'Tis The Season!

She's baaaaack!

I’m alive people, honest I am! I’ve just been preoccupied with day-to-day craziness, trying to dodge the little black cloud that seems to be following me around. Now here we are in the thick of the holiday season . . . how the hell did that happen? The calendar says I should be shopping and tree-trimming and cookie baking . . . so far, I’ve managed only one of those 3:



This photo was taken with the camera on my new cell phone. I know people have been emailing cell phone photos for years now . . . but I just learned to do this last week. So I am once again armed with a photographic device and ready to document the holiday season in all its honey-glazed, sugar-plummed glory!

In fact, I attended my first Feast of Wintery Goodness last nite! My pals Liz and Jimbo hosted a Sunday nite shindig of epic culinary proportions. Liz is a great cook . . . someone who knows how to “simmer” or “baste” things, and how to make soup and pie crust from scratch. Everyone else brought a side dish to add to the feasting fun . . . my contribution was a salad (surprise!) . . .topped with almonds and cranberries. Basically, I combined bags of pre-packaged greens and toppings in a large bowl. Others were slightly more ambitious – Kevin made Sweet Potato Pie that could make baby angels weep with happiness, and Alison provided delightful baked turnips that made other root vegetables everywhere seethe with jealousy. Liz whipped up an amazing Pumpkin Soup, cornbread stuffing (who knew there was such a thing?! I always thought ‘cornbread stuffing’ was a Dickensian fantasy food like ‘figgy pudding’) and cornish game hens, followed by a sinfully yummy pecan pumpkin pie. There was not much conversing and plenty of chewing, the sign of a truly successful meal.

The evening also showed that you don’t need to have a fancy-ass, Martha-Stewart style table setting to have a perfectly legitimate and successful dinner party. Good food is still good even when it is cooked in disposable pans with Ikea tools and eaten off a plate in your lap while camped out on the sofa. I sometimes forget this when I survey my abysmally small and ill-equipped kitchen. Yes, it would be awesome to have a KitchenAid stand mixer or a counter to put it on – but these minor challenges need not hamper my culinary abilities forever! Back in the day, people prepared Christmas dinner for families of 12 on a woodstove. At the end of the day, its not about how tricked out your kitchen is, or how perfectly the table is set . . . its about good friends, good food, and the sharing of both.

So Much to Celebrate!

Yikes -- so its been a few weeks, huh? My bad, I know. My excuse for the lack of posting, while lame, is still legit. At first, I was super busy planning and executing a Halloween bash where I actually cooked food!! And then, after taking many photos of my culinary triumphs for blog-posting . . . I discovered that my camera battery charger has gone missing. So for now, you are going to get all the fun of my party updating without the awesome visuals. I apologize!

So those who know me know that Halloween is one of my top 3 favorite holidays. Seriously, what's not to love about dressing up, shoveling in free candy and scaring the shit out of your friends? These are favorite pastimes of mine any day of the year -- so the fact that there's an official holiday involving all 3 is amazing. This year, I decided to invite the posse over for some nibbles and drinks before heading up the street to our favorite dive / karaoke hangout for costumed karaoke insanity! My menu was pretty ambitious for a girl who never cooks, but I figured if it turned out disastrously I could simply pretend that I was trying to frighten them with terrible food on purpose.

Halloween Menu!

A variety of dips, chips and veggies, including a white bean dip recipe I pilfered from the girls at We Are Not Martha

Bruschetta made with fresh bread from the Copley Farmers Market

"Mummified Coconut Shrimp" . . . I cheated with this one and bought pre-made frozen coconut shrimp . . . I haven't quite worked my way up to frying seafood . . . yet.

Hellishly Hot Buffalo Chicken Fingers . . . Again, I bought frozen chicken fingers and some buffalo hot sauce -- nothing like some fried poultry to balance out an insane sugar high!

Sweet Potato Casserole! This was the dish I was most proud of -- made entirely from scratch for the first time ever -- and I had no leftovers!! A good sign!

Cornbread . . . made from a Trader Joe's mix, but it was yuuuummy nonetheless!

Salad with walnuts, cranberries and fresh farmer's market goat cheese . . . I forgot to put this out! So if anyone needs a log of fresh goat cheese, let me know.


Amy Sedaris' Original CUPCAKES!! . . . I have made these before, and I have to say this probably wasn't my best batch. That might be because I ran out of vanilla extract Thursday night at around midnight, so I had to put the batter in the fridge and leave it for the next day. Also, my $15 hand mixer from Target doesn't always do the best job of getting batter completely smooth . . . but even still, I loooove this cupcake recipe almost as much as I love Amy Sedaris (who inspired my Halloween costume!)

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies . . . these were also a homage to the girls over at We Are Not Martha . . . Chelsee brought me one a few weeks ago and I decided to attempt them myself! They didn't come out quite as fudgy as Chelsee's . . but for a first attempt, they weren't too bad.


This exercise in cooking for more than one person also showed just how miserably ill-equipped my kitchen is. Mama G, who I recruited to come be my emotional support during the party prep, was horrified by my lack of mixing bowls, counter space, etc. I also apparently only have one oven mitt, which makes taking a giant tray of brownies out of the oven really hard!! Hopefully I will get some kitchen tools for Christmas . . . and in the meantime, I need to get myself a new camera charger so I can share my photos with the world!

So the Season of Celebration is almost upon us! Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's -- oh my!! I will be working hard to strike a balance between maintaining my healthy lifestyle and improving my mad culinary skillz!

And finally, one more thing we should all be celebrating:



Hail to the Chief, people!!

What's For Blinner?

