Nutri-Gourmet

the curious bark of benjamin button

2009-02-22T16:15:00.008-05:00

It's that time, folks! Every year, my friend Venn hosts his annual Oscar party -- a chance for us pop-culture buffs and film-whores to gather, make merry and celebrate Hollywood in all its bloated, over-the-top-glory.

This is also a feasting occasion. Usually, the snackage is somehow tied into the nominated films of the year. I have pushed the limits of this with my Curious Bark of Benjamin Button . . . my own version of the super-junk-food-licious dessert made by my friend Chelsee over at We Are Not Martha.

Not only was this Bark a big crowd pleaser at the office, the "recipe" seemed idiot-proof enough for even moi to attempt!

Step 1 -- gather junk food on cookie sheet like so:

That would be a selection of smashed up Oreos, pretzels and M&Ms . . . you know, 3 of the 5 major food groups.

Step 2 -- Top your tray o' crap with melted chocolate:

The "chocolate" is actually melted candy-making wafers, that are surprisingly hard to find. Thank God.

Step 3 -- After tray of Bark has chilled in the fridge for a couple hours, break it down into small pieces:

Ok, I won't lie . . . I had to "sample" several pieces of Bark to make sure it "came out ok". It came out devine --but I'm about ready to spew now . . . a little of this goes a long way, my friends! Just like Brad Pitt in a Forrest Gump-rip-off. I think I've filled my Bark quota for the next 6 months. Pass the Tums, please.

Bark is now safely packaged and ready for partying:

I think I'll bring the rest of the Oreos and some "Milk" (like the movie . . . get it?) as an alternative sweet snack. Thank God I don't need to cram myself into a designer gown later!

soup's on!

2009-02-11T20:15:00.008-05:00

The other night, I called my father.

"Tarryn! Ohh, man! I just made the best carrot soup!" he crowed into the phone. "Oh my god . . . this is the amazing! Wow! Yes!"

My dad is easily excited by things like patterns made by leaves floating on a pool of water, or the hoot of an owl, or his own delicious culinary experiments in the kitchen.

Listening to him gloat about his amazing soup made me jealous. Why had he never made nirvana-inspiring soups when I lived at home? I'd never had carrot soup before in my life . . . but suddenly I wanted some. Right now.

Keeping in mind my last failed attempt in the kitchen, I decided to forego Papa G's fancy Moosewood Cookbook recipe and kept it simple. I found a carrot soup recipe online that called for:

carrots
chicken broth
fat free sour cream
chives

Four things! Surely I could remember 4 ingredients! Hell, a four year old could remember 4 ingredients!

Don't overestimate me, people. I forgot the chives. Whatever -- who needs chives?

This recipe is so simple, a monkey could make it. Step 1 -- put carrots in pot. Cover with broth. Boil. Observe!

Step 2 -- dump softened carrots and broth into blender / food processor. If you are hungry and tired like me, you might be tempted to try to jam all your carrots and broth into the food processor in one go. This, I discovered, can result in being splattered with several cups of scalding hot carrot-broth.

This is by no means the most corrosive substance I've had splashed in my eyes, though. There was an unfortunate incident in 2003, when I was "helping" Mama G pump her own gas at local self-serve station, and she got flustered and started spraying unleaded regular gas all the pump, her hand, and my face. True story. My vision has never been the same since. Thus my need to bulk up on my carrot intake -- they're supposedly good for your eyes, yes?

Anyway -- back to the recipe. I reccommend puree-ing your carrots in batches. In the end, it will look like this:

Step 3 -- after your pretty orange carrot mash cools for a few minutes, stir in your sour cream, slowly and gradually. The directions specifically say to do this "slowly and gradually" -- damned if I know why. Probably to make you feel like there is actual skill involved in preparing this recipe. Patience and a sense of timing -- it's what sets us apart from the monkeys.

Step 4 -- add chives. Or, if you're like me, say, "Hahahah! Eff you, chives! I have created soooooooup!!" -- and hold your bowl above your head like an offering to the culinary gods.

