Dukan Diet

(Updated with new photos and step-by-step instructions, August 2013.)  One interesting thing about blogging is how it becomes a record of what foods you're craving at different times of the year.  I've confessed how my mid-winter craving for tomatoes leads to recipes like  Pinto Bean Salad with Avocado, Tomatoes, Red Onion, and Cilantro.  It happened again in 2009, when I spotted the recipe for Greek Salad with Avocado, Shrimp, and Caper Vinaigrette from Nick's Fishmarket Maui in the R.S.V.P. column in Bon Appetit Magazine, and tomatoes jumped into my basket the next time I was at Costco. I did enjoy those mid-winter tomatoes, but if you're making this in the summer with fresh garden tomatoes it will be even better!  Another ingredient that really made this salad special was the caper vinaigrette.  I adapted the restaurant's recipe a bit, but I'd never leave out the capers, which were a brilliant addition here.

This Grain-Free Meatloaf with Tomatoes, Fennel, and Flax Seed is low-carb, gluten-free, and South Beach Phase One.  And it's delicious!

(For today's post for A Month of Daily Phase One Recipes, I've updated the photos for this Grain-Free Meatloaf with Tomatoes, Fennel, and Flax Seed from 2007; this meatloaf has lean ground beef, turkey Italian sausage, roasted tomatoes or drained canned tomatoes, and flax seed meal instead of bread crumbs to bind the meatloaf together.  This recipe makes two meatloaves, but it freezes well, and this delicious meatloaf will probably get gobbled up pretty quickly.)

I'm  fan of meatloaf, so when I set out to make a Phase One meatloaf recipe, I came up with the idea of using flaxseed meal instead of bread crumbs so the meatloaf would be grain free. Flax seeds are very rich in nutrients, and the oil is popular as a nutritional supplement. But flax seeds are more nutritious than merely the oil because besides omega-3 fatty acids, the seeds are rich in both kinds of fiber and they also contain a phytoestrogen called lignans. Of interest to South Beach Dieters, flax seed meal has equal amounts of carbohydrates and fiber, which means no net carbs. The amount of flax seed meal I used in this recipe seemed perfect to bind the meatloaf together, but you could certainly use more.

This Phase One Navy Bean and Refried Bean Stew with Ham, Leeks, and Tomatoes would be a great use for leftover holiday ham.

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites.  If you're having ham during the holidays, this is a great phase one soup to make with the leftover ham.  If you wanted to try this in the slow cooker, I would reduce the amount of ham stock to about 2 cups.)

When it's winter in Utah we often have a short little taste of warm weather, and then the lawn is covered with snow again and it seems like soup or stew is back on the menu. I created this recipe for a bean stew with leeks, ham, and tomatoes on a winter day when I was having guests for a soup and stew lunch. The recipe was partly inspired by an abundance of leeks and leftover ham, and the photo (which I was not crazy about) might have kept it from making an appearance on the blog, but when my nephew Jake and my brother Rand (two confirmed foodies) both raved about the flavors in this stew, I knew I should post it even if the photos didn't really show off its inner beauty.