Hey gang! After a fabulously relaxed week of vaycay, I'm back in action! My week off consisted of lots of merriment and self indulgence -- trips to the salon, the spa, the bar, and various eateries all over this fair city. Alas, now its back to reality -- but I think this little spell of downtime will keep me sane until the holidays!

So today was back to my regularly scheduled program - work, etc. Now, when I first made my big plans to say, "Adios Nutrisystem, hello kitchen!" -- I had some grand illusions of me cooking elaborate meals on Sundays to freeze for quick and easy weeknite dinners or pack as lunches throughout the week. Um . . . yeh. So I was lucky that I made it to the grocery store at all last nite, nevermind putting together a Sally Homemaker Weekly Menu. At first, I was feelin' a little lame about my lack of follow-thru . . . but Rome was not built in a day, people. Baby steps. Sooo -- last I did bake myself a couple of pieces of chicken with garlic to add to my lunch salads, and I made sure to stock up on yummy and satisfying grains, like oatmeal and quinoa and light rye bread. A hearty breakfast of Kashi Honey Grain puffs and a nice big apple kept me full all morning long, and the soy crisps I brought to go with my salad were crunchy and filling. I think I am definitely getting better and spreading out my snacks and meals throughout the day, which is a very good thing!

So when I got home tonight, I was hungry, but not starving. I started rooting around in the kitchen, browsing my grocery store stash to see what might catch my eye. The past couple of days I've been craving a big ol' sandwich . . or a hearty breakfast omlet. Must be the cold weather -- suddenly my body is like, "Quick -- pile on the hot and filling carbs!" So I decided to combine my love of breakfast with my love of sandwiches and created a "Faux Salmon Lox Omlet Sandwich . . . For Blinner." (like a breakfast-lunch-dinner three-way . . mmmmm!)

I scrambled some egg beaters with some salmon, spinach and tomato. I toasted 2 slices of light rye bread, and spread 'em with a wedge of light Laughing Cow cheese. I added a slice or two of fresh tomato, piled on my salmon-egg scramble -- and voila! Blinner is served!



Nothin' fancy . . . or difficult . . . or particularly creative . . . but I was impressed with my own ability to satisfy 2 cravings for heavy meals in one healthy swoop! Now by spring, if I can make this sammie with bread I made myself, farm fresh eggs and cheese, and some real salmon (not from a Chicken of the Sea packet) . . . I will have truly succeeded. But for now -- I'm just pleased that my microwave was not involved at all in the preparation of this meal.

Kitchen Witch?

So I went to the Garment District in search of a Halloween costume. For those of you not from the Boston area, the Garment District is a giant mecca of vintage clothes / costume-age / make-your-own-tshirt-y goodness. Everyone and their mom was there, costume hunting. Actually -- it was more like, every fraternity and their house-bunnies were there, looking for "giant chicken" and "slutty pirate" costumes. Tres original.

I wasn't feelin' the costume vibe, but I did find this little beauty in amongst the "50's & 60's Retro" racks:



Nothin' says, "Get back in the kitchen, woman!" quite like a vintage apron! After some pondering, I've decided I can actually incorporate this into a kick-ass Halloween costume . . . but I will say no more about that now. Bwahahaha!

Brownies & BlogHer and Such - Oh My!

The faint sound of tap-dancing you might be hearing right now is just me, giddy with excitement over my week of vacation!!! Squeeee!! I may not be jetting off to anywhere exciting, but 9 days away from my cubicle is luxurious enough for me. I am planning on enjoying the fall sunshine, catching up with my writing and reading, hanging out with friends and familia, taking a hiking excursion to Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire with Papa G . . . and doing some cooking. Some non-microwave cooking. That's right folks -- the era of Nutrisystem is over!!

Now, I must give credit where credit is due. I think the two months of wacky diet meals did help me reset my culinary clock and help me see the light in terms of eating well-balanced and portion controlled meals. Over all, I've shed about 5 pounds, which is probably only noticeable to moi . . . but my goal wasn't to become an effing supermodel, so whatevs. Mama G, I'm very proud to say, has lost over 20 pounds -- and is still going strong!! Can we get a round of applause? I am so proud and so happy for her -- and I can tell that she is feeling happier and more positive about her goals! I am obviously still gonna be her #1 cheerleader, but right now my goal is slightly different. I'm dedicating myself to developing a long-term healthy lifestyle through awareness, rather than restriction. That means trusting my food judgment, being aware of where my food comes from, listening to my body to determine when I am hungry and when I am full, and taking the time to enjoy good food and good meals as a genuine experience. Deep, I know.

So my first day of Freedom Eating started when Chelsee brought me this amazing homemade Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Brownie!



If a pumpkin pie and a chocolate cake made a baby, this would be their delicious offspring!! For the recipe, check out We Are Not Martha -- Chelsee and Susie's super-cool lifestyle blog. They are translating Martha Stewart's over-the-top perfection into something any 20-something with a stove can achieve -- high five, ladies! :)

Watching the blogging success of the Martha girls was part of what inspired me to start this blog -- so when Chelsee told me that they were going to be attending the BlogHer Conference in Boston , I decided to tag along and get some serious blog schoolin'. I wasn't really sure what to expect, having never attended a "conference" of any kind. The day turned out to be super inspirational, and I am psyched about rededicating myself to growing this blog and chronicling my new journey. I also met a ton of cool people and learned a crapload about networking, blogging basics, and food photography 101. Yes, I have officially drank the Kool-Aid of the BlogCult, people -- so be on the lookout for new developments around here in the future!

It's The Final Countdown!