Soup is now ready to be consumed as part of a balanced dinner:

The result? MMM MMM good!! I had to resist the urge to ring up dad and boast into the phone about my own batch of wonder-soup. Maybe this calls for a Soup Duel -- Papa G and I will have a carrot soup throwdown, and we'll invite in a bunch of rabbits to taste test. I bet my soup will win, cuz Papa G's has nuts and ginger and crap in it -- and everyone knows, rabbits don't eat nuts.

The best part? I have a giant pot of leftover soup in my fridge, to be enjoyed for lunches, snacks, and surprise gifts to friends and neighbors. Come and get it, people!

No seriously -- I don't think one girl can consume this much soup.

"saag" attempts at indian cooking . . . and puns

2009-02-02T21:34:00.005-05:00

Ha! You people thought this blog was dead! Wrong! It was merely in a post-holiday food coma.

But here we are, in the darkest, deadliest months of the year . . . winter in New England is a cruel beast. So cruel, you know where I'd almost rather be?

Mumbai!

I've been having a wicked craving for Indian food lately, so the other night I decided to throw caution to the wind and crawl back up on the culinary horse. I found a recipe over here at Happy Herbivore for some delicious and healthy dal and saag.

Spinach and spices and yogurt? I thought. I am well acquainted with all of those things! How hard can this be?

Logistically, not too tricky. Spinach -- check. Five different little jars from the grocery store spice rack -- check. Yogurt -- and why not some greek yogurt, since we're gettin' all international up in here! -- check. Onions . . . shit. Well -- who needs onions anyway?

So, step one: throw all the ingredients in a pan, like so . . .

Pay no attention to the vomitous yellow color and consistency! Remember -- this blog was birthed from the inspiring palate of Nutrisystem. Pre-digested-looking food will never frighten me again. I think at this point, I'd already run the spinach thru the food processor, and was mixing in my kappa gamma yogurt like a champ!

Step 2: (as invented by me) Throw saag on top of chicken breast (sorry, vegans!). Stuff it in some flax wheat pitas. Eat it plain with a spoon. So many ways to enjoy saag! Right?

Wrong.

I wanted to like it. I really did. I wanted to be able to go into work and say, "Man, I made some effing delicious Indian food last night! That's right -- I made it myself! With a recipe . . . and a stove!"

Here's where I think I failed:

1. Spices. This lil' eye-talian can garlic-crust the shit out of anything . . . but hand me a jar of coriander and some ground ginger . . . and you might as well have given me moon dust. A teaspoon? A tablespoon? What is my perferred level of gingery-ness? Clearly not the amount I put in this recipe . . . it was like an tiny, angry gingerbread man took a shit on my tongue.

2. Yogurt. Ok -- apparently not all yogurts are created equal. Though the recipe called for soy yogurt, I went for greek thinking . . . it's thick, it's creamy, what's not to love? I neglected to think carefully about the distinct, sour-creamy tang that plain greek yogurt has. And thus, when introduced to our friends Garlic, Ginger, and Senor Cayenne Pepper . . . there was a Flavah War. And some bitches went down.

3. Onions. I lied. Maybe you do need onions.

I forced myself to experience the entirety of this meal before scrapping the leftovers. But am I deterred? No I am not! I would totally attempt this recipe again, following instruction to the letter next time. If for no other reason than I now have a cupboard full of exotic Indian spices I need to get rid of. If anyone else has any coriander-heavy recipes . . . please, pass them along!

My Indian food cravings were properly satiated here. But the next time I'm feelin' spicy / Bollywoody, I totally intend to tackle the dal . . . stay tuned!

'Tis The Season!

2008-12-08T12:41:00.004-05:00

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!

2008-11-06T08:30:00.004-05:00

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?

2008-10-20T19:35:00.005-04:00

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?

2008-10-14T10:07:00.003-04:00

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!

