Flex Meals

I've been trying to avoid making flex meals because I was nervous about my ability to make food compliant with the program until I've lost more weight and gotten more confidence. Tonight, however, my inlaws were visiting, and I wanted to be able to make a tasty dinner that I'd be able to eat, too.

Here are the guidelines for making a flex dinner:

Dinner
2 Fat Serving
3 Lean Protein Serving
1 Vegetable Serving or Fruit Serving 2 Tbsp. Fat Free Dressing (if desired)
1 Low Glycemic Carbohydrate Serving
2 Vegetable Serving

I decided to make one of my favourite meals- Chicken Cordon Bleu. The name conjures up a fatty chicken breast dripping with cheese and ham, breaded and fried until it's greasy, maybe with a cream sauce on top. This substitute is delicious and has a fraction of the calories. It's also very high in protein (make sure to save one serving from earlier in the day!).



4 3oz chicken breasts, pounded thin
2 oz shaved fat free ham
2 oz fat free Swiss cheese
0.5 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (Italian spiced if you can get them)
0.5 cup eggbeaters
4 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take the thin chicken breasts and place 1/2 oz each of the ham and cheese in the middle and fold into a roll; secure with toothpicks. Dip the rolls in the eggbeaters and then into the breadcrumbs. Take a glass baking dish and pour the oil into it. Place the chicken rolls into the pan and bake for 35 minutes. Makes four servings.

For my side dishes, I made wild rice (1/3 cup is a low GI carb serving), steamed asparagus with a little lemon juice and garlic margarine for flavour (2nd fat serving), and a big salad with spinach, romaine, red green and yellow bell pepper, baby bella mushrooms, shallots, and tomatoes with fat free dressing. The eggbeaters and breadcrumbs are such a small serving that they could probably be counted as free foods.

It was fabulous- everyone enjoyed it, even the people who aren't watching their weight. It has a fraction of the fat and calories but all the flavour.


I've also tried to jazz up a few of the other Nutrisystem meals as well. I find the chili pretty boring, and it's disappointing that it is not one of the meals where you get to add a carb. Who doesn't love chili with rice or crackers? However, if you're one of the lucky fortunates who does get a carb with dinner, you might like this modification.

Chili with Beans (Dinner):


I chopped up onions, tomatoes, and green peppers and sauteed them in olive oil for my fat serving, and then poured the chili over top and let it simmer until the sauce had thickened. In the meantime, I took some Garden Fresh Gourmet Pita Chips and arranged them on the outside of a plate. Seven chips is a carb serving and they're very filling. I split mine in half so that it would look like more, and then poured the chili in the middle, topping with cheddar cheese (saved snack protein) and fat free sour cream. It was delicious- like eating nachos with chili sauce. Suddenly those little cups of chili have become more appetizing!

Florentine Sauce with Chicken Fettuccine (Dinner):


I know this is a discontinued item but apparently they are still available at Big Lots stores in the United States with long expiry dates- I just bought 23 from another Nutrisystem client and they're good until July 2011. If you can't get them, the modifications can be used on any of the NS pasta dishes, lunch or dinner. I just love this meal!

I chopped up onions, bella mushrooms, tomatoes, and green peppers and sauteed them in olive oil, and then dumped the pasta entree in the pan. I added 2oz of chicken (saved protein serving) and 1/2 tbsp bacon bits for a little extra flavour, and cooked it until everything was well mixed. It was a huge bowl and absolutely delicious. You have to eat your veggies anyway, and salad gets boring after a while!


Grilled Chicken Breast (Dinner):


I had a lot of fun with this entree. I've been missing my Subway Chicken Pizziola sub, so I decided to try and duplicate it at home. The above picture is the chicken breast cut into strips and seasoned with basil, garlic, and oregano. Then I took a whole wheat roll (to be added with the chicken) and split it in half, and placed the chicken on top. I topped it with half a serving of turkey pepperoni, pizza sauce (free food) and 1/2 oz mozzarella cheese (saved protein). I baked it for ten minutes and it was fabulous. I didn't take a picture of it because it's really hard to see much beyond a bun and the cheese but it definitely satiated my Italian sandwich craving.