So here we are, with a little less than 2 weeks to go in Nutrisystem-town! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited that the end is in sight! While I may not have lost 30 pounds or anything, I think I’m accomplishing what I set out to do – which was to develop a well balanced diet, be less crazy, etc. On Saturday I enjoyed a fabulous brunch, a meat-tacular dinner at Redbones, and some of the best homemade chocolate cake I’ve ever had . . . and I didn’t feel guilty about it, and I didn’t gain 17 pounds, and the world continued to rotate on its axis. Miracles!

And speaking of miracles, I am currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a non-fiction book about her family’s year-long experiment with eating locally, which meant growing / raising most of their own food or buying directly from local farmers, etc. While it helped that Kingsolver’s family lives on a farm in rural Virginia, the whole concept of being conscious of where your food actually comes from, who grew it, how far it travelled to get from the field to your plate . . . its an interesting one, especially for a city dweller like me. In urban areas, I think we’re apt to celebrate that fact that we can get pretty much anything we want, any time of the year. Recipe calls for three cups Himalayan mushrooms and some squid indigenous to the waters off the coast of Guam? To the Super 88 Market! Need starfruit in January? No problem! On the flipside, though . . . do we know what asparagus really tastes like when its fresh from the ground, and hasn't travelled 2,000 miles in the back of a truck to your local produce section? What exactly is the “season” for lettuce, anyway? It’s kind of scary just how removed a lot of us are from the actual life cycle of our food . . . which makes it easy to slam any old pre-packaged thing into our faces as we rush out the door. Not only am I looking forward to *not* consuming all of my meals from microwavable containers that contain added drugs – I’m excited about the opportunity to start experimenting in the kitchen, whipping up real recipes where I can control the ingredients and making up my own little signature dishes as I go along. Me of two months ago would have been daunted and stressed by this prospect – but I have been born-again as a fresh-foodie, and I am not ashamed!

In the meantime, though, the boxes in my kitchen still need emptying. This morning I’m having some Cluster Crunch Cereal (from a pouch) and for lunch there’s “fettucini alfredo” (from a ramen cup) . . . dinner will be microwaved goopy-sauce-meal, with some veggies from the Farmers Market thrown in. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

I want to ride my bicycle . . .

Happy Monday, everyone! Where did the weekend go?! It seems like it was just hours ago that I was taking my Friday evening jaunt to the Newbury Comics in Faneuil Hall (note: a terrible location for a Newbury Comics!) and now suddenly – I’m back at my desk. Please lord, let this week be a gentle one!

Food wise, the weekend was not very exciting. Saturday night we went out on the town, and I got a walnut and goat cheese salad at Tavern on the Square. This was followed by a rum and diet coke and a couple light beers at the Courtside . .. which was then followed by a drunken karaoke performance of No Doubt’s “I’m Just A Girl”. God, I love Saturday night!!

The biggest thrill of the weekend, however, was the new addition to Tea’s world – my new bike, Ernestine!




Yes, I named my bike. I figured she and I need to bond and thus lessen the risk of me riding into traffic and dying. I won’t lie – I’m a little nervous about city biking. Growing up, I was always that kid who rode her bike into a mailbox, or fell in the neighbor’s bushes trying to hop the curb, etc. etc. But many years have passed since the peak of my awkward childhood phase – so I’m hoping that, along with the ability to write a check and use the stove, has come the ability to ride a bike without killing myself. I still need to adjust the seat and the handlebars before I take her out on an official road test. This will hopefully happen in the next day or so . . . although I am still totally beat from last week’s stress and my fun-filled weekend, and I’m now trying to fight off the Fall Plague. Be gone, plague -- there's much to do!

Also – I feel really badly that I’ve missed yoga the last two Sundays! Sunday morning is kind of a bad time to do hardcore yoga, since Saturday night tends to be my party night. The studio has a beginner class on Wednesday evenings, so while I might not have the company of my partner-in-crime, Julie, it might be more doable schedule wise. Plus an evening class might work better since I was pretty tired after the last session—it’d be perfect to go home, take a shower and crawl into bed! We’ll see if I can get my ass over there this week. Time to follow through on all my various plans and schemes!

Worst. Blogger. EVER!

This might not be my dog, but his face seems to convey exactly what needs to be said about my blogging efforts of late. Pathetic.

I know, I know guys! My only excuse for my lack of posting is really . . . lack of posting material. I have found that making interesting / insightful commentary on eating freeze-dried space food every day is a lot more challenging than expected. I guess this sheds some light onto one of the many reasons why "dieting" is hard, and most "diets" fail -- dieting is boring. It gets boring, eating the same thing (or limited variety of things) every day. It gets boring having to puzzle over what to order when dining out with friends, or whether I should suck it up and skip the next round of drinks. One light beer is simply not potent enough for me to get up and do karaoke at my favorite local dive bar!

I think perhaps I have been too limited in what I imagined this blog to be about -- weird Nutrisystem food. Yeh, the food is kinda whack, and it was a total novelty to open up that big cardboard box for the first time and see my whole month's menu neatly packaged in color-coded containers. But honestly . . . there's a lot more to life than the 3 meals and 2 snacks I eat every day. I'm thinking the blog needs to become more about that -- with some fun meal-plan reports mixed in, of course!

That said -- I'm hanging in here with the Nutri-food! Aside from a few weekend social lapses . . . and an unfortunately hormonal evening where I binged on several chocolatey Nutrisystem desserts . . . I am pretty much sticking to it. Mama G has also been pretty darn good about following the plan, and is rapidly approaching a 20 lb loss!! Woohoo!! I have not been nearly so dramatic in my scale results, but I am not doing too badly. I wouldn't mind losing another couple of pounds this month before I say a fond farewell to Dining By Cardboard box and embark on the real adventure -- healthy cooking for one!