2008-10-12T09:21:00.005-04:00

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!

2008-09-30T08:19:00.003-04:00

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 . . .

2008-09-22T08:48:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-09-17T17:52:00.007-04:00

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

2008-09-08T11:24:00.002-04:00

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

2008-09-04T10:49:00.002-04:00

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

2008-09-02T21:19:00.006-04:00

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!

2008-09-01T22:34:00.013-04:00

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!

2008-08-26T08:03:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-08-24T22:15:00.009-04:00

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!

2008-08-21T19:28:00.010-04:00

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!

2008-08-20T18:09:00.010-04:00

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

2008-08-19T18:19:00.018-04:00

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!

2008-08-19T10:23:00.003-04:00

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

2008-08-18T18:36:00.013-04:00

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!!

2008-08-18T08:03:00.001-04:00

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

2008-08-17T19:04:00.013-04:00

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.

Days 4 & 5: Friday In Pictures and Saturday Report

2008-08-17T09:08:00.013-04:00

Yay for the weekend! Hope everyone's Saturday was as sunny as mine . . . or maybe *not* quite as sunny as mine, since I now have a 3rd degree sunburn on my nose. Observe:

Helloooo, Rudolph!

Not exactly at my best in that photo, hahaha! Cut me some slack, though -- it was taken after 9 hours in a field watching my Gentleman Friend play Ultimate Frisbee! I don't know how he was still upright afterwards . . . and for the record, he was lookin' much better than I was!

Getting ready for some hard-core cheerleading . . . this is before the sun came out and kicked my ass . . .

Anyway, due to a busy weekend, I realized I didn't have time to post my Friday menu pics, so allow me to travel back in time and do that now:

Friday Breakfast
Nutisystem Blueberry muffin
Fat free cherry vanilla yogurt
Pear

Adorable!

The muffins were super cute! A little dry perhaps, but I enjoyed that fact that there were 2 of them in a package . . . it took me forever to eat . . .

Friday Lunch
Nutrisystem chicken salad with melba toast crackers
Spinach salad with 1/4 c. cottage cheese

Eww . . . is that baby vomit on my plate?

Nope, just "chicken salad"

I won't lie, I was a little afraid of this stuff, especially when I first opened the pouch that it comes in. It looked like someone had already consumed this chicken salad and then generously coughed it back up for others to enjoy. It was slightly less terrifying once plated, however -- and it tasted surprisingly good! By now you'd think I would have learned not to doubt the magic of this Nutrisystem food . . . "just relax and let the drugs do their work!" . . . I did, however, have a bit of an upset tummy later on in the afternoon and evening, which at first I was thinking could have been a result of this "chicken salad". Now I'm thinking the culprit might have been impending LadyTimes (huzzah!)

Friday Afternoon Snack
Nonfat raspberry yogurt
Nectarine

Friday Dinner
Nutrisystem Thick Crust Pizza
Spinach salad with broccoli
Apple

I felt like a rainy Friday night called for some old-fashioned weekend comfort food, so I turned to pizza. I wish now I had taken some more pics, because the pizza was kind of like a make-your-own kit. You got to add the packaged "sauce" and "cheese" to the "crust" yourself! It was just like bein' a kid again . . . except more diet conscious. The end result was pretty good -- the crust was kinda chewy (that's microwave pizza for ya!) but the sauce was delish . . . and the scary freeze-dried "cheese" actually melted really nicely!

Dessert
Nutrisystem Peanut Butter Cookie

I didn't snap a pic of this cookie because I was nibbling it as I was getting ready to go out, but it was as close to a homemade-tasting cookie as one might get from a pre-packaged, mail-order snack! Real pieces of peanuts and little peanut butter chips made this yuuuum-tacular! Again, a bit dry . . . I'm thinking I might experiment with putting some of these pastry items in the microwave for 10 seconds to see if that makes them a little moister.

