Rosemary and Thyme Vegetable and Shrimp Skewers

Last night, I revisited recipes associated with the South Beach diet. I tried out the diet about this time last year before my wedding and had some pretty good (although temporary) results. One thing I hate about the South Beach diet the lack of inventive recipes. Don't get me wrong - there are some good recipes out there but I think people start getting stuck eating the same thing over and over because they aren't sure what jibes with the diet. I did some research to understand what recipes work with phase 1, got a little inventive and this is what I came up with. I adapted a skewer recipe for shrimp using actual rosemary springs as the skewers and extended it to include some South Beach friendly vegetables. Most of us are used to a bed of some sort of starchy food on our plates so I thought a colorful sea of grilled veggies could do the trick.

The skewers were very simple. Buy jumbo-sized, de-shelled and de-veined shrimp - about 6 - 7 per person, cover with enough olive oil to lightly coat the shrimp and add about 2 sprigs of thyme and 1 spring of rosemary per serving. Reserve the stems from the rosemary to make skewers (keep a little bit of rosemary at the end for a nice visual touch) - soak the skewers in water while letting the shrimp marinate covered in the fridge for at least an hour. Meanwhile, chop up veggies such as onions, bell peppers and squash (the more colorful, the better), lightly coat with oil, add a few springs worth of thyme and rosemary and marinate covered in the fridge as well for at least an hour. I'd personally do them on the grill but a stove-top grill pan worked well as an alternative. Just make sure to use a method where high heat is used to get a nice caramelized surface on the veggies. Top the cooked shrimp and veggies with a bit of sea or kosher salt.

For the mojitos, I used Sierra Mist Free, a few crushed leaves of mint and the juice of one lime per serving. Maybe throw in a bit of Splenda if you want that extra sweet taste. Remember, South Beach phase 1 says no alcohol!