I served it with an Italian style side dish- roasted tomatoes and onions. I chopped up the tomatoes and onions, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with basil and oregano. Yum!


Cinnamon Bun Bar (Breakfast):


As soon as I took this out of the package, it was reminiscent of the Apple Strudel Bar. I bit into it and again it was sickeningly sweet. I love sweet things but I couldn't handle this. The frosting did taste like that used on a cinnamon bun though and there was a nice cinnamon flavour, but the heavy sweetness just overwhelmed it for me. I like the regular Cinnamon Bun better- it's dense, cinnamony, but not as sweet.

Mint Chocolate Crunch Bar (Dessert):


Yum! This tastes just like a Nestle Crunch Bar but with mint flavouring! This is going to be increased on my next auto delivery for sure. It definitely kicked my chocolate craving.


I'm feeling more positive again. I know I can do this... I just have to want to. My biggest obstacle is myself.

It's been 12 weeks...

I still don't feel like my body has changed all that dramatically. It's definitely nice to be back in my pre-pregnancy clothes, though, so clearly something is changing even if I don't see it. I just wish things would hurry up a little! It took more than a few weeks to gain all this weight, makes sense it takes more than a few weeks to lose it all. I'm just impatient. After 12 weeks and a 1.6lb loss this week, I am down 28lbs.

I'm also in the middle of the Third Month Blues, something I thought was just an exaggeration. On the Nutrisystem boards they talk about the Terrible Threes- here they are, explained by Amy (It_Just_Is):

"There is a situation that I think needs to be brought up again since we have so many new people lately. It's called the 3s curse. (yes I'm serious) This comes in to play in ANY nutritional program and the better aware you are of it the better your chances for success. This consists of- yes- 3 parts.

Part number 1. 3 days into your program.

Right about now you're having second thoughts about what you have committed to. You may have just eaten the first food that you think is absolutely dreadful. Your head hurts from carb withdrawal, you're hungry and you're all over in a horrible mood. You HAVE to hang in there to get past the 3rd day. Take some tylenol for your head - come here for support and take the food you don't like off your next order! You are going to do great - just remember why you started!

Part number 2. the 3rd week.

By now your weight loss is slowing and you just about know what foods you like and what you don't - but WAIT there has been so much talk on the board about free foods, extras, and something about "Bears" - you're confused as heck! Does the milk for cereal count as your dairy for breakfast??? (no) Can you have popcorn??? Why did I lose 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks and this week nothing???? Oh it's just too much!!!! GO to the E-classes board! Most if not all of your questions have been asked in class by many many other people! If you can't find the answers there - come post here. Thats what we are here for - to make this easier on you and we will help in any way we can!

Part number 3. the 3rd month.

OHMYGOSH- you're doing it... and doing it... and doing it... things start to seem repetitive, even a tad boring now that the newness has worn off. You know what you can eat and when, and you're starting to "pick" from others' plates, have a little extra peanut butter, fudge your food measurements, maybe even have hit a "stall" with the scale and you're frustrated! Calm down - you know what's happening and now you can stop it! But you have to recognize that it is happening! People get so comfortable in the 3rd month that little things start to slide! STOP IT! If you can get past the 3rd month you will be fine. Come here for support. Keep a journal. Talk to a counselor if you need to - whatever you have to do to keep your program going.

I didn't have any problems with the first two- I was so determined to succeed and frankly I found there were many more carbs than I was used to on a weight loss program, so nothing's affected me until now. I didn't think the 3 month blues would hit, either. Lo and behold, I started getting hungry and wanting to snack on things. Maybe I'd make my servings of the added foods a little larger. Just little stuff, but maybe it adds up. This is the lowest amount of weight loss I've had since I started the program.

So, now I have two choices. I can keep going how I'm going, and either slow or stall my weight loss entirely. Or I can recommit to the program and finish what I started.

There's a poster on the Nutrisystem boards that I find very inspirational. Her name is PamSB, and even though she was in her sixties, she lost over 100lbs and has maintained ever since. She's been a Nutrisystem spokesperson and she continues to help posters on the message boards who hit a rut. She said to me that the way she lost all that weight and continues to maintain is to treat every day like it's Day One.