Saturday

Now, yesterday was my first Nutrisystem Challenge. Could I stick to the plan while spending the entire day in an open field, miles from the nearest microwave? I armed myself with several ready-to-eat Nutrisystem tidbits and a bag full of fruit, and I was ready to go! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of my meals yesterday since they were kinda sporadic . . .

Saturday Breakfast
Nutrisystem chocolate chip scone
Dunks ice coffee with skim milk and splenda
nectarine

I nibbled my scone in the car on the way to the Ultimate Frisbee Tournement while my comrades enjoyed their bagels. The scone wasn't too bad -- again, kinda dry -- but surprisingly, I wasn't too jealous of the bagel-munching going on around me. My breakfast had chocolate in it - hahaha!

Saturday Lunch
Nutrisystem chocolate raspberry lunch bar
apple

This bar was super delicious! I only wish I hadn't been eating it in the middle of a field in the blazing hot sun -- things got melty pretty quickly. I skipped my lunch salad because of a lack of cooling technology to keep veggies from getting gross, and substituted a serving of fruit instead.

Saturday Afternoon Snack
Nutrisystem white cheddar soy chips

Again, I mixed up the order of my Nutrisystem foods, which I think is ok. Since I wasn't sure what time we'd be getting home from the tournement, I wanted to bring a snack that was more filling than just a piece of fruit, so I brought along a "dessert" pick instead. That crazy raspberry chocolate bar from lunch was actually super filling (thanks, drugs!), so I had to remind myself to eat these chips later on in the afternoon. They were decent -- a little like those little mini Quaker rice cake chips that come in individual sized bags. Not super cheesy, but appropriately crispy -- a good "carb" snack. There were a *ton* of chips in the package, too. These puppies were also a miracle food, because I was completely full for the rest of the day after eating them!!

Saturday Dinner
Nutrisysem Macaroni and Cheese
Salad with 1/4 c. tuna
1/2 c. broccoli

Even though I wasn't super hungry when I got home, I felt bad that I hadn't had a vegetable or protein serving all day, so I made a nice big salad and topped it with some tuna. I also figured I should stick to the program and made a "smaller" dinner entree -- a mac & cheese cup. It seems wrong to write down, "I picked mac & cheese as my light dinner option" . . . but to be fair, it was an Easy-Mac sized portion. The pasta was pretty al dente for something I'd cooked in the microwave. Really the only issue I had was with the sauce (which was cheesy and delish!) being waaay too watery. I thought I added the appropriate amount of water before zapping -- but who knows? I made some broccoli and poured the remaining cheese liquid over it, making for another delicious veggie serving.

Saturday Dessert
Apple
Nonfat raspberry yogurt

Since I had my Nutrisystem "dessert" as my afternoon snack, I decided to have my "fruit and dairy" servings as my late-night dessert while watching Michael Phelps win his zillionth gold medal or something. Man, is that dude tall!

So yes -- I was quite pleased with my ability to be fairly flexible on this plan and still go out and have a long, fun day in the sun! The next time I plan a day in the great outdoors, I just have to remember to pack the sunscreen along with all my food bars and such!

Behind The Box: And Now . . . .Some Thoughts About Magic Diet Drugs . . .

2008-08-15T11:06:00.002-04:00

So my friend and crackerjack investigative journalist Alison sent me this link, after seeing my shoutout to Nutrisol in the last post:

http://www.nutrex.be/products/feed/feed_enhancer/feedenhancer_nutrisol.html

Yes, it would seem that this is the “magic diet drug” Mama G was so suspect of! I’m not sure how I feel about this, really. On the one hand – I can vouch that this shit definitely works. Last night I was stuffed after eating that handful of baking chocolate pieces. But here comes a tidal wave of personal philosophical issues.

