Some wonderful, light and easy recipes! Most are fit for company dinner but are easy and quick enough for everyday as well.
The sample meal plans are available for those following the South Beach diet also give good ideas for planning side dishes if you are not on the diet but want to eat lighter.
A lot of adaptable recipes too - they give you the ideas - you can add the ingredients you want and be creative.
Pretty pictures of some of the meals.
A nice book to have on hand for "good for you" food

Great new book... super ideas for warm weather climates where it's always Summer on the Beach!

These recipes go very well with the new super charged version of the South Beach Diet. Every recipe that I tried was true to its accompanying photo or description. This cook book opens up many choices, which makes following the diet easier and maintaining the life style more attainable.

I was not too optimistic about this book because I found the original SB diet recipes to be too time and money consuming w/too many ingredients that were not in my cupboard. So I flipped through this initially and the photo were awesome, but again I did not let that excite me.
So this weekend we tried our first recipe, the Spicy Chicken Tacos. I had pretty much everything on hand, aside from some spices. I could not believe how delicious they were! And more importatnly so very filling. Even my husband, who has a large appetite thought they were extremely filling.
The next day we had the breakfast "pizzas" - eggs on pita with sauteed spinach. Again - fantastic and easy!
I also made the blackberry cups for a BBQ and they were a huge hit - and so simple.
So far we're 3 for 3 and I cannot wait to try more recipes.

I also love the last section which is summer drinks. I always find it difficult to enjoy a nice refershing beverage in the summer because they are all so full of sugar - this book has a great selection.

I especially love the cucumber soup with grilled shrimp....delicioso! In true South Beach style, this book offers a wide variety in simple easy steps. FABULOUS!

I went on the South Beach Diet in November 2005. In one year I went from weighing 280 lbs to weighing 215! My cholesterol went from 221 to 141,and my blood pressure went from 150/100 to 117/77 (with NO drugs). Also I lost 6 inches around my waist. It went from 42 inches to 36.As of May 2008, I currently weigh 212 (at 5' 11') and am trying to work my way to 195 now.I own all of the books and am one of the biggest advocates of the diet. I would recommend this book to anyone!

I received this cookbook as a gift and have worn it out over the last year. My husband and I have tried and enjoyed just about every recipe inside. There are of course a few that didn't make our favorites list, but overall this is a fantastic collection of meal ideas. We never felt like we were sacrificing taste in order to eat healthy. I used it all through the winter and just cooked on the stove top vs. the BBQ grill and it worked great! I have read quite a few cookbooks and this one is by the far the best I have seen.

An enjoyable book with some great recipes and as always folks easy to tweak things to your liking or needs as we all can't eat every ingredient or use of certain spices etc so improvise and you will have some good healthy eats and like with any diet key is to get exercise in wgts and cardio combined.

It's so nice that South Beach offers so many cookbooks. This one is another hit, loaded with very tasty and flavorful food! The salads are yummy!

I did not like this book at all. There is not one recipe that I would try.

I did not like this book at all. There is not one recipe that I would try.

While several of these recipes seemed a bit dull to me, there were a few really good ones. I took this recipe book like a good starting point of where to begin but felt free to add my own flair and extra seasoning. For example, the Mediterranean pita sandwich is really just fabulous as a salad and even better if you substitute the garbanzo beans for black beans. Much better. My husband also loved the curry tomato soup. But its a great way to get low fat/ low sugar ideas and that's the point, isn't it?

This book is a great value if you are trying to live a healthy lifestyle but are bored with the same old grilled chicken breast. I have tried several receipes from this book and every one was a great success plus I see ways to use this cookbook during the winter if you have a foreman or some other type of electric grill for use in the winter. The only negative is that some of the receipes call for unusual spices that I don't keep on hand.

This is the 2nd or third cookbook I have purchased. I couldn't have been more pleased to see something specifically designed for the unique tastes of fresh produce and summer time cooking. The recipes are easy to follow and the variety is outstanding. Way to go!

My wife and I have been on the South Beach Diet for about 9 months. The recipes in the other books are great but the ones in the Taste of Summer Cookbook are fantastic. I don't really feel like I'm on a diet when I eat foods prepared from these recipes. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether they are on a diet or not. The recipes are very heart healthy as well as delicious. The Turkey cutlets with Vegetable Couscous was one of my favorites as well as the spicy chicken and black bean tacos. All of the grilled chicken recipes are wonderful too. We are anxious to try all the recipes soon.

This is an excellent cookbook! Even if you aren't on the South Beach Diet, these recipes are flavorful, easy, and made with ingredients you have on hand. And did I mention that these recipes are good for you?! Definitely a book worth getting and keeping.

Summer recipes is right! Recipes are out of the ordinary. More summer-y and tropical in nature.