So here we go- tomorrow is a new Day One for me.

Am I really on a diet?

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Nutrisystem? Seriously. This is the easiest way to lose weight. People ask me if I'm tempted to cheat. Well, let me tell you what I ate today, and you tell me if you'd feel the need to cheat!

Breakfast: toasted bagel (carb serving) with fried egg and a slice of fat free cheese, banana.
Lunch: cream of potato soup with bacon and cheese, salad
Snack: Sour Cream & Onion Soy Chips
Dinner: Sourdough Pizza with turkey pepperoni, veggies, and cheese plus a second slice made on whole wheat bread (carb serving)
Dessert: 5 cinnamon donuts (NS breakfast item)

Seriously, would you need to cheat if you ate like this? I feel like I've been cheating all day long!


I was sure I took a photo of the Sour Cream & Onion Soy Chips but I don't see one on my camera so I guess I forgot. It'll probably be a while before I review these again since I don't have any more, so I'll do a mini one now.

Sour Cream And Onion Soy Chips (Dessert):


In this case, the Nutrisystem photo is pretty accurate. What these really remind me of are those Quaker mini rice cakes, except thinner. The texture and appearance is very similar. I found these to be pretty bland, though- they didn't have much seasoning on them at all. They were a nice snack since I had the donuts to eat later but I wouldn't want these as a substitute for one of the yummy sweet desserts that NS offers.


Pancake Mix (Breakfast):


I got this recipe off the Nutrisystem site and it is amazing! Seriously, you have to try it.

1 pkg Nutrisystem Pancake Mix
1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1 tsp brown sugar Splenda
2 tsp Splenda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp egg substitute

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend. Spray mini donut pan (or whatever you choose to use, I really wanted mini donuts so I bought the pan just for this recipe!) with PAM cooking spray and spoon in the batter- don't overfill because these rise! I could actually have made six donuts instead of five. Bake for about ten minutes or until done. Let them cool, and if desired top them with a little bit of glaze made with a tsp icing sugar thinned with milk. You're just brushing it on with a pastry brush so I wouldn't worry too much about the calories and it tastes wonderful!

This counts as a NS breakfast entree, so you still get to add the dairy/protein and fruit like I did with my breakfast. They're very filling so it works great to split up your breakfast.

Right now, I am one happy dieter!

Why are you overweight?

I'm an avid Biggest Loser fan. Like I said in my first post on this blog, I got a big reality check when I realized I weighed more than some of this season's competitors. One thing that's been sticking with me lately is the question that the trainers ask the competitors; "Why are you overweight?"

We all have our reasons. The weight didn't magically appear. If we can't figure out what has triggered us to get to where we are, we're doomed to repeat the cycle again.

I'm still trying to figure out my reasons. I've always been overweight for as long as I can remember. I like good food, and in a lot of cases, that means lots of fat and calories. I'm lazy, and that spans from exercising to taking the time to eat healthy. And I'm used to travelling and eating out all the time, and in addition to restaurants serving enormous portions of unhealthy food, I wasn't interested in making good choices. Are those the reasons that I'm looking for? I don't know. It seems like most of the competitors have an overriding emotional reason. I've had my share of issues when I was younger, but I never even considered that they could be related to my weight. I guess I will keep searching, because I never want to be here again.


I dealt with a personal challenge today. My son has been having a hard time sleeping lately because his eczema flared up, and he's been waking up pretty much hourly at night, which doesn't leave a whole lot of time for Mom to sleep either since my husband was out of town. I've been exhausted for three days now. When I'm exhausted, one of the ways I keep myself going is to eat. I was hungry all day long, even eating the most filling NS meals I had. I finally broke and had 5 slices of whole wheat melba toast with fat free cheese, 85 calories worth. I'm not proud that I cheated on my program, but I am proud of what I chose to eat. In the past, that might have been a whole sleeve of crackers with regular cheese. Now hopefully my son will be feeling better tonight so that Mommy can sleep, too!

I have some more food reviews and recipes to share!