I decided to do this plan because I want be be healthier, both in terms of my actual nutrition, and my personal relationship with food. For me, the issue was not that I was eating Big Macs and entire pizzas on a regular basis. If anything, I had become too restrictive in my food choices, which meant that my metabolism was stuck in the rut of “salad / veggies / protein / luna bar” every single day. By the end of the day, I would be ravenous and end up snacking on “healthy” foods (read weight watchers ice cream bars, diet bread, fat free cheese . . . ) all night long. This Nutrisystem thing appealed to me because it gave you a variety of portion-controlled “real” foods to eat throughout the day, partnered with fresh stuff. When tracking the meals, I can also see where my calories divide up every day . . . like 250 to 300 calories for breakfast as opposed to my usual 80.

BUT – is this Nutrisystem food actually “healthy”? Clearly – its not exactly the most organic stuff. And while including additives to keep you full and help your body process fats is helpful in terms of eating less (which equals weighing less!) . . . that’s not exactly a long-term lifestyle change. Plus, there’s just something a little creepy about knowing my nighttime cookie dessert contains the same powdered enhancers that they put in livestock feed . . . .

I guess I need to just look at this way. Right now, I am hitting the RESET button on my eating habits. That means learning to eat balanced and well-portioned meals, and to slow down, appreciate and ENJOY food. The magic drugs are like the training wheels that are helping me to find my balance in this process. But my goal for when this is over is to be able to continue making “real” meals, and focus on having a balanced, filling, and enjoyable plate everyday . . . not just a tiny bowl of lettuce. Girlfriend can’t sustain action and adventure on just lettuce – we need fuel to LIVE . . . and I’m living here, goddamnit!

Day 3: Third Day's A Charm!

2008-08-14T18:36:00.010-04:00

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! :)

Day 2: Do I Make You Hungry, Baby?

2008-08-13T18:13:00.000-04:00

Hello there! It's Tea here, bringing you the latest Nutrisystem news as day 2 in this Epicurean Wonderland draws to a close. I have to admit -- I'm feeling pretty good. I'm peppy, I'm full, the sun is shining -- life is good! Thank you, space-age box food with added mood stabilizers!

And now, a look back at today's feasting . .

Breakfast
Nutrisystem Cranberry Orange pastry
nonfat yogurt
pear

Aww! It's so cute!

A "complete breakfast" straight out of a TV commercial . . . all this needs is some sort of little Nutrisystem cartoon character hovering around my plate!

So the Cranberry Orange pastry was decent. It was a bit on the dry side -- nothing like that Miracle Brownie I had last nite. I was immediately reminded of the kinds of "breakfast treats" they used to hand out on planes, back when they actually served food on planes. This is the type of "pastry" that would be "good!" at 55,000 feet, after a 6 hour trans-atlantic flight. If the Cranberry Orange Pastry was served to me by a matronly British flight attendant, and came with a hot towel and complimentary mini-toothbrush . . . I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. That said -- I snarfed it in anyway and appreciated its early-morning-sweet-carby-goodness.

Lunch
Nutrisystem Black Beans & Rice
Salad with turkey breast

Shhh! The black beans and rice are cooking . . .

And now they are done . . .

Behold, the savory goodness!

I have to say, with the exception of the brownie, this Black Beans and Rice bowl was the best meal I've had so far. It smelled delicious while "cooking" in its little cup and was flavorful and fresh. I won't lie -- I've had meals at Applebee's that were far *less* delicious than this little Cup o' Wonder . . . of course the Applebee's bar is not very high. But still. Viva la Black Beans!

Snack
Mixed it up today with a 1/4 cup of fat free cottage cheese and a nectarine. Mmmm! Not boxed!

Dinner
Nutrisystem Mushroom Risotto
1/2 c. cooked broccoli
1 cup fresh spinach
1 pear

Chef's Special -- risotto!

It's amazing what a little broccoli can do. Color is our friend!

Dinner fit for a bistro table on the Isle of Capri . . . or something . . .

