Guide to South Beach Diet: Snacks Allowed for Healthy Pick-Me-Ups!
When to Eat Snacks
The South Beach diet is not a starvation diet, nor does it encourage people to deny their bodies of food in order to lose weight. According to the South Beach website, “Trying to lose weight and become healthy by depriving the body of food makes no sense.” Part of this regimen is to eat plenty of healthy, low-sugar, low-carb and low-fat foods throughout the day. Snacks should be eaten between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. Remember that snacks are not an optional part of the program, dieters must eat snacks as part of their weight loss program.
Vegetables
There are plenty of vegetable options that can be made into quick, easy snacks in Phase One, including soybeans (also known as edamame when they stay in their shell), celery sticks, cucumber slices, pickles or up to 10 cherry tomatoes. You can also make a fresh, raw salad with lettuce, cabbage, spinach, radishes, mushrooms, snow peas and grated zucchini. Eating a salad will also provide plenty of fiber, making your belly feel full and maintaining blood sugar until it’s time for your next meal. This diet is not designed to deprive you of food, so take advantage of what’s available and create tasty snacks accordingly.
Protein & Fats
Choosing foods from the Phase One protein and fats list for a snack can be particularly satisfying, but make sure you are not going over your allotted amount of certain items, particularly when it comes to nuts, peanut butter and turkey bacon. Certain nuts–the only allowable food on the fats snack list–such as almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts are limited to 15 nuts per day, while turkey bacon or a bacon meat substitute is limited to two slices per day. You may consider crumbling the bacon on your salad to stretch out your enjoyment of that food. Other foods on this list do not have any limits on them and can make excellent snacking foods. Try hard-boiled eggs, slices of fat-free or low-fat cheeses, or a serving of cottage or feta cheeses.
Phase Two Snacks
In Phase Two, snacks are optional but should still be gathered primarily from the protein and vegetable list. One nice change here is that you can add fruits back into your diet, expanding your snack choices to include apples, blueberries, oranges, plums, strawberries and cantaloupe. You can also eat low-fat or fat-free yogurt in Phase Two, which means you can either top the yogurt with the fruit, or make refreshing smoothies for a filling afternoon snack. Try combining blueberries with nuts to make a healthful, filling mid-day snack.
References
South Beach Diet: Phase One Food List:
https://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/shoppinglist_p1.htm
South Beach Diet: Phase Two Food List