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!

Week One Weigh-In!

This morning, I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled blindly passed the coffeepot directly to the scale. The moment of reckoning had arrived. Is this insane, space-age-miracle food too good to be true? Could I have actually gained weight? After all, I feel like I've been eating pasta and chocolate every day for the last week.

Time to face up.

And the scale saaaaaaays . . ..

I lost 3 pounds!!!

Woohoo! This is not really a huge loss, but considering the time of month and lack of regular workouts lately -- I am officially pleased, and now more eager than ever to see what a month of this crazy plan will do!

Day 7: Someone's Got a Case of the Mondays

Yaaaaawn! Oh . . . sorry, people. For some reason I am totally draggin' this evening! Today was not a particularly strenuous Monday, but I am still feeling a bit zapped. I'll blame my lack of energy on Ladytime, but luckily that should be over soon!

Enough about my personal issues -- lets bring on the foooooood!

Breakfast
Nutrisystem Cluster Crunch cereal
Nonfat blueberry yogurt
Apple



Mmmm . . . man, do I love cereal. That sounds like such a dumbass thing to say, like, "I like trees," or "I like the color green." Its a fact, though -- I could happily eat cereal with milk every morning for the rest of my life. This cereal is Nutrisystem's take on Honey Nut Cheerios -- and it is a damn good interpretation. A little cinnamon-y too . . . a lovely part of this balanced breakfast!

Lunch
Nutrisystem Black Bean & Tortilla Soup
Spinach salad with fat free turkey




Patience, amigos . . . the soup is cooking . . .

And now, we feast!

I took a bite of this soup and said to Chelsee . . . "This is better than many of the things I have ordered at Chili's." After contemplating that statement for a minute, I can see how that could almost be a back-handed compliment . . . but for a long time the "Guiltless Grill Pita with a side of Black Beans from Chili's" was my dining out treat. This Black Bean Tortilla soup surpassed the Chili's black beans I once coveted during my post-LA Weightloss years . . . and that, good people, is a very high compliment! Ole!

Afternoon Snack
1/4 c. cottage cheese
Nectarine


Dinner
Nutrisystem Chicken Pasta Parmesan
1 c. cooked broccoli
salad

Mangia! Mangia!


This pasta dish was not as cheesy as its name led me to expect -- but that's ok. The chicken, as usual, was tender and delicious. The noodles were a little bit on the soft side, but the sauce was yummy and satisfying. I added broccoli for the usual Veggie Boost!


Dessert
Nutrisystem Milk Chocolatey Delight Bar

Don't judge . . . all candy bars look like a log of poo when you try to photograph them . . .


So after a tiring and hormonal day -- all I wanted was a candy bar. And that is basically what this was. A yummy layer of chocolate-creaminess on top of chewy caramel, all dipped in milk chocolate. If this hadn't been wrapped in Nutrisystem packaging, I would have bet the farm that this was actual candy.

YAY!!! MONDAY CELEBRATION!!

I would like to take a moment to give a major BOO-YAH to Mama G! She had her first official "weigh-in" this morning and has lost . . . . . .


drum roll please . . . .

9 pounds so far!!!!

Amazing!!!!

Go, Mama, go!! :)

Day 6: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Hey all! Today was a fairly low-key Sunday . . . although I did finally make it to the gym after an almost 2-week hiatus, so that feels pretty excellent! Time to make the physical activity as routine as this box-meal biz is becoming! And speaking of the boxed-goodness, I've got pics today, so lets get to it:


Breakfast
NutriCinnamon Squares Cereal w. 1/2 c. skim milk
Nonfat vanilla yogurt
Apple





Ahh, what a balanced breakfast! I maintain that it is very hard to eff up cereal, so I wasn't particularly doubtful that this would be decent -- but these NutriCinnamon Squares really did give me some Life / Cinnamon Toast Crunch flashbacks.


Lunch
Nutrisystem Cheese Tortellini
Spinach salad w. 1/4 c. tuna





The cheese tortellini also comes in a Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee container, which made me nervous -- but these were pretty good! The sauce was yummy and had hearty tomato chunks in it. The tortellini itself was also pretty decent -- a little on the mushier side, but still definitely edible!


Afternoon Snack
2 slices fat free turkey
nectarine

After my trip to the gym, I felt like I could use a little protein boost, so I opted for some turkey instead of my usual afternoon yogurt. It was surprisingly satisfying . . . clearly my stomach is shrinking, or the magical drugs in this food are beginning to permenantly alter my consciousness. Either way -- snack on!


Dinner
Nutrisystem Chicken with Dumplings
1 c. cooked broccoli
Salad w. grape tomatoes







Chicken & dumplings? This is something that, outside of Nutrisystem World, I would never in a million years think of eating. It just sounds like something that would be served up in some lard-filled country diner. But . . . I have to say this entree earned a place on the Favorites List -- it was exactly like chicken pot pie! The "dumplings" were little doughy bits that were like a pot-pie sort of crust . . . amazing. I added some broccoli to absorb some of the gravy and beef up the veggie content -- the entree itself had peas and carrots mixed in already. Hello, Brady Bunch! Seriously, this meal looked and tasted like something Alice whipped up while Mrs. Brady wandered around the house fixing her hair and waiting for Mike and the kids to get home. Groooovy.


Dessert
Nutrisystem Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pudding


The pink on this pudding package is roughly the same color as my nose. Fabulous.


Mmm . . . everyone loves pudding -- especially the British.

Ok, LadyTime means ChocolateTime as far as I'm concerned. So I was drawn to the fact that this dessert used the word "chocolate" twice in its name. I should have remembered Mama G's warning that the "contents of the envelope are not as chocolatey as they appear." I let the pudding set in the fridge for a half hour which gave it a very nice, thick consistency . . . and the little mini chocolate chips sprinkled throughout were a nice touch. But I agree with Mama . . . not nearly as choco-licious as I expected. Still yum -- just not as yum as, say, a giant bucket of chocolate ice cream, which is totally what I could go for right now. Luckily, the drugs are starting to kick in, and I am sufficiently full. Good bless you, scary food additives.