Tonite I was feeling a little . . . Continental. We went South of the Border for lunch . . .time to hop the Pond for dinner. Again -- the appearance of the entree . . . not fabulous. A little brown and awkwardly sticky. I threw some broccoli in there to mix up the color palatte a bit, and that seemed to help. Taste-wise, this risotto was a winner! I was pleasantly surprised by the whole slices of mushroom, and thought I even detected a hint of meat flavoring. After consulting with the Chef (or box) I saw that this does in fact contain veggie sausage crumbles, which was a nice touch! I think it also helps that I was not normally eating things like risotto or noodles or rice on a regular basis before -- so I have no "Real Risotto" expectations for this to live up to! It was delightful -- and I am surprisingly full!!

And finally, tonight's . . .

Dessert
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar!

Now, I am something of a connisseur when it comes to "bars". I should probably buy stock in the Luna Bar company. That said, I was a little nervous to try this Nutrisystem version. What if it didn't live up to my snack bar standards?

I need not have feared! While this was perhaps not as blatantly candy-bar-like as a Nutz Over Chocolate Luna, it was definitely superior to many of the other nutrition / dessert bar products out there. Pria bar, I'm looking at you! This Chocolate Peanut Butter bar was chewy and moist, appropriately peanut-buttery, and deliciously filling! Man, these reviews are starting to sound awfully repetitive! Maybe tomorrow I'll pick some of the scarier looking foods out of the box, just to shake things up. Until that, time for sweet, nutritionally solvent dreams!

Day 1: "If you can get past the look of the stuff . . . "

2008-08-12T18:26:00.000-04:00

Good evening, friends! My first day as a bona fide NutriSystem gourmet is drawing to a close. And while today's menu was not particularly sophisticated . . . or pretty . . . it was not bad. Not bad at all. If I can conquer the inherent weirdness of selecting all my meals from giant, color-coded cardboard boxes lined up in my kitchen -- I might just be on the road to Late Night Nutrisystem Infomercial Success Story! Sigh . . . I've always wanted to be a star . .

Ok, so lets cut right to the stuff I know you guys are most interested in: the food. Honestly, documenting the meals has been my favorite part of doing this so far -- its kind of like an edible arts and crafts experiment. So to begin at the beginning:

Breakfast

The most important meal of the day! Today's consisted of:
Nutrisystem Berries & Multigrain Flakes cereal with 1/2 c. of skim milk
A nectarine
Coffee with skim milk

Cereal in its "raw" form . . . please to add milk.

Don't let its slightly suspicious pink hue frighten you, kids! Rainbow cereals are always fun!

Now granted, it is very hard to eff up cereal. Unless you shred pieces of old cereal boxes and cure them with craft glue . . . cereal is cereal. And as a carb lover, I have been known to treat a bowl of Cheerios like an ice cream sundae. So this was a delightful start to the morning -- crispy and granola like, with a surprisingly authentic "berry" flavor. Not Cinnamon Toast Crunch by any stretch of the imagination . . . but it was sweet and filling, which is what I look for in a Lets Start The Day meal. Yes! I'm pumped.

Lunch

I selected my lunch entree by literally closing my eyes and reaching into the "Lunch" box in the corner of my kitchen . . . who doesn't love surprises? Today's lucky prize:
Nutrisystem Pasta Parmesan with Broccoli
A salad with lean turkey breast and fat free dressing

A feast fit for a King . . . a very laid-back King who enjoys novelty food items and microwaves . . .

A normal lunch for me would have consisted of that salad alone, so the addition of this yummy pasta cup was exciting. Now, don't let these next images frighten you. I will state up front that this was pretty good . . . perhaps more of a "soup" than simply "pasta in sauce" . . . but that could be because I added too much water. Hey, I didn't say I was a particularly skilled Nutri-Gourmet. Give me time.

Its green-ness is what makes it scary, I think. But my dining companion Chelsee said, "It smells pretty good . . ." She might have been trying to be nice, though.

