Progress

As I mentioned in my last post, Nick and I have made a decision to eat low carb for a month.  He is reading some book that gives more info on a specific diet, but I'm pretty much following the South Beach Diet which has worked well for me before. In this ridiculous book he's reading it recommends beans/lentils and that you should eat them ALOT. The man wants black beans or something similiar at every meal now. I just can't get there. So, we're compromising. I've made lots of beans and am making some healthier recipes.
Last night I made Balsamic Glazed Salmon. This was a delicious and easy way to eat salmon. I knew Alex wouldn't like it, so I made him a bowl of pasta and garlic bread. Oh the smell of garlic bread when you're dieting. It's the devil.
Here is the recipe for the salmon.

Balsamic Glazed Salmon
From the South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook
Ingredients
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 450 degrees
Season salmon with salt and pepper; place in an ovenproof baking dish and bake until opaque through, 10 to 12 minutes.
While fish is cooking, place vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until reduced to 1/3 cup, for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Place salmon on serving plates and drizzle with glaze.
This was a hit with Nick. I will serve it again. I served it with roasted asparagus and .. you guessed it.. beans.
Tonight I made Mexican Chicken Soup from the same cookbook. I really liked this one. I love anything remotely Mexican flavored and I love soup. Here's the recipe:
Mexican Chicken Soup
From the South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook
Ingredients
1 TBS canola oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
5 C low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch strips
2 C mild refrigerated fresh salsa
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and jalapeno; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cumin; cook 30 seconds more.
Add broth, increase heat to high, and bring to a rapid simmer. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.  Stir in salsa, bring back to a simmer, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot.
This was DELISH! I loved it. I only used half of a jalapeno pepper to keep the spice level down and I found it was not spicey at all. Next time I might use the whole thing. I always take the seeds and ribs out of a jalapeno, so maybe that helps.
The fresh salsa in this soup really gives it a fresh tomato taste. Nick loved it as well.
If I weren't dieting, and I wish I weren't, I would add some corn and top with grated cheddar cheese with crumbled corn tortilla chips. It would be the perfect dish then.

I think we're doing well on our dieting plan. I knew we were starting on Monday, so I got up and weighed myself in the morning. I documented my weight only in my mind. Tuesday morning Nick weighed himself, reported to me and asked what I weighed.  Has he lost his ever loving mind? I told him if full disclosure was required I would quietly bow out. He agreed that I could keep my weight to myself but just tell him what I was losing.
Well, I'm a bit OCD so when I start a diet, I weight often. Like every day. Yesterday I weighed and had dropped one pound. I know it's water weight, but it motivates me on. Today I weighed and was down another pound or pound and a half. I'm feeling great!
I had my yearly physical today, stepped on the scales and OMG, they were almost 9 lbs heavier than mine at home. Talk about discouraging. I'm telling myself it doesn't matter what number is there as long as it's going down.
I need to start some kind of work out, but that's tough for me. I HATE to work out and I HATE to sweat. Not a good combination for weight loss.
We're plugging along and are going to allow ourselves one cheat day every weekend. Hopefully that keeps me from losing my mind.