Day 3: Third Day's A Charm!

Happy Thursday, folks! I for one am certainly glad the week is drawing to a close. My sleep schedule has been thrown off completely by the Olympics . . . suddenly, its extremely important that I stay up til 1am to see if some dude can beat an obscure world record in swimming. Thank god this only happens once every 4 years! (or ever 2, even you are prone to watching the Winter Olympics too . . . who doesn't love ice skating?)

Anyway, I stuck with my plan from yesterday and tried to pick the more "suspicious" looking entrees from my Breakfast and Lunch boxes. Lets get straight to the results, shall we?

(Quick thanks to Chelsee for taking pictures of breakfast and lunch for me, since this Freak forgot her camera today . . . and obviously I couldn't go a day without photographing my meals!)

Breakfast
Nutrisystem Scrambled Eggs with Veggie Sausage
a pear
coffee with skim milk


Picture perfect! If only I was eating this in a sunny breakfast nook overlooking a field of grazing ponies, instead of in my cube . . .


So initially, I was a little nervous about eggs coming from a cardboard cup. My anxiety increased when I opened said cup, and found a yellow powder that resembled something straight out of a lab experiment. The "eggs" looked more like normal scrambled eggs after 60 seconds in the microwave, however. Still, I was hesitant. My co-workers, impressed with the fact that I was eating a "hot" breakfast for a change, urged me on.

Um -- these eggs were delish!! I know, I know . . . I'm starting to sound like a brainwashed TV spokeswoman for this thing -- but seriously, these eggs were better than my own "homemade" attempts at scrambling Egg Beaters. The veggie sausage crumbles added a nice savory flavor and helped the slightly styrofoam-ish consistency of the eggs. I was a little self concious eating a plate of scrambled eggs at my desk . . . but the sight of my hearty meal inspired Chelsee to run across the street and grab her own egg sandwich. Nutrisystem is helping everyone live better!


Lunch
Nutrisystem Chicken and Barley Stew
Salad with tuna



This frightened me . . .




. . . with good reason.

Ok, so the container for the Chicken and Barley Stew was an immediate turn off for me. These little microwavable plastic bowls remind me of a) baby food, or b) Chef Boy-Ar-Dee Beefaroni meals designed to be consumed at 7-11s or at highway rest stops. I gamely popped this into the microwave and tried to ignore the super-concentrated, gelatinous consistency of the "stew". Sadly, even after being zapped for 60 seconds, there wasn't much of a change.

Not a fan. There was something about the tomato-based sauced and the super-mushy "barley" that just screamed, "Uh oh! Spaghetti-Os!" The sauce even had a vaguely Boy-Ar-Dee aftertaste. Perhaps if I were 6 years old, or a totally wasted college student . . . this would have been more palatable. The only thing that saved it was the chicken -- again, that magically moist, quasi-real chicken.

Afternoon snack of fat free vanilla yogurt and a nectarine were a comfort after a disappointing lunch.

Dinner
Nutrisystem Cheese Ravioli with Tomato Basil Sauce
1/2 c. cooked frozen spinach
1/2 c. "Kale Chips" (explained below!)
an apple








Ok, so after a weak lunch, I abandoned my "risky selection" process for the day and chose a dinner I knew was likely to be solid. Who can mess up ravioli?!

Luckily, this one delivered! The raviloi (2 large ones) were tender and cheese-tacular. The sauce smelled positively yummy while simmering . . . in the microwave. I added some cooked frozen spinach to absorb some of the sauce and add a little color.

Now, I found a "recipe" for Kale Chips online. I had admittedly given up on being able to try recipes while doing this diet, but I'm realizing there are many ways to get creative with the vegetable servings here. For this, I took some washed and trimmed kale, spritzed it liberally with I Can't Believe its Not Butter Spray, seasoned with some sodium free Italian Seasoning, threw it on a cookie sheet and popped it in the oven for 10 minutes until it started to look a little crispy. The result . . . strange! But not un-delicious! The kale really does get super crispy like a chip, with a interesting "veggie chip" sort of aftertaste. I think I might have taken my dinner serving out of the oven a little early, as some bits were still kinda chewy and tasted like a hot night at the salad bar. But the rest of the batch that I let cool in the oven is very crunchy and yummy. A good on-the-go veggie serving! (The only downside to this Cooking with Kale business -- the house now smells like 10 wet dogs farting in their sleep. And so do I, probably.)

Dessert

Ahhh, nothing like snacking in front of the TV, watching world class athletes push their bodies to supreme feats of greatness! Tonite's sweet treat:


Mmmmm. . . Nutrichocolates! Something about that name is a little wrong though . .. are these chocolates made of some sort of nuclear compound?



Aww .. . look how cute! Like Hershey Kisses that have suffered a beat down . . . which, really, is kinda what they are.



So, the Nutrichocolates are the perfect "snacking in front of the TV" dessert. Perfectly portioned for nibbling. The texture of the chocolate itself is a little . . . odd. A bit . . . grainy? They've clearly added fiber or something to these little bits of sweetness. In fact, one of the ingredients on the back of the package is Nutrisol(TM) . . . I think that might be the diet drug.
The chocolate itself is not bad. Hershey fans might take issue, though -- the actual flavor is closer to that of British chocolate . . . think Cadbury or Mars brand. I don't know what that says about British candy bars, either they are sorely lacking or these Nutrichocolates are far superior to American confections. I guess it depends on your personal preference. I am currently licking the inside of the foil wrapper for errant chocolate crumbs, so that should tell you where I stand!

Another day in the bag, and I'm still going strong -- and so is Mama G! The weekend is looming ahead which could be a bit tricker . . . but with my trusty Box o' Food and camera, I am ready for the challenge! Goin' for the Gold, man! :)