The great thing about these strange little meals, though, is that they are surprisingly filling. I'm beginning to suspect they contain some sort of drug / appetite supressant -- and Mama G. agrees. She had a "peanut butter crisp" meal bar and a salad for lunch and was able to wrangle small children for the rest of the afternoon without trouble! Magic, I say!! But yes, my bowl of green soupy noodles kept me satisfied until my mid afternoon yogurt and pear snack . .. which I did not take a picture of, because you've all seen yogurt and pears.

Dinner

I won't lie, though -- I was pretty hungry by the time I got home from a long day in the cube. It was kinda nice (in a weird, robots-of-the-future sort of way) to not have to try to come up with some sort of dinner based on the random ingredients of my fridge -- which is not always an easy or successful task. Instead, I dug around in the Dinner Box and came up with this feast:
Nutrisystem Lemon Butter Sauce with Chicken and Noodles
1/2 c. cooked broccoli
1/2 c. cooked cauliflower
salad

Behold!

Dinner in its "natural" state

Mmm! Don't be scared of its brown-ness! I added the broccoli and cauliflower to soak up the sauce, which was again, believe it or not, pretty decent!

If it weren't for the box in the back there, you could almost believe some 1950's housewife whipped up this wholesome and well balanced meal with her new electric range and Frigidaire! Biiilly! Suusie! Dinnertime!

The thing that made me the most nervous about this meal was the "chicken". What kind of insane journey had this substance undergone to go from the factory farm to my plate? I was bracing myself for the typical frozen dinner cubes of gelatinous faux meat-product . . . but folks, I kid you not -- this was real chicken. Well, as real as chicken from a box in the corner of my kitchen can be . . . but still. My mind was kind of blown. How did they get it so moist and . . . chicken-like? It was like Crock-pot chicken . . . or, perhaps more accurately, a much more quality form of the chicken you find those Hearty canned soups. Canned chicken. Who knew.

So what better way to close out a long and exciting day of dietary adventures than with a little . .

Dessert!!

Behold! Broooowniiiie!

Now, honestly -- when it comes to chocolate, I'm not picky! Chocolate anything is fine by me ... from cheap choco-easter bunnies to the most decadent of gourmet chocolate desserts. Still, as I fished this brownie out of the Dessert box, my expectations were low. Especially when the real article looked like this:

A chalkboard eraser? A tar-y brick of chewing tobacco? I approached with caution, and took my frist tentative nibble . . .

And it was amazing.

Seriously -- this is like a Little Debbie Brownie from my elementary school golden days, minus the little sprinkling of walnuts on top. Moisty, chewing, and oooohhh so chocolatey! No weird diet-chemical aftertaste. And, miracle of miracles . . . I am STUFFED!! There's no doubt in my mind there is some sort of magic drug in this food . .. but hell, I'll take it! Mama G's comment to me today was . . . "I'm finding it hard to believe that you can lose weight eating this stuff. It might look kind of gross, but it tastes pretty damn good."

Could Mama and I be sharing some sort of food-induced mind-trip? If I start tithe-ing part of my yearly salary to the good people at Nutrisystem . . . someone please help me. Until then, though -- stand aside while I dig around in my Magic Food Box!

Until tomorrow folks!

In The Beginning . ..

2008-08-11T19:31:00.000-04:00

My stomach hurts. This is probably because I just polished off a Butterfinger flavored frozen yogurt, not because I was particularly hungry, but because this is the Final Froyo Countdown for some time. Starting tomorrow, I am embarking on a dietary experiment of epic proportions.

Yes friends, Mama G and I have decided to try the Nutrisystem diet. Those of you who watch a lot of late-night infomercials or read Us Weekly from cover to cover might be vaguely familiar with this dietary sensation. Basically, Nutrisystem sends you a giant box containing a months worth of breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts. You supplement these culinary delights with additional servings of fresh veggies, fruit, protein and dairy products. And then, if all goes according to plan . . . the pounds simply melt away! Magical!

