I wish this were true in my experience but it is not. Losing weight without meat as a staple is proving very difficult even if I eliminate all sugar, minimize cheese, have lots of produce, and only eat whole grains.

This is my experience too. I just don't seem to process grains or simple carbs very well. My first clue to this was dropping weight really suddenly when I had to give up wheat because of migraines, a few years ago. I'd even been replacing the wheat with some rice products too - although I lose much more if I give up *all* the grains and starch. (I still eat lots of veg and some fruit, as cutting out carbs completely leaves you with no fiber and isn't a good idea.)

Hee! Jessica, you're awesome. Also, did you get the email I sent you last night?

So, I can be there for dinner, like tomorrow?

I think that the vacuum sealing should be fine, they do that for frozen crabcakes, so it should work.

Do you think they would freeze OK or not? they have the bread crumb/saltine crumb/egg binder thing going on.

In my experience that would freeze fine. But the only thing that really gets effed up to me is potatoes so I might not be the highest standard here.

Also, did you get the email I sent you last night?

Yes, thanks for that! Which reminds me, I need to print stuff out.

Btw, reading the food discussion with interest, just not feeling like I have a lot to contribute. Oh! except to say thank you to Tep for the butternut squash enchilada recipe! I've made the vegan version twice to great acclaim. Yum!

So, I can be there for dinner, like tomorrow?

whoo!

It was also so nice to be cooking together in the kitchen again- we've been so exhausted for most of this year that our cooking has been minimal and much more a chore than a pleasure. Last night, it was fun and a total pleasure. Makes the food taste better too!

(Oh, and somewhere around here, I've got a stack of a bunch of vegetarian South Beach recipes. Want them?)

Oh gosh yes!

They're all from Vegetarian Times, and I just realized that they're all online.

Chocolate-dipped Orange Slices [link]

Stir-fried "Chicken" and Vegetables [link]

Portobello Pizzas [link]

Italian-style Spaghetti Squash [link]

Lemon Zest Ricotta Creme [link]

Garbanzo Cobb Salad [link]

Cheesy Frittata [link]

Vegetable Quiche Cups [link]

Salt and crunchy are my friend/foes. IE, any of the average crunchy snack foods. Which are based on high-carb starchy foods, which are as bad as sugar. I don't have a sweet tooth, per se, though I've had times when a can of frosting and a spoon were a good evening's entertainment.

Why yes, I am fat and diabetic, what made you ask? And my doctor's appointment is in a week, and he's going to look concerned and say we're running out of options that don't involve needles every day, and I hate going to the doctor.

One thing that I found about vegetarian South Beach -- it's really easy to get into the habit of eating way too much cheese, which really slows down weight loss because it has so much fat. Good snacks are raw veggies dipped in hummus or chickpeas with nutritional yeast.

Also, the South Beach book says to eat low-fat tofu instead of regular. Ignore that. You've got to use so much oil to keep the low-fat from sticking to the pan that I'm positive it negates any fat missing.