Think of this book as Rachael Ray meets the South Beach Diet. Every dish is simple to prepare and healthy.

If you know of more tasty, easy-to-prepare dishes that are healthy and support a lower weight, you'll eat better. My suggestion for you is that you acquire all the South Beach Diet cookbooks you can. The Taste of Summer Cookbook will be one that you'll cherish because the recipes take great advantage of the fresh foods available at low cost during the summer.

My experience with the South Beach Diet has been just amazing. Follow the diet, and the excess weight effortlessly disappears. Add quantities of foods unapproved on the diet, and the weight piles on like magic.

This book came along at just the right time for me. I was ready for some taste variations from what I normally eat to lost weight on the South Beach Diet. I feel very motivated to try these dishes and to drop the foods that I shouldn't be eating!

I thought the weakest part of the book came in the breakfasts. But that limitation is more than made up for in the great choices of soups, sandwiches, and salads for the rest of the day.

There are separate sections for seafood, poultry, meat dishes, and vegetarians so you can match your protein sources to your taste and health preferences. If you are like me, you'll be thrilled to see the many suggestions on page 11 to add even more flavor.

Each recipe tells you how long it takes to prepare, marinate, cook, and rest before serving. You also find out which stage of the diet the recipe fits. You'll also learn how many people are served. Naturally, Dr. Agatston gives you the per-serving quantities of calories, fat, saturated fat, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and sodium.

The book contains lots of good suggestions for preparing ingredients in advance to make it easier to serve future meals.

Here are some of the recipes that most interested me:

Soups

Chilled roasted red and yellow pepper soup with avocado salsa
Canadian spiced chilled tomato soup
Curried summer squash soup
Cucumber soup with grilled shrimp and dill
Heirloom tomato gazpacho
White gazpacho
Garden white bean soup

Sandwiches

Club
Mediterranean vegetable
Monkfish and shrimp rolls
Cape Cod sandwiches with homemade tartar sauce
Chipotle rubbed steak wraps
Pulled turkey

Salads

Green and yellow beans with fresh mozzarella and pine nuts
Poached chicken, zucchini, and wheat berry
Greek
Endive with walnuts
Jicama with creamy cilantro dressing
Romaine hearts with tuna, edamame, and green goddess dressing
Grilled Southwest steak, radish, and blue cheese
Baby greens with tiny tomatoes, fresh herbs, and toasted pistachios
Macaroni
Sweet potato
Slaw with sesame dressing
Spanish rice with pumpkin seeds
Citrusy hot pepper slaw
Grilled shrimp with chile lime dressing
Chicken with peanuts
Grilled pork and plum salad with almond gremolata

Seafood

Blackened tuna with greens
Lemony poached halibut with creamy cucumbers
Paella
Crab and shrimp cakes with caper sauce
Grilled fish tacos with spicy melon salsa
Spicy BBQ shrimp and rice
Tropical shrimp and rice
Bouillabaisse

Poultry

Grilled chicken with Asian plum sauce
Spicy chicken and black bean tacos
Grilled chicken fajitas
Jerk chicken with romaine salad
Chicken chili

Meat

Chimichurri burgers
Beef satay with peanut sauce
Herb marinated sirloin with asparagus and tomatoes
Pork kebabs with scallion chili paste
Grilled steak with Texas mop sauce
Feta-stuffed sirloin burgers
Moroccan spice-rubbed pork chops

Vegetarian

Indian curry

Sweets

Nectarines and plums with blue cheese and hazelnuts
Chocolate cherry truffles
Raspberry ices
Peach pops

Beverages

Mango lassi
Iced pom mojito spritzers

The book concludes with sample meal plans for phase one and two of the diet.

If you are like me, you'll be thrilled with the many gorgeous photographs that make the dishes come to life. Seeing how to present the dishes will make your cooking turn out to be even more appealing.

This book, like the other South Beach cookbooks, is filled with delicious, health-conscious recipes. Even if you are not on the South Beach Diet, you will find many recipes that can be used when cooking for a crowd or just for yourself. I've already marked at least a dozen recipes that I will be trying this summer!

I am not known for my cooking in fact, normally, people avoid my cooking. :) With this cookbook, I have had nothing but good reviews. I have made 3 recipes so far (I bought the book last week) and have a whole list of others to go. I love this cook book!

I got this book because I've been doing the SBD, and every recipe we've tried is a winner. I especially love that it uses so much fresh fruit & other fresh summer stuff. Now I look for what looks best at the store when deciding what to make. A few recipes require stuff I don't normally stock, but so far we've found everything at Wal-Mart. I've been cooking this for my husband & dad who aren't doing the diet and they both chow it down. I think my dad has forgotten that I've been cooking "diet" food for him. Long after I've lost my SB diet book, I'll still be making recipes from this cookbook - probably by request.