In the meantime, because I know you are starving for your daily dose of Nutri-goodness, here are a few new food items I've enjoyed from the latest shipment:

Lunch
Cheesy Homestyle Mashed-Potatoes

These potatoes, while tasting much like what you'd expect instant mashed potatoes to taste like, were still pretty yummy, and a welcome change from the usual "saucy, soupy" lunch entrees.

Dinner
Chicken with Almonds, Vegetables and Rice


Tonite's dinner in all its glory . . .

This meal, while very good, is a prime example of something I am eager to try cooking from scratch. Yes, the chicken was good, the brown rice and sliced almonds a perfect touch . . . but the sauce was still obviously a "frozen dinner entree" sauce, with a pathetic sprinkling of wilted red and green bits that I think were supposed to be peppers. The broccoli I added made all the difference -- but if I had made this from scratch, I could have played around with the flavors for the sauce and added waaaay more veggies. Just sayin'.

In other news . . . it's hard to believe we are halfway through September! I have always loved the fall. Something about this time of year always fills me with energy. I think my brain is still wired to think of this as "Back to School" time -- a clean slate, bursting with possibility and new adventures. This year, I think my Autumn Energy is being channeled into this whole, "making peace with body and mind" vibe -- discovering new ways to celebrate and exercise my body and my spirit. Its exciting -- and definitely helping to spark my creativity, too. So as I transition from "Nutrition in a Box" to "Nutrition for my Body", expect a lot more of my wacky hippie poetics on life and love and learning . . . trust me, as we get closer to October and my Inner Wiccan starts rearing her head, its gonna get wiiiiild up in here! :)

Talk to you soon -- I promise!

That's Hot

Yesterday morning, Julie and I finally made it over to the Baptiste Yoga Studio in Porter Sq to get down with our inner yogis!! This yoga practice involves lots of flow and balance (as most forms of yoga do . . . ?), in a room heated to 90 degrees. The heat was something new for me. Sure, I’ve done my Rock and Roll Yoga video in my apartment on a humid July afternoon in front of my ancient air conditioner . . . but this was kinda like doing yoga in the desert. Or in the mountainous hills of Southern India – which I guess is how yoga was meant to be done.

I’ll admit, I was slightly apprehensive about this class – a), because I am not very flexible and b) I don’t like sweating. We arrived slightly late for the class, which was pretty packed, but the super friendly class assistant lady made some room for us – and then we were off. Thankfully, my living room yoga sessions meant I was familiar with some of the basic poses like Upward Dog, Downward Dog, etc . . . otherwise I would have been completely lost. As it was, I did a lot of staring at my neighbors to figure out what I was supposed to be doing.

After the first 10 minutes, my self-consciousness started to fade a little bit, though. The whole vibe of the class is very personal and mellow. The teacher kept encouraging everyone to “make each pose their own . . . don’t worry about keeping up, enjoy the journey and the flow . . do what feels good for you and listen to your body . . .” And after a little while . . .I was able to start to do that. Suddenly I was aware of muscles I never realized I had. As the instructor gently realigned my hips or showed me how to place my feet . . . I found myself noticing things like – my hips and my feet. During one cycle of poses, on my back with my legs extended above me, I had a moment of, “Hi legs. Wow, you’ve actually got some muscle. Good thing, since I rely on you to get me everywhere!”

Ok, so at that point maybe I was a little delirious – 90 degrees is *hot* when you are in a constant and complicated state of movement. I have never, in my entire life, sweat as much as I did in that hour and 20 minutes. By the end of the class, my mat was slippery and I was a little grossed out at my own drippiness. But during the last five minutes of “cool down meditation” or whatever . . . I was able to assess how I was feeling . . . and surprisingly, I felt pretty good! My body felt tired, but alive . . .and relaxed. Sweating out all of my stress and the weird Nutri-preservatives and beers I had over the weekend was just what I needed to reinvigorate myself. I think this could be part of what I need right now – something physical and challenging that connects my body and my mind. Even though I am sore today, my body feels different somehow. More engaged. I’m already looking forward to next Sunday!

I’m also looking forward to my new Nutrisystem shipment, which should be arriving any day now! It’s getting’ down to slim pickings now! This is going to be my last month of Nutri-fun, I think. I’ve gained 2 lbs over the past 2 weeks, so my goal is to try to maybe lose another 3-4 lbs on the Nutrisystem food this month and then fly solo with a Nutri-Gourmet Takes Back the Kitchen movement at the beginning of October. In the meantime, I’m focusing more on things like how my body *feels* rather than what the scale is saying!

Promos and Apologies . . . Waxing Poetic on the Food Blog Life

Starting this blog has turned me on to the wonderful world of food blogging! I am apparently not the only one who has decided to document better living through photographing and publically posting their meals. Part of my daily routine has been to check the following blogs to see what these ladies have been munching for the day:

Kath Eats Real Food
http://www.katheats.com/
Kath is going to school to be a registered dietician, and lives the kind of healthy, productive, organized lifestyle that most of us can only dream of! I drool over her meals, and marvel at her ability to eat so well and stay so slim . . . I guess all the bike riding and trips to the gym probably help.

On A Lobster Placemat
http://onalobsterplacemat.blogspot.com/
My girl Rose here reminds me a lot of myself – maybe because she’s a writing student, or maybe because she owns a lobster placemat. Either way, she rocks! I am especially inspired by her amazing oatmeal recipes . . . this lady is an oatmeal artiste!

