If you are on the South Beach Diet and craving a taste of bittersweet chocolate, you might be wondering whether your meal plan allows for such an indulgence. Fortunately, bittersweet chocolate can be incorporated into the South Beach Diet quite easily once you are past the beginning stage of the diet. The key to including bittersweet chocolate into your South Beach lifestyle is to consume it in moderation, as only one small part of your overall low-carb meal plan.
South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet promotes a healthy diet based primarily on lean protein, healthy fats and low-glycemic carbohydrates such as vegetables and whole grains. The diet consists of three phases, beginning with a two-week induction phase that significantly restricts carbohydrates in order to reduce carbohydrate cravings and induce rapid weight loss. As the dieter moves into phase 2, healthy carbohydrates are added in small amounts so that weight loss progresses steadily. In the third phase, the goal is to maintain weight loss and establish healthy eating habits for life.
Bittersweet Chocolate
Bittersweet chocolate is a dark chocolate containing a minimum of 35 percent of chocolate liquor, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Semisweet chocolate also falls into this category, but might contain more sugar than bittersweet chocolate. Different brands of bittersweet chocolate can have different levels of cocoa butter, vanilla and lecithin. Some varieties can be eaten straight, while others are mostly used for cooking.
When Bittersweet Chocolate is Allowed
Bittersweet chocolate, along with all forms of chocolate, are forbidden in phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. As phase 2 begins in the third week of the plan, bittersweet chocolate and semisweet chocolate can be reintroduced in small amounts. Milk chocolate and other sweeter forms of chocolate still are avoided in phase 2, since they contain high levels of carbohydrates and sugar.
How to Include Bittersweet Chocolate
Once chocolate is reintroduced in the second phase of the South Beach Diet, one or two small pieces of bittersweet chocolate can be consumed as a dessert or as part of a snack. The South Beach Diet website and cookbook also offer recipes using bittersweet chocolate, such as the desserts Chocolate Berry Cups and Flourless Chocolate-Orange Torte. Don't overdo it, though, since overindulging in bittersweet chocolate can potentially send blood sugar levels soaring, which can lead to carbohydrate cravings that threaten to sabotage all of your hard work.
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