Happy New Index of all the South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Featured on Kalyn's Kitchen!

New Year's Eve is the time for looking back on goals, and for years I've had a goal of creating a special index for all the South Beach Diet Phase One recipes that I've cooked and featured on Kalyn's Kitchen. Even though my current recipe archive pages have notations about which phase of the South Beach Diet I think the recipe is suitable for, I felt it would be even more helpful for if there was a separate index just for Phase One recipes. It's taken me quite a few hours to make new archives pages to categorize them, but I'm happy to announce that there is now an Index of South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Featured on Kalyn's Kitchen.

The Top Ten Recipes of 2009 from Kalyn's Kitchen (plus Ten Honorable Mentions)

For the past two years I've had fun picking my favorite recipes of the year. I picked one recipe per month month when I did The Best Recipes of 2007 and The Best Recipes of 2008, but this year I had good intentions of narrowing it down to a top ten list. I looked through the monthly archives, picking a few recipes that I remembered fondly, and when I was done saving bookmarks, I had 39 favorites! It was nice to notice how many of the recipes I picked had a personal connection where the recipe or cookbook had been recommended by a reader or another blogger. I'm not going to try to sneak all 39 recipes into this list, but I think I'll mention a few others after my top ten list.

Five Fun Things About the Holidays 2009 (and Happy Holidays to All!)

(Christmas image by Francesco Marino from FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

I was talking with my sister Valerie about Christmas, and she reminded me that the very best part of the holidays is between Christmas and New Year's Eve, when most people are off work and you can hang out and just enjoy being with those you love. That's mostly what I'll be doing for the next week or so, but before I take off I want to share some holiday thoughts. These are my picks for Five Fun Things About the Holidays, but I'd love to hear in the comments about the five things you like about the holidays.

Crockpot (or Stovetop) Recipe for Ham and Cabbage Soup with Red Bell Pepper

Everyone who's pretty much overdosed on rich holiday food, raise their hand (Kalyn raises her hand.) After a few weeks of testing and eating Christmas cookies, my body is telling me I need some vegetables! For anyone who feels like cooking something relatively light and nutritious before the actual holiday gets here, this cabbage soup is just the thing. And if you're thinking about the cabbage soup diet, forget that thought, because in this flavorful soup the cabbage is melt-in-your-mouth tender from slow cooking, and there are lots of herbs and spices to make this a very tasty soup.

Recipe for Low-Sugar or Sugar-Free Almond Flour Snickerdoodle Cookies (also Gluten-Free)

Low-Sugar (or sugar-free) Almond Flour Snickerdoodles are also gluten-free.

(Recipe updated and added to Christmas Recipes, December 2009.) In 2005 I posted this recipe for Low Carb Snickerdoodles for a reader named Adam who was always urging me to post sugar-free and low-carb recipes for cookies. Since then I've made quite a few cookies that are low in sugar, but I've also decided that using a very small amount of brown sugar mixed with Splenda or Stevia-in-the-Raw Granulated Sweetener is my favorite way to make low-sugar desserts. If you're avoiding sugar completely like Adam was, just use all Splenda or Stevia when you make them. Either way this is a delicious cookie, similar to Snickerdoodles but a little more crispy because of the almond flour.

Five Fun Things on Friday (12-18-09)

Poster Announcing Red Iguana 2
from RedIguana.com.

It's Friday night, time for me to share some of the fun things I've found this week in my travels around the web. Keep reading to see what I thought was fun, and if you have a link to something fun from the week, please do share in the comments.

Recipe for Low-Glycemic and Gluten-Free Chickpea Crisps Appetizer (with or without Za'atar)

You may not think these chickpea crisps belong with the Christmas Recipes, but when you're starting to feel sugar overload, here's a holiday appetizer that's sugar free, gluten-free, low-fat, and low glycemic, and it's also so delicious and unusual that your friends will be asking, "What is this?" the minute you serve it. You'll have to plan ahead for the dough to rest, but these crispy nibbles made with chickpea flour are also easy to make. I used the Za'atar I got in the mail from Maris to season them, but if you don't have Za'atar, look after the recipe for some other seasoning ideas.