Eat Like Me
http://www.self.com/health/blogs/eatlikeme
Cristin’s blog is part of Self.com’s Healthy Eating website, which automatically makes me extremely jealous. She’s a local Boston girl who runs her own healthy meal planning business, and eats like a champ.


One of the things I find most inspiring about all three of these nutritionistas is the fact that they eat hearty, fresh meals. They are not afraid of carbs, or loading a bowl full of oats and cereal and nuts. They have made peace with peanut butter. They look at food as fuel for life, with each ingredient serving some sort of delicious, yet practical purpose.

That’s what I want. More than losing 5 invisible pounds that only I can see – I want to be able to appreciate food and eat to live – to treat myself by treating my body well. I went from eating nothing but crap all the time, to depriving myself of everything but lettuce and grilled chicken, to a roller coaster of starving all day and bingeing on “healthy” snacks all night. And my body is confused. This Nutrisystem plan, as whack as it might be, has given me the chance to slow down and listen to what my bod is trying to say. And it is shouting, “Wtf, man?! Why do you hate me?? What have I ever done to you??”

I’m sorry, body. Sorry that I stuffed you full of shit for the first 20 years of my life rather than deal with the things that were making me emotional, confused, and upset. Sorry that I declared war on you – blockading all carbohydrates and berating you for every stem of broccoli or wedge of non-fat cheese you ate to try to fill the void. I’m sorry I’ve been forcing you to workout with very little fuel in the tank – and then get pissed at you when you are tired and achy and don’t feel like doing the extra 20 minutes on the treadmill. I apologize for all those cute outfits I didn’t buy you, because I didn’t want to accept the size on the label. I regret the times that I turned down offers to go out for dinners and drinks with people because I didn’t want to have to face the menu – and the guilt that would come with “cheating”. In short – I have been a Mommie Dearest to you, poor body. I have lulled you into submission, only to beat you with a wire hanger for stupid, pointless things. And yeh – I know its effed up. And I don’t wanna live that way anymore.

So once my next box of Nutisystem food has come and gone, this blog is going to be more about eating to live – trying new recipes, striking a balance between making healthy choices and allowing myself not to dwell on the things I eat and decisions I make. Yeh – I might be kinda crazy. And yeh – maybe I need a little more help than I thought – lol! But reading about how others have worked to change their lifestyles has really inspired me to change my own . . . and if I’m successful, maybe I can help someone else to do the same.

Typical Tuesday

Hey-yo. Nothing at all exciting to report today, Nutri-wise or otherwise. Today's menu featured:

Breakfast
Nutriflakes Bran Cereal
Nonfat peach yogurt
Pear

Nothing says: "Today's gonna be the most exciting day of my life!!!!" like a big bowl of bran cereal. Mmm.

Lunch
Nutrisystem cheese tortellini
Salad w. 1/4 c tuna

I didn't bother taking photos of this culinary masterpiece, since I think I've already documented the tortellini once. And really, there's only so many gloppy pictures of stuff in saucse I'm sure you good people are willing to stare at.

Snack
Nonfat blueberry yogurt
1/2 c. blueberries

Dinner
Florentine Sauce with Chicken Fettucini
1 c. broccoli
salad




Gloppy sauce picture of the day.

So I know this probably isn't much to look at -- but this was surprisingly delicious!! I am always slightly dubious about these attempts at your "favorite home cooked meals" . . .but the "florentine" sauce with this bad-boy was a pretty decent and delightfully creamy / alfredo-ish. To the point where I began to think "This can't possibly be a diet food item." I added some broccoli to soak up the sauce, which made it extra colorful and delish.

Dessert
Nutrisystem oatmeal cookie

No complaints here! Kind of reminded me of the Kashi brand dark chocolate chip cookies I used to buy . . . minus the chocolate. And after this little treat, I mustered the energy to go to the gym, since I was damn lazy yesterday. It felt good to just go move for awhile. Tomorrow morning I'm gonna set the alarm a little bit earlier and see if I can do some of my yoga video before work . . . some stretching and toning would be nice. Plus, Julie and I have been talking about taking a Sunday morning yoga class, so priming my body for some enlightened bending and balancing is a good idea!

September is . . . Back to Blog Month!

Boo! Hey there, folks. 

I know, I know . . . I fell off the face of the food blog planet for a bit. Busy work week, a last hurrah holiday weekend. Excuses, excuses -- please to forgive moi! I confess, I did not exactly stick to the plan over Labor Day Weekend. There was drinking. There was drunken Dunkin Donuts bagel consumption. There were family dinners and italian restaurants and bread. There was a baby shower with amazingly yummy looking food that I fought hard to resist. And in the end, of course -- there was froyo. Oh, how I love my froyo! 

So the scales might be tipped a little not-so-favorably this week. But you know what? That's a-ok . .  . I'm back on track, ready to be a good little Nutri-gourmet for another month before graduating to the big wide world of Healthy, Food-Positive Living! And as a little sneak peek of the crunchy granola lifestyle I wish to embody, I decided to go commune with nature this weekend. Behold, photos from my hike at Walden Pond, which was followed by a stroll through the DeCordova Art Museum sculpture garden:

If I stick with the Nutrisystem, will I end up looking like this Tree Spirit . . .?? 

Getting out and hugging some trees was a good time, and definitely helped to recharge the ol' batteries. So today, I was back on form  . . . nursing a bit of a hangover, but I managed to stick to the Nutri-plan all day! This week coming up might be a little scary, since I'm rapidly running out of all the "yummy" looking meals . . . I'm finding myself left with a lot of the free "bonus" food, which is basically the shit that no one ever orders. Here's Monday's Menu:

Breakfast

Nutrisystem Chocolate Chip Scone

Nectarine

Nonfast raspberry yogurt

I popped the scone in the microwave for 10 seconds and it made all the difference! The chocolate chips got melty . . .  I could almost imagine this scone came from a real bakery. Or grocery store. 