The recipies are refershing and fun to make. I never knew being on a diet could be so tasty.

I received the Taste of Summer Cookbook for my birthday - love it! My husband and I are big fans of The SBD and have both lost weight. We are having a blast planning meals and cooking together - eating them together has become fun AND special. We light candles and double the recipes for lunch the next day. We are starting to hear comments from family and friends about our weight/inch loss. They cannot believe that people can actually lose weight while eating not only nutritious, but DELICIOUS food! Another great book from Dr. Agatston...a MUST HAVE for SBD and low-carb dieters! :-)

Like the first two books this one is filled with wonderful meals. When we prepare dishes from this our children ask for seconds, our friends and family ask for the recipe, and people at work marvel that this food is healthy!!!

What a fantastic summer cookbook! The ingredients are readily available during the summer months. Directions are simple and easy to follow. The dishes are delicious and do not require a lot of time to prepare. For many of them you can do the prep work the night before and quickly get the meal ready when you come home from work.

In a previous book, Dr. Agatston gives a recipe for Shrimp Gazpacho (doesn't sound as good as it is) that takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and is one of my all time favorites. It's hard to believe that food which is so easy to prepare can be good for you and taste so good. And, in my quest to lose a few pounds and get ready for summer (and a class reunion!) my cholesterol has dropped from 265 to 189. I have never been able to budge that number, so I am very grateful.

So, I was glad to see this book come out and it has not disappointed. It is filled with the same kind of recipes as some of the other South Beach books, but with a special section on grilling and grilled foods, and an emphasis on quick to fix, light fare made from ingredients that are fresh and available in the summer. I look for recipes that don't have too long a list of ingredients, so that it is easy and less expensive. This book is filled with them!

I won't list a lot of the recipes as I see that other reviewers have already done that, but what's also nice about this book is that there are recipes given that can be doubled or tripled and fixed for a crowd, taking into account the way we live in the summer, like Easy Summer Chicken Chili. And, each recipe has a paragraph written about it that gives hints like what cuts of meat are less expensive, and what each recipe is providing nutritionally and the ease of preparation. Statements like, "If you don't have all the fresh herbs called for here, simply double up on the ones you do have." makes it easy on the 'becoming ever so much slimmer' cook!

A round of applause for the doctor, please. He's done it again.

I've been on South Beach since January and have lost 25 pounds (and hubby is down almost 30 pounds). I love this plan and find it a very healthy way to live.

I just received this book. While there are some recipes in here that include ingredients I don't normally stock, I see LOTS of recipes that look quick, easy, and use common ingredients. I am planning to try about 50-75% of the recipes total. I'll post an update after I've made a few of them.

Here's my list of what I am planning to try:

Farmer's Cheese Pancakes with Summer Fruits (P2/P1V), Summer Squash Scramble with Fresh Tomato (P1), Sweet Strawberries with Greek-Style Yogurt and Almonds (P2), Blueberry Almond Bran Muffins (P3), Easy Walnut Muesli with Fresh Apricots (P2), Whole-Grain Nectarine Pancakes (P2), Blackberry-Banana Breakfast Smoothies (P2), Three Berry-Stuffed French Toast (P2), Cucumber Soup with Grilled Shrimp and Dill (P1), Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho (P1), Garden White Bean Soup (P1), Grilled Salmon Salad Sandwiches (P2/P1V), South Beach Diet Club Sandwiches (P2), Classic Lobster Rolls (P2/P1V), Chipotle-Rubbed Steak Wraps (P2), Summer's Bounty Greek Salad (P1), Endive Salad with Walnuts (P1), Honeydew, Fresh Herb and Ricotta Salata Salad (P2), Crisp Jicama Salad with Creamy Cilantro Salad (P1), Romaine Hearts with Tuna, Edamame and Green Goddess Dressing (P1), Grilled Southwest Steak, Radish and Blue Cheese Salad (P1), Baby Greens with Tiny Tomatoes, Fresh Herbs and Toasted Pistachios (P1), Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Aioli (P1), Picnic Macaroni Salad (P2), Summertime Sweet Potato Salad (P2), Southern-Style Greens (P1), Spicy Grilled Sweet Potato Fries (P2), Savoy Slaw with Sesame Dressing (P1), Southern-Style Shrimp Boil (P3/P1V), Fresh Blackened Tuna with Greens (P1), Lemony Poached Halibut with Creamy Cucumbers (P1), Seafood Paella (P2), Crab and Shrimp Cakes with Caper Sauce (P1), Warm Shrimp and Penne with Dill (P2), Seared Scallops with Summer Vegetables (P3/P1V), Mixed Seafood Kebabs with Parsley-Garlic Sauce (P1), Pasta with Salmon, Peas, Mint and Feta (P2), Spicy BBQ Shrimp and Rice (P2), Lemon-Grilled Whole Trout with Pesto (P1), Steamed Mussels with Garden Vegetable Broth (P1), South-of-the-Border Salmon Burgers (P1), Tropical Shrimp and Rice (P2), New England Shellfish Chowder (P2), Grilled Shrimp Salad with Chile-Lime Dressing (P2/P1V), Grilled Chicken with Savory Asian Plum Sauce (P2), Garlicky Chicken Skewers (P1), Pulled Turkey Sandwiches (P2/P1V), Mediterranean Chicken Burgers (P2/P1V), Spicy Chicken and Black Bean Tacos (P2), Asian Turkey Meatballs in Lettuce Cups (P1), Pan-Seared Chicken with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (P1), Turkey Cutlets with Vegetable Couscous (P2), Grilled Chicken Fajitas (P2), Jerk Chicken with Cool Romaine Salad (P1), Easy Summer Chicken Chili (P1), Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce (P1), Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Peach-Lime Salsa (P2/P1V), Chipotle Chili Dogs (P2/P1V), Herb-Marinated Sirloin with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes (P1), Carne Asada (P1), Hot Dogs with Homemade Tomato-Pickle Relish (P2/P1V), Pork Pinchos with Shredded Cabbage Salad (P2), Grilled Steak with Texas Mop Sauce (P1), Feta-Stuffed Sirloin Burgers wtih Sun-Dried Tomato Mayonnaise (P2/P1V), Moroccan Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops (P1), Spicy Lamb Kebabs with Cucumber-Mint Yogurt (P1), Spaghetti with Ricotta and Fresh Tomato Sauce (P2), Grilled Tomato, Arugula, and Feta Cheese Pizzas (P2), Grilled Spinach, Garlic, and Goat Cheese Pizzas (P2), Spicy South Beach Diet Macaroni and Cheese (P2), Farmers' Market Pasta Salad (P3), South Beach Diet Tiramisu (P2), Creamy Lemon-Vanilla Ricotta Souffles (P1), Nectarine and Plum Fans with Blue Cheese and Toasted Hazelnuts (P2), Chocolate-Cherry Trifles (P2), Star Anise-Spiced Fruit Skewers (P2), Raspberry Ices (P2), Cool-Down-Quick Peach Pops (P2), Fresh Blackberry Tartlets (P2), Floating Caribbean Islands (P3), Strawberry-Blueberry Crunch (P2), Peach-Almond Parfaits (P2), Summer Fruit Cocktail (P2), Plum Rice Pudding (P2), Crangria (P3), Orange Gingerade (P2), Chilly Chocolate (P1), Ocean Breezes (P3), Mary on the Beach (P1), Calypso Coolers (P2), Iced Green Sun Tea (P1), Raspberry-Grape Sparklers (P2), Strawberry-Citrus Refreshers (P2), Iced Pom-Mojito Spritzers (P3), Peach-Raspberry Shakes (P2), Hibiscus Tea Spritzers with Lime (P1), Melon Agua Fresca Slushes (P3)

Looks like I'll be on the Beach all summer! Jump on in! The water's great!

The beautiful, yet easy recipes in this book will make your mouth water. This is a great cookbook for anyone -- not just followers of the South Beach Diet lifestyle. I plan to buy extra copies to give as gifts all summer long. Dr. Agatston has made eating right for better health so appealing, attainable and enjoyable. Who wouldn't want to dine on delicious food while doing something good for your heart and health?

This is a wonderful addition to my cookbook collection. I love cool refreshing recipes and drinks for summer and the ones I've tried are delicious and they all look great. I also love grilling and there is an abundance of great recipes for the grill with lots of fabulous marinade and seasoning suggestions. I'm also a big fan of making the most of summer fruits and veggies, and this book does just that... Eating healthy food that tastes wonderful-- It can be done! I love these cookbooks!

There's something about the abundance of fresh ingredients in the summer that inspires me to be more adventurous in the kitchen. This newest edition to the fabulous South Beach Diet cookbook library is a winner. I've tried about six of the recipes so far and have several more on the agenda for this week. The family particularly liked PULLED TURKEY SANDWICHES (page 131) and the SPICY CHICKEN AND BLACK BEAN TACOS(page 137) which are so quick and easy, you'll love them too. The GRILLED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PEACH-LIME SALSA is a great dish to serve guests (page 150)and the nifty idea of using whole wheat tortillas to make homemade pizza is delicious. But my favorite is page 196, SOUTH BEACH DIET TIRAMISU. Love this book. Thank you Dr. Agatston.