Recipe for Whole Grain Low-Sugar (or sugar-free) Chocolate Cookies with Pecans

Whole Grain Low-Sugar (or sugar-free) Chocolate Cookies with Pecans

When Suzanne Lenzer wrote about One Smart Cookie for Mark Bittman's column in the New York Times, I was intrigued with her idea of trying to make a chocolate cookie using whole wheat flour and oatmeal. I saved the recipe to my "recipes to try" folder back in April, so you can tell there isn't a lot of cookie-baking going on around here for most of the year. But during the holidays I do like to add a few cookies to my collection of South Beach friendly Christmas recipes, so I've made these a few times to come up with a version that's diet-friendly and still delicious.

A Menu for Hope Starts Today and You Could Win a Lowel Ego Two-Light Set!

You know the holidays have arrived when it's time for Menu for Hope! If you're relatively new to the world of food blogs, you may not have heard of this annual fund-raising effort sponsored by Chez Pim and legions of food bloggers around the world, but Menu for Hope is in its sixth year. It's a lot of fun and raises money for a very good cause as well, with funds this year once again going to the United Nations World Food Program.

Recipe for Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Shrimp Skewers with Fuyu Persimmon (or other fruit or veggies)

These garlic and rosemary roasted shrimp skewers with Fuyu persimmons are an easy and impressive main dish if you're entertaining during the holidays. I made this when I still had persimmons from the big box Andrea sent me, but if you wanted to use Christmas colors I'd recommend putting cherry tomatoes and pieces of folded snow peas between the shrimp. You could also use other types of fruit or vegetables, but remember that shrimp cook quickly so it's important to use something that's good raw or cooked (like fruit) or that cooks quickly (like cherry tomatoes.)

Friday Night Photos: Brunch at Wild Grape with Some Utah Bloggers

Last weekend I met up at Wild Grape Bistro with a group of local food bloggers. It was my first time at Wild Grape, and they were very welcoming, starting us out with some complimentary scones which looked great. (I was saving room for brunch, so I didn't indulge.)

Recipe for Low-Sugar Whole Wheat and Oatmeal Spice Cake with Fuyu Persimmons

Low-Sugar Whole Wheat and Oatmeal Spice Cake with Fuyu Persimmons.

(Kalyn's Kitchen is part of Holiday 2009 at Oprah.com, and this is one of the recipes being featured there. Welcome to anyone visiting from Oprah.com!)

This cake may look similar to the Low-Sugar and Whole Wheat Apple-Pear Cake I made for Thanksgiving, but it has oatmeal for more fiber and a slightly more whole grain texture. More important, persimmons are only in season from late October through late December, so I recommend making this before it's too late. (And after this I still have one more recipe to share that I made with the persimmons that came in the mail; thanks again to Andrea from Rookie Cookery for helping me have fun experimenting with persimmons!)

Cottage Cheese and Egg Breakfast Muffins Recipe with Ham and Cheddar

(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites, December 2009. When I wrote this post I was a busy teacher/food blogger who had to plan ahead for breakfast. Now that I'm "retired" I'm finding it's just as important to have quick breakfasts on hand. I'm spotlighting this post for anyone who's busy with the holiday rush but wants to keep the breakfast habit.)

Okay, some of you know it and others might have guessed, but I'm one of those insanely busy people who rarely sits down for a proper breakfast, certainly not on the week days. That's why in my fridge, you'll see breakfast muffins like this in a plastic container, waiting to be heated up in the morning. This is the second version I've made of this cottage cheese and egg breakfast muffin, made with almond meal, parmesan, and just the tiniest bit of flour to create a muffins that's quite different in texture than the phase one Egg Muffins I also like. Imagine a biscuit married an omelet and they had a child, but the child got a few more omelet genes than biscuit genes; that's what these muffins are like.

Recipe for Flourless and Low-Sugar (or Sugar-Free) Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (Also gluten-free!)

Flourless and Low Sugar (or sugar-free) Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

(Kalyn's Kitchen is part of Holiday 2009 at Oprah.com, and this is one of the recipes being featured there, and is also part of the Christmas Recipes at Kalyn's Kitchen. Welcome to anyone visiting from Oprah.com!)