Lunch

Nutrisystem Tomato and Corn Chowder

Salad w. 1/4 c. tuna

K, I'm not gonna lie . . . this "chowder" was pretty awful. It was like canned baked beans (which I hate) mixed with that crappy Beefaroni tomato sauce. I seriously considered dumping this entire bowl after just one bite . . . but because I was hungover and hungry, I managed to choke down most of it. I think there's another bowl of this lurking in the Lunch Box though. Shudder. 

Snack

Pear

1/4 c. cottage cheese 

Dinner

Nutrisystem Chicken and Pasta in Parmesean Sauce

Salad

peppers and mushrooms

Pear

After a super-lame lunch, I stuck with a dinner I knew I would enjoy. I added some mushrooms and peppers to the sauce, and treated myself to a salad AND a piece of fruit (technically it should have been one or the other) because I was feeling like I needed the boost before going out to hang in Davis Sq. for a little while. I also tried a new Dessert . . . 

Nutrisystem Caramel Popcorn!!

This is not something I would normally crave, but it seemed like it would satisfy the need for a sweet yet munchy snack . . . and it did! Just like Cracker Jack! I only wish there'd been a little bit more . . . ah well, it definitely kept me satisfied for the rest of the evening. 

So get ready kids . . . as the Meal Boxes grow ever more sparse, the next week should offer up some "exotic" food choices! Until then -- bon appetite! :) 

Day 15: Stayin' Alive!

Don't worry kids -- I'm still on the wagon! I've been lacking in my photo-documenting lately, though. Mostly because I'm now repeating a lot of Nutrisystem entrees from the first 10 days. And there's only so many times I can take a picture of a blurry bowl of cereal, or attempt to describe some strange microwaveable noodle bowl.

Last night I *did* go out to dinner with a bunch of high school friends I hadn't seen in awhile, which was excellent! We went to Not Your Average Joe's, where I got a Not Your Average House Salad (considered above average, apparently, because they put sun-dried tomatoes on it! Mmm!) with grilled chicken. It was yummy and not from a freeze dried box! And I managed to avoid the temptation of their totally amazing bread! Victory!

Weigh in this morning reflected all my brave efforts at resisting temptation this past week -- down 2 more pounds, for a grand total of 5 pounds! Not too shabby, man!! And Mama G is down 12 pounds!! Wooohooo!!

Nutrisystem, Mama and I will be more than happy to star in your next infomercial . . . you can even pay me in Miracle Brownies.

I promise I will take pics of any "new" meals in the next few days. There's a scary looking container of "Split Pea Soup" waiting in my Lunch Box that will have to be consumed eventually. That will be worth documenting, I'm sure!

In the mean time, I'm going to be focusing my attention on building a new workout routine to go along with this new outlook on eating. Suggestions for fun cardio and weight training tricks for the most basic of gym bunnies are more than welcome!

Weekend #2 Recap!

Greetings, blogland friends!

I know, I know, all has been quiet in Nutri-Gourmet world the past few days! I had a pretty busy weekend, full of hanging out with friends and fam . . . and still managed to stick my with boxed-food regime. I have to say, the novelty is starting to wear off a bit, though. I would kill for a beer and a slice of bread . . . or a fruity cocktail and a giant vat of frozen yogurt. I keep trying to remind myself how shitty my body felt 2 weeks ago after I allowed myself to binge on carbs and carnival food . . . but right now the thought of another microwaved cup of something saucy / noodley is causing an equal amount of nausea. I guess anything to the extreme can be a not-so-great thing.

Still -- I have been super loyal to the plan . . . and to my photo documentary project! I did not take pics of every single meal of the weekend . . . I figure there's only so many bowls of cereal you people wanna see. But here are some of the culinary highlights of the weekend.


On Friday, we took Chelsee to Bouchee for her birthday lunch. It's this super-cute french bistro place on Newbury St. with gorgeous patio seating, which made for an awesomely sunny Friday lunch hour . . . I almost forgot I was in Boston! I managed to stick to my plan, though with the sangria and amazing flourless chocolate torte, it was very hard! But I resisted both, first by eating part of my Nutrisystem Chocolate Peanut Butter lunch bar before we left, and then ordering a green salad with grilled shrimp:




I rewarded myself for my willpower with some lasagna for dinner:



Saturday breakfast was a yummy bowl of granola cereal and some cottage cheese with blueberries. Lunch featured a repeat of the chicken salad, which seemed to sit with my stomach slightly better this time around.

Saturday night, Papa G grilled me some fresh veggies to go with my rotini and meat sauce (which was quite good):


It was nice to dine with Mama G on Saturday! Finally, I was not the only one at the table eating space food!


Saturday nite chocolate chip cookie and tea. Yes, my parents use their holiday mugs all year round. Oh -- and the cookie was delightful!

Sunday morning was truly a throw-back to my childhood days. Pancakes!

I was never very good at flipping pancakes. The little spots are "blueberries" . . . sad imitation ones after all the awesome fresh berries I've been eating this week . . .


The tiny packet of pancake mix yields a surpisingly large serving! And these were definitely yum -- no IHOP special, to be sure, but they still made for a delicious Sunday mornin' brekkie!

I had a Sunday lunch of "Chicken a la King". I don't know what "real" chicken a la king consists of, but the chicken with noodles and gravy bowl that I consumed was certainly enjoyable.