Flatbread Pizza (Dinner):


In my quest to try as many items as possible, even discontinued ones, I may have made some unwise decisions! I bought this pizza from a seller on Kijijji, because I love the NS pizza so I figured I would give this a try. Well, this was a little past its use-by date but I thought that since the Nutrisystem food was shelf stable with those little fresh packs, it would be OK. Well, it was gross. I suspect that even without it being expired, I wouldn't have liked it. The crust was thick and crisp and bready- much like a thick cracker. It had no flavour at all. The cheese that came with it was orange instead of the usual white cheese. I'm not a fan of orange cheese on pizzas, so I threw it out and put my own mozzarella on top. I did eat the pizza, but I really didn't enjoy it and I threw the other package in the garbage. I can see why this was discontinued! I'll stick with the Italian Herb Flatbread Pizza, which not only has those delicious spices on it but a totally different texture.

Split Pea Soup (Lunch):


This is pretty good! Pea soup has never been one of my favourite meals so I don't have too much to compare it too, but it's a nice lunch. I suggest adding slightly less water than NS recommends for a richer, creamier soup.

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Noodles (Dinner):


On the Nutrisystem boards, this meal tends to get pretty bad reviews so I was worried about it. Since most of the dinner entrees tend to have a lot of sauce, I got the idea to dump it over a bowl of Asian vegetables to soak up the extra liquid. I bought a bag of frozen Asian stirfry veggies (just be careful not to include baby corn as that counts as a carb on NS) and steamed them, and then poured the entree over top. Surprisingly, I thought it was pretty good. It won't make my favourites list but it's better than a lot of the Asian inspired dishes that NS offers and I would eat it again. The chicken chunks were plentiful, the sauce wasn't too sweet, and it was a change of pace from the things I usually choose (fajitas, buffalo wrap and pork wrap, pizza, and burgers).

Coconut Almond Bar (Dessert):


People insisted this was like an Almond Joy bar. Since that was one of my favourites pre-Nutrisystem, I figured I was going to love it. I took a bite and the texture just seemed a little off from what I was expecting. I think it was a case of getting overly excited about what I hoped it would be, because the bar isn't bad. It's just not an Almond Joy and I really shouldn't have expected it to be. The coconut flavour is there, although it's not overwhelming, and the chocolate was good. I'm still wondering where the almonds were because I didn't taste any. Like I said, there was nothing wrong with this except it didn't live up to the hype so I probably won't be ordering it again.

Macaroni and Cheese (Dinner):


I've had this before and enjoyed it, so I thought I'd try to jazz it up a little bit. I miss macaroni and cheese the way I used to make it- completely from scratch. It was rich, cheesy, delicious... and about 900 calories, if not more. So I wondered, what could I do to make this more like my macaroni and less like Kraft dinner (although I still say this is a darn good substitute for KD!). I decided to add a little milk to the cup before I poured in the boiling water to the fill line, and I threw in a wedge of Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb cheese to melt into the sauce. I covered it and let it sit for ten minutes, and poured it into a small dish and topped it with Italian breadcrumbs and an ounce of cheddar cheese. I baked it for ten minutes and it was delicious and I was stuffed when I was finished my dinner.

I try to avoid posting recipes that involve the use of additional carb servings because I know that not all my readers get the extra carbs with their meals. In this case, the amount of breadcrumbs is very small. 1/4 cup is a carb serving and I planned to use that much until I saw how much it really is. I used maybe 1/3 of it and I could have used less. I think it you just put a sprinkle on, you'd be OK even if you aren't allowed an extra carb. It's definitely worth saving a protein to top it with cheddar cheese, and a free food to use the Laughing Cow cheese. I prefer the macaroni with beef, but this recipe will definitely make it easy to want to use up my remaining plain macaroni cups!

Scale Victories!

Well, we get to have some of those too, right? :)

I hit a big milestone this week- I've lost over 50lbs since the day my son was born. I've really only been keeping track of my loss during Nutrisystem but I don't want to forget how far I've come! I lost 2.8lbs this week which is great.

I've got some more food reviews coming and a new recipe, I'll try to post them soon!