By the time most people read this on Tuesday, it will officially be my birthday, although due to the magic of Facebook friends around the world, I started getting birthday wishes a day early. I've always been one of those people who says when it's your birthday you should celebrate with gusto, but since I revealed my age last year, this year I'm playing it low key and just planning to enjoy the day. The beautiful green plate you see in the photo above is my first birthday present, from my friend Dara at Cookin' Canuck (thanks Dara!) I guess the delicious chocolate shortbread cookies on the plate are my birthday present to myself, because I've been eating them for days while I tested a couple of variations of this recipe!

Winter Fruit Salad Recipe with Persimmons, Pears, Grapes, and Agave-Pomegranate Vinaigrette

(Kalyn's Kitchen is part of Holiday 2009 at Oprah.com, and this is one of the recipes being featured there, and is also part of the Christmas Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen. Welcome to anyone visiting from Oprah.com!)

During the holiday season when there are so many rich or extra-sweet offerings, sometimes a simple fruit salad can be just what you need to add a slightly more reasonable note to a holiday meal. The day I made this salad I tried it out on a few people at my brother Mark's house, where I'd gone to meet his mother-in-law who was visiting from New Mexico. Mrs. Garcia had made homemade tamales, something I had to sample even if they weren't especially South Beach Diet friendly, and the salad was definitely a hit as a side dish.

Five Fun Things on Friday (12-4-09)

I think doing good things for others can be a lot of fun, so this week for fun things we have three wonderful programs where bloggers are raising money to help those in need, a great post about making better breakfast choices, and then some exciting news about something during the holiday season that involves the queen of daytime TV and Kalyn's Kitchen. (Be sure you read to the very end so you don't miss the exciting news!)

Recipe for Flourless, Sugar-Free Pistachio Cookies

Flourless and sugar-free pistachio cookies, made with Stevia-in-the-Raw granulated sweetener or Splenda)

(Updated and added to Christmas Recipes, December 2009.) I'm excited to announce that Kalyn's Kitchen is one of the blogs being featured as part of Holiday 2009 at Oprah.com, and this is one of the recipes being featured there, and is also part of the Christmas Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen. Welcome to anyone visiting from Oprah.com!)

This cookie recipe is especially for anyone who's trying to avoid the sugar blues this holiday. The photo is rather deceptive, so for the record it's a tiny plate, a macro lens on the camera, and these are tiny little cookies, but loaded with flavor. I found the recipe on a great blog called The Italian Dish, who got it from II Viaggio Di Vetri: A Culinary Journey by Marc Vetri, and apparently the cookies are served in his Philadelphia restaurant, Vendi.

Recipe for Black Bean Salad with Fuyu Persimmon, Avocado, and Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette

I'm having such fun experimenting with the Fuyu persimmons that came in the mail from Andrea! This salad with persimmons, avocado, black beans, and a touch of lime was the second thing I made with persimmons, and I thought the combination of sweet and savory flavors was perfect in this salad. The idea of using lime-cumin dressing with persimmons came from a Fuyu Persimmon Salad in the L.A. Times that looked like a winner. If you're looking for persimmon ideas while they're in season, there was a good round-up of persimmon ideas at Good Bites, including my own Whole Wheat Couscous Salad with Persimmon, Grapes, Green Onion, Mint, and Pine Nuts, and the stunning Pan-Fried Brie Cheese with Persimmon Salsa Canapés that Dara came up with when I shared the persimmons with her. I've got two more persimmon recipes after this, so stay tuned!

South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for November 2009

Kalyn's favorite phase one recipe from November 2009 is
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Gorgonzola

Hard to believe that it's December, but there it is on the calendar! I wonder how many people start the South Beach Diet in December? Nevertheless, I'm still doing a phase one round-up this month because I notice that all year people visit the archives page for phase one recipe round-ups, so I didn't want to leave out the tasty recipes I've found this month. Of course no one can find all the phase one recipes food bloggers have posted in a month, so if you're a blogger who's posted a recipe in November that you think might be phase one approved, see after the recipes list for how to submit it.