So all in all, a successful weekend! Between a busy week ahead and the holiday weekend looming, I'm not sure how much longer my Strictly By The Book willpower can hold out! Tomorrow night I'm going out for dinner with a group of old high school friends . . . I'm going to prepare to do some creative ordering. We'll see what the Week 2 Weigh In looks like on Tuesday!

Day 10: We've Hit Double Digits, People!

Evenin' kids! Welcome to Day 10 of the Nutri-Gourmet lifestyle. I say "lifestyle" because it's becoming harder and harder to remember what life was like when I used to cook and eat food that didn't come from boxes in the corner of my kitchen.

Sorry if I sound a little tired, gang. I feel like I'm hitting a little bit of a wall this evening . . . tonight was the first time I've really felt like, "Damn -- I want a giant sandwich and some fro-yo!" I'm ridin' it out though . . . keeping my mind occupied and focusing on the overall goal of embracing a healthier lifestyle. So let's see what this Diet Diva ate today, shall we?

Breakfast
Nutrisystem Apple Strudel Scone
1/4 c. cottage cheese
Apple

This apple strudel scone rocked! I zapped it for 10 seconds in the microwave to make it a bit warm, and it was moist and delicious . . . and kept me full for a good, long time!

Lunch
Nutrisystem chicken noodle soup
Salad w. 1/4 c. tuna

Sorry gang -- no pics from lunch! I forgot my camera today, and forgot to ask Chelsee to document it for me! I know -- I'm lame. The soup was very good, though -- looked and tasted much like your "hearty noodle soup" that you'd get from a place like Au Bon Pain. Enjoyable, but not very exciting, which probably explains why I forgot I was supposed to be photographing it for posterity. I will say that this soup did not keep me full as long as some of the other lunch entrees have . . . but maybe I'm just having a weird "off" day.

Snack
Non-fat blueberry yogurt
1/2 c. blueberries from farmer's market

Best snack ever! I could eat this every day . . . which I believe is what I said yesterday. See, I'm true to my word!

Dinner
Nutrisystem Flatbread Pizza
farmer's market veggie salad
1/2 c. cooked broccoli
apple

This time I remembered to document the pizza making process! This is the "crust" in all its naked glory . . . .

Now for the sauce . . .

Add cheese, zap for a minute . . . bada-bing! Flatbread pizza for one!

Mangia, mangia!

Pizza was a good choice tonight, I think. I am in need of some faux junk / comfort food! This was basically just like the "thick crust" pizza I had on Friday, except square instead of round. Although, the "crust" was doughier and more delicious this time around . . . it reminded me of the little personal-pizzas we'd get at Pizza Hut back in my elementary school days. Mmm, mmm good.

Dessert
Nutrisystem pretzels

The package doesn't even try to mask the fact that these are not "normal" pretzels

Hmmm . . .


So I have a bunch of salty / savory "desserts" in my Dessert Box. Typically I'm looking for something sweet after dinner, but I figured tonight might be a good night to sample one of the more "snacky" options, since I'm already feeling like I just wanna shove food into my face. The pretzels were the most doubtful looking of the bunch. They are definitely more of a cracker consistency . . . but not bad. Light, crunchy and baked . . . although, aren't "regular" pretzels also baked? I'm not sure why the consistency of these pretzels needs to be so . . . different. Maybe cuz its harder to add "Nutrisol(TM)" to normal pretzel dough? Either way, this was the perfect thing for me to munch slowly and savor, and I'm feeling pretty full and satisfied now. Maybe not my favorite "dessert" thus far . . . but they got the job done!

Ok, time to go relax and unwind -- I'm anticipating a fairly busy weekend ahead! Until tomorrow!

Day 9!

Ohhh, Wednesday! Today was a pretty standard (read: boring) day at the office. Nothing special. So let's just hop right to today's menu while I try to think of something mildly entertaining to say about today . . .

Breakfast
Nutrisystem Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar Cheese
Nonfat vanilla yogurt
1/2 c. blueberries

After yesterday's growly stomach issues, I made sure to pack an extra hearty breakfast this morning. For some reason, though, I didn't enjoy this egg entree nearly as much as the one I had last with with the veggie sausage crumbles. To be fair, I think I may have added too much water while preparing it . . . It took a few rounds in the microwave to get it appropriately "eggy" . . . and even then, there was kind of a "liquid sauce" at the bottom of the cup. And I didn't taste the cheese at all. BUT - my yogurt with fresh blueberries from the farmer's market was loooovely! I could eat that every morning for the rest of my life.

Lunch
Nutrisystem Fettucini Alfredo
Spinach and Spring Mix Salad
1/4 c. tuna

Salad course . . .

Pasta course!

Up close and personal with the noodle-y goodness . . .

Today was clearly my day for adding too much water to things. The "fettucini" cooked up nicely in this glorified ramen cup, but they were floating in a soupy broth. Luckily, it was a deliciously cheesey soupy broth, with little bits of mushroom and . . . peppers? I won't lie, I totally sipped the rest of the sauce like it was soup . . . and it was good!

Then came the afternoon, where I was met with an unexpected Nutri-challenge!! Chelsee got these sent to her for her birthday:
FAIRY TALE BROWNIES!!

Really, I should have seen this challenge coming, since I am the one who sent her the brownies, hahaha! But I was very good and managed to avoid temptation completely! I didn't have a single nibble of these delightful wonder brownies . . . honestly, I was afraid if I had one bite, I would end up eating an entire brownie. Instead, I had my Afternoon Snack of an apple and nonfat raspberry yogurt, which really . . . is just like a brownie. Sorta. Yup.