Non Scale Victories

I read this Daily Dose article a few days ago and it got me thinking. We all focus so obsessively on the scale that sometimes we don't even notice other things, I think. Or maybe I was just being obtuse. Despite the fact that the number on the scale has been steadily going down since I started Nutrisystem, I haven't really noticed any physical differences in myself. I still look fat. I still feel fat. Some days I wondered if the scale is lying to me and I hadn't really lost any weight at all.

Then I met a friend and we went out shopping for a wedding gift, and I noticed when I was sitting in his car that my pants were bagging around my waist. I hadn't even noticed it before but they were way too big! I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but my son is six months old and I had been afraid to try on my pre-pregnancy clothes. Today, after seeing how my clothes were fitting, I tried on my "fat" jeans. I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they fit, but I had room to stick my fists in the waistband! I think my weight has redistributed a little because they fit properly in the butt and thighs but are loose everywhere else. That's OK though- it's a start! It's exciting to be back in my old clothes.

I'm going to a wedding May 14 (the one I was out buying the gift for) and I am really hoping that I won't have to buy a new dress for just one day (since hopefully I'll never be this size again!). I have some lovely formalwear that I haven't worn in a while but I am not sure it will fit me anymore- I haven't worn it since before I got pregnant. That's the next non scale victory I am hoping for!

Please feel free to share your non scale victories with all of us! The number on the scale is important, but so is how we feel about ourselves, how our clothes fit, and how healthy we are- and those aren't things you can count with numbers.

Eating at Restaurants

Sometimes I think that restaurants are deceptive on purpose! Over the weekend I went to Toronto to spend time with my mother, and she told me we were invited to dinner on Monday night with some friends. OK, sounds good so far. Then she tells me it's at a pizzeria. Well, I'm a big fan of not letting weight loss interfere with your life, but there are limits. I took a look at the menu and there was absolutely nothing I could eat that wasn't a zillion calories. I called the friends and asked if we could change the venue to a place that at least had some salads. So we settled on Jack Astor's.

I highly recommend at least checking out the menu before you dine out so you can make good decisions. In a lot of cases, you can eat your Nutrisystem dinner before you go out to reduce the odds of being too hungry and ordering something you really shouldn't have. Then just save a protein serving and order a nice plain salad with chicken or shrimp or fish.

However, some entrees can be misleading. I looked up the stats for Jack Astor's six dinner salads, and one clocked in at a whopping 1100 calories and 85 grams of fat! Now that's scary. People choose salads thinking that they are healthy, but they're not always as good as they sound.

I chose to order the Asian Salmon Salad, which if served normally, contains 600 calories and 37 grams of fat. Why on earth do restaurants have to wreck a perfectly good meal? The description says they butter the salmon and top it with toasted sesame seeds and candied pecans. I asked for no butter, seeds, or nuts, and dressing on the side. The salad was wonderful without those things and I am sure I reduced a significant percentage of those fat grams and calories.

Don't be afraid to ask a restaurant to customize things for you! Most of the time, they are happy to make whatever substitutions or changes that you ask for. It's 100% OK to want to be healthy- you don't need to just eat whatever they put in front of you. You're in charge of what goes in your mouth.

I'm doing a 6 week mini weight loss challenge with a friend, and we weigh in on Tuesdays so I've already got an inkling of how things are going this week. Let's just say that I am glad that I didn't let myself get derailed by going to a restaurant! Are there things I could be convinced to break program for? Absolutely. But fast food or mediocre chain restaurant food is definitely not one of them. When you're tempted, ask yourself; is it really worth it?

Weighed in a day early this week...

I'm going to Toronto to visit my mother this weekend so I weighed in a day early since I wanted to keep it consistent and use the same scale. I am down another 2.6lbs for a total of 23.6lbs in ten weeks! That is great, especially since it includes one week of zero weight loss, when I was in Niagara Falls. But although I didn't lose, I didn't gain either, so I see that as a minor victory.

I have yet another challenge on Monday- we're going out to dinner with some friends of the family who haven't met my son yet. My mom called and said they had picked a pizzeria! Well... much as I am in favour of not allowing diets to disrupt your life, there are certainly better choices of places to go. I looked at the menu for this place and I couldn't even get a plain garden salad! I suggested a few other places so now we've changed the venue to somewhere the other guests will enjoy, but there are also things that I can eat without disrupting my program.