For the purposes of Full Disclosure, I should probably tell you a few things up front:

1. Like 80% of our society, I struggle with my body. Not as much today as I have in the past -- but I am forever fighting with the mirror and the scale over pesky pounds and extra rolls I am sure the world can see. But --

2. I am aware I do not have a ton of weight to lose. I am shoot for a 10-15 pound goal . . . and thats mostly just to see if I can cram myself into some hot designer jeans before packing it in at Christmas. More important to me than fashion and vanity how ever is --

3. Supporting my Mom. Mama G is amazing woman and the rock that our family, friends and neighbors all cling to. She would roll her eyes and say I am wrong -- but I am soooo not. Mama G is always putting everyone else before herself, so I am excited for her to try this as something positive and affirming for her! I know she can do it -- and I want her to know it!! Go Mama! To keep the pressure off of her, though -- I will only be chronicling my own whacked-out dietary journey in this blog. And speaking of whacked-out diets . . .

4. I am the Queen of Scam Diet Mastery. Five years ago, I did the LA Weightloss Diet which is basically designed to hook you on their ridiculously expensive bars. I lost nearly 50 pounds and kept it off for 5 years! Take that, LA Scam Diet! This Nutrisystem thing already seems waaaay more elaborate and legit that the fly-by-night LA deal . . . but if this is some sort of quack diet, I am preparedly to boldly face the challenge and, in the words of Tim Gunn, make it work!! Bring it on, Nutrisystem! Bring. It. On!

5. People who know me and dine with me on a regular basis will tell you that, since my slightly traumatizing LA Weightloss Battle . . . I have some strange eating habits. I exist primarily on salads with grilled chicken . . . to the point where my body has somehow learned how to bulk up on just salads and grilled chicken. When Mama G started talking about this Nutrisystem plan, I looked at the website and thought -- Pasta! Rice! Tacos! This is a diet? I do not care if this food tastes like total crap -- the variety alone would be a treat for me! So to be honest, I am a little nervous about eating this random, freeze-dried, carb-based food. Could I be the first person on earth to gain weight on the Nutrisystem? Rut roh . . .

6. In order to hit the Reset button on my bod, however, I have allowed myself total indulgence for the past 5 days. This meant a cheeseburger at the amusement park, a panini sandwich from the really good sandwich place, a bagel with cream cheese, and Butterfinger frozen yogurt. Food that I do not normally eat, but stuff I imagine other Nutrisystem candidates probably eat all the time. My body seems to be very confused now. Hopefully this means it will welcome the strange, pre-packaged nutrition to follow!

So today, my giant food box came. I think I underestimated just how much food a months worth of food really is. Upon tearing into this giant Box o Potential Thinness, I was struck with this terrifying detail . . . none of this food needs to be refrigerated. Say wha?! Apparently, according to the Results Kit (book of instructions on how to consume this scary diet-feast):

Nutrisystem meals are sealed through a Soft Canning process (like you would tomatoes or peaches), which locks in the nutrition and great taste, and keeps out the elements. Observe:

Hmmm . . . interesting. So if that much anticipated Apocolypse hits any time soon, I will be all set with my kitchen full of freeze dried End of Days entrees. I have always dreamed of eating fettucini alfredo while fire and brimstone rains outside . . . and now I can!!

So here is the Feeding Schedule:

Breakfast -
Nutrisystem Breakfast Entree
Dairy or Protein Serving
Fruit Serving

Lunch
Nutrisystem Lunch Entree
Salad Serving
Fat Free Dressing
Dairy or Protein Serving

Afternoon Snack
Dairy or Protein Serving
Fruit Serving

Dinner
Nutrisystem Dinner Entree
Vegetable Serving
Salad or Fruit Serving
Fat Serving

Dessert
Nutrisystem Dessert entree

At first, I was like -- wtf, man! This is a crapload of food!! (for a girl who eats lettuce with protein for pretty much every meal) . . . but the Lunch entrees are truthfully not very big . . .

I am intrigued, friends. And now a wee bit nervous, since I may have packed on a few extra pounds during the Pre-Diet Primer. So tomorrow -- showtime!!