Dinner
Nutrisystem Zesty Style Chicken and Sausage with Brown Rice
Farmers Market Salad
Peach

The photo may not look like much, but this chicken, "sausage" and rice bowl was as zesty and delicious as promised. Again, this is something I probably never would have made beforehand, but I really liked the "cajun" spice flavor! New Orleans here we come! I also appreciated that this meal did not involve adding water to make some sort of soupy sauce.

As a reward for my will power today, I am indulging in a Miracle Brownie as I type this post. I will skip the photo since the Miracle Brownie is not much to look at, as evidenced by Day 1. Now its off to play some frisbee with the Gentleman Friend!

Until tomorrow, kids!

Day 8

It's 6:30pm and I am drinking my second cup of coffee since arriving home from work. What is wrong with me this week?! I felt like I got a decent amount of sleep last night -- I managed to drag myself away from the Olympics pretty early. In fact, my Olympic enthusiasm is starting to wane. I can only watch so many hours of swimming and gymnastics before my brain starts shouting, "Enough! Find something with a plot!" Now I remember why I always shied away from sports in school . . . there's no room for kooky creativity and rule breaking. Especially at the Olympic level . . . I'm pretty sure the rule-breaking is discouraged.

Aside from my unexplained lethargy, life is good. My weigh-in today went well and I am pumped and ready to continue this wacky diet experiment for another week. Also, today was a decidedly fall-like day here in Boston -- breezy and warm with next to no humidity . . . my favorite kind of weather. The tv is telling me this taste-of-September is going to continue tomorrow and Thursday, with perfect 50 degree sleeping weather tonite! Yeeeessss!

Anyway -- on to Tuesday's menu!

Breakfast
Nutrisystem Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Nonfat raspberry yogurt
Apple

My second cup of coffee of the day, in my 'Careful, I'm Hot' office mug . . . watch out, architects!



Nothing like breakfast at my desk!



In keeping with the 'Fall is Coming!' theme of the day, I brought oatmeal for breakfast this morning. After "cooking" in the microwave for 4 minutes (which seemed like a long time to me? for instant oatmeal?) this steamy bowl of apple-cinnamony goodness was ready to go. I liked this more than I like the typical "pouches" of Quaker Instant Oatmeal -- this seemed to be thicker, with real, whole oats and little pieces of apple. Totally satisfying and delicious. I was expecting the oatmeal to keep me full for hours, but surprisingly, my stomach started growling at 11:30. I did eat breakfast a little earlier than usual this morning, but I'd say overall I've been a bit more hungry today than I've been for the past week. I'm gonna blame that on . . . hormones?

Lunch
Nutrisystem Chicken and Pasta in Cacciatore Sauce
Salad w. 1/4 c. cottage cheese



Like I said, I was more than ready for lunch by the time noon rolled around. I was a little worried about the "chicken cacciatore" meal, which was also packaged in the Chef Boy-Ar-Dee container. The sauce looked like it could pose a potential disaster . . . and chicken cacciatore is one of the proud Italian dishes I can actually make. That said -- this was actually really delish! The sauce was really good -- not a trace of Beefaroni to be found! The chicken was excellent, and the little mini rotini were not as mushy as some of the other pasta dishes have been. The perfect filling lunch for a hungry girl!

And its a good thing lunch was satisfying, because after eating Chelsee and I took a walk over to . . . .




The Copley Sq. Farmers Market!!

I loooooove the Farmers Market! It takes place Tuesdays and Fridays in Copley Sq. from May to October . . . and it rocks. The Siena Farms stall is probably my favorite for fresh produce, and Chelsee and I totally loaded up on summertime veggies. (photos courtesy of Chels)

Yours Truly loaded up with goodies . . .

Afternoon Snack
Nonfat peach yogurt
Nectarine


Dinner
Nutrisystem Beef Tacos
Giant Salad
Peach

Please ignore the clutter on my kitchen table . . . that box is full of Desserts.


Mmm . . . awesome salad courtesy of Farmer's Market!

This might look kinda sad, but it wasn't . . . I promise!

More beefy "filling" for the rest of the "taco shells".

Now, in my pre-Nutrisystem days, I never would have made beef tacos for dinner. It wouldn't have even crossed my mind as a possible dinner option. And though my inital reaction to "just add water!" beef taco mix was a scared and skeptical one . . . these "tacos" were pretty spicy and pretty good! I thought I might dip the taco "shells" (chips) into the beef mix instead of topping each tortilla beforehand as the box instructs (because we all know I hate playing by the rules!) . . . but I ended up assembling them one at a time and eating them that way.

My salad, I must note, is made almost entirely of fresh, organic ingredients found at the Farmer's Market. A nice compliment to all this freeze-dried box-food. I had some romaine lettuce in the fridge that I mixed with arugula from the farmer's market, along with some awesome little yellow cherry tomatoes (mmm! sweeet!) and some sliced up bell pepper. Soooo yummy, and I can definitely taste the difference between food that was plucked from the Earth this morning, vs. food that was packaged in a warehouse and then shipped to my front door. Not to knock the magic food -- it is helping me in ways I never thought possible! But still, it was nice to consume something that actually smelled and tasted like it came from nature.

Thanks to my evening caffiene boost, I just forced myself to go to the gym for a little while . . . and I'm feeling slightly less sluggish and generally pleased with myself. So after sweating for a little while, I can now reward myself with . . .

Dessert
Nutrisystem Chocolate CaramelBar


This bar was chewy and chocolate-y and . . . caramel-y . . . everything you want in a CaramelBar. I think I liked the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar better, though . . . something about the caramel flavoring was just a little . . . different?

Ok, I now feel like I have earned the right to veg out a little bit in front of the TV with my book and my giant bottle of cherry flavored seltzer water. Until tomorrow, people!