I plan on eating a Nutrisystem dinner before I go out to reduce the cravings for the kind of junk that I used to eat and to prevent myself from overeating. I'm going to save up a couple of protein servings from earlier in the day and I plan to order a garden salad with salmon. I really miss seafood on Nutrisystem since there are no seafood options available in the standard plan, and Canadians can't order from the frozen meal menu.

There's no reason you can't go out with friends and family and enjoy yourself while losing weight, but it's definitely important to distinguish between a special occasion and just eating junk all the time since you're at a restaurant. You can still make healthy choices at your favourite restaurants! After all, really- it tastes good for the length of the meal, and then it's forgotten. Is it really worth it to set yourself back maybe a week?

People tell me they can't believe all the sacrifices I'm making, but it's hard for me to explain to them that I don't feel like I'm giving anything up at all- not only will I be smokin' hot when I'm finished losing weight, but I'll be a healthier, happier person. Like someone on the Nutrisystem boards said, "I'd eat cardboard for that, and this food is much better than cardboard!"

It's Here Again!

It's always exciting when the UPS man is lugging a 50lb box up my steps! This time I was especially waiting for my 10lb bear which was supposed to be in the box and I was a little disappointed to see that it was out of stock and would be mailed next week. But the good news is, Nutrisystem said they'd put my 20lb bear in the same box so I'll have them both soon.

I also ordered some new things to try instead of just sticking to food that I was pretty sure I'd like. After all, you never know if you will enjoy something or not until you try it! I also got a free week of food with this order and I love the chance to try things that I might not have considered ordering. I'm still not really interested in the breakfast cereals or the salty snacks but at least they are here if I change my mind.

I have tried a couple of new things over the past week- here are my thoughts.

BBQ Sauce with Pork Wrap (Dinner):


I read lots of bad reviews on this so I was a little hesitant to try it, but it came free with my order and I love BBQ sauce so I figured why not. I decided to take my fat serving and fry up some red onion, green bell pepper, and tomatoes in a pan, and then I added the pork mixture to the pan instead of heating it in the microwave as the package recommends. The meat is shredded very finely- no big chunks or anything like that. The vegetables gave it much more texture. The meal also comes with a little tortilla shell which they recommend heating for ten seconds (probably so it doesn't crack along the fold lines). Honestly, I thought this meal was pretty good. The picture only shows about half the meat because I didn't want to overstuff the wrap, but there was plenty left over. I was very full after eating this and I will probably order it again. It was definitely good with the veggies and a little shredded mozzarella on top if you save a dairy/protein serving.


Milk Chocolatey Delight Bar (Dessert):


When I first bit into this, I was expecting something like a basic chocolate bar. I was surprised at how chewy it was- reminiscent of the Strawberry Shortcake Bar. It seems to be more of a chocolate soft toffee bar with a chocolate coating than anything else. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but don't chew the toffee for too long or you get a bitter aftertaste.


Double Chocolate Caramel Bar (Lunch):


This was really good. The lunch bars have all tended to be excellent! This is probably my least favourite of the three, but not because it's bad- just because the Fudge Graham bar and Chocolatey Peanut Butter bar are so good!


Beans and Ham Soup (Lunch):


I promised a photo of the finished product I described in the last post! As soon as my box came, this was the first item I grabbed out of it so that I could make lunch. It is going to be one of my favourites. Very filling and reminiscent of comfort food.


I'm also revising my opinion of the chocolate cake. I said before that I didn't think it was too great. Well, I tried it again today and I found it really hit the spot. I guess I just have to be in the mood for a cake-y texture instead of the density of the fudge brownie. I've also read a few tricks for improving the chocolate cake, and I'm looking forward to trying them! Some ideas have been to cut it in half and fill it with fat free Cool Whip to make a Devil Dog, or to blend a tsp of peanut butter (fat serving) with the Cool Whip to make frosting. But, it's still pretty good even plain!

More potatoes!

Oh my goodness, I think I need to revise my auto delivery again. I wish I'd put more than three Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes for this month because there are so many things you can do with them!

I got this recipe off the Nutrisystem website and it is amazing. I love creamy soups and this one was very satisfying and it also made a huge portion. The bowl that the soup is pictured in is not a regular soup bowl. That is actually my large pasta serving bowl! I had a hard time finishing it all and I was stuffed. My husband tasted it and he liked it so much that he asked me to make him some, too.



Creamy Potato Soup

1 pkg Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 oz shredded cheese
1/2 tbsp bacon bits (optional)
If chunky soup is desired, add 1 cup steamed cauliflower mashed in a blender (but still chunky) with a tbsp of fat free sour cream and black pepper.


Add 1 cup hot water to the Potatoes, which fills the cup nearly to the brim instead of the fill line. Stir well and transfer to a large bowl. Give the potatoes a few minutes to rehydrate- this is a good time to prepare the cauliflower if you want that in your soup. Pour in 1/2 cup milk (I found I actually needed a little bit more to thin the soup to my liking), stir in cauliflower if desired, and then top with the cheese and bacon bits. Serve warm.

I looked at the nutritional stats on bacon bits and compared it to the imitation bits and to turkey bacon. 1 tbsp of real bacon bits has about 35 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, with 5 grams of protein. I am personally comfortable with a little extra fat and treating them as a partial dairy/protein serving even though they slightly exceed the program requirements- after all, we're only using half a tablespoon. If you want to adhere strictly, I suggest cooking up a slice of low fat or fat free turkey bacon and using that for your crumble or skipping it entirely if you aren't a bacon fan. You could also try fat free ham cubes or something similar.


I've also got a few other ideas to share. Last night I followed a tip I was given about the Flame Broiled Beef Patty. I must revise my opinion of it upwards yet again!

I rehydrated the patty but didn't soak it to death in that little tray so it was still fairly firm and not crumbly. Then I took my fat serving, and fried it in a pan with olive oil. Wow. It was a million times better than just eating the rehydrated patty. It tasted like a real hamburger! I had it with a serving of shredded coleslaw and Calorie Wise Kraft Coleslaw dressing. Delicious!


I've also got an idea for a dairy/protein serving. If you're like me, sometimes you get tired of the same old thing for dairy/protein. Since you have to eat three a day, it can get repetitive if you are not creative. I saw an idea on the NS website for "crustless pumpkin pie" as a dairy/protein substitute, so I had to try it.



1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
1 can evaporated fat free milk (12 oz)
¾ cup egg substitute (or 3 egg whites)
½ tsp. salt
3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup Splenda® (or sugar), or to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.
3. Pour into 9” pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Bake for 15 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 45 more minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cut into sixths- one sixth equals a dairy/protein serving.


I think a shallower pan would be better as my slices came out much softer than I was expecting. Perhaps I could have baked it longer but I didn't want the top to get too dry. I also think this could use a teensy bit more pumpkin pie spice and Splenda.

I like to have this for my afternoon snack dairy/protein serving. It's like having a dessert in the middle of the day! Top it with fat free Cool Whip and enjoy.

Week 9 Weigh In

After nine weeks, I have lost 21 lbs. I still don't really see that much of a difference in myself physically but then again I have a long way to go. But it makes me feel so good to see the number on the scale getting lower and lower.

I've also earned my second Nutribear! My first will be here in a few days when my auto delivery arrives- I can't wait to have a tangible reward and a reminder of my success. And I can't wait to start a collection of Nutribears!

The most versatile food

If you like to be creative with your food, order a lot of the Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes. There is so much you can do with them! I made this recipe for lunch today and had to share it with you right away. It is very high in protein and so filling. It is high in sodium so if you are sensitive, you may wish to avoid it, but if not, have at it!



Crab Cakes

1 pkg Homestyle Potatoes
3oz crabmeat
1 green onion

Add about half the water you'd normally add to the potatoes and stir, then let them stand, covered, until they are ready. In the meantime, chop up your green onion into small pieces and mix it with the crabmeat. Add in the potatoes and stir well. Add your favourite spices (I like Old Bay seafood seasoning) and combine everything.

Pan fry in PAM spray until both sides are crispy. Serve with seafood sauce, horseradish, or eat them plain- they're good any way!


I definitely plan to add more of these to my next auto-delivery. I already have some more things to try with them.