Who else isn't a veggie lover?

Come on now, raise your hands! I can't be the only one. For me, salad is the thing I usually don't enjoy. Salad is diet food, right? Who wants to eat diet food? Every once in a while, a nice salad will hit the spot but it's definitely not something I want to eat every day. It can get frustrating when I read on the Nutrisystem boards and everyone just says, Oh, have a salad. Well, what if you don't WANT salad?

There are other ways to eat vegetables that taste surprisingly good- I promise! I'm going to try and devote some time over the next few weeks to sharing my favourite ways to prepare vegetables that are so yummy, you will actually want to eat them!


Flex Meals (Dinner):

Turkey Florentine Meatballs with Spaghetti:


I used to make these meatballs all the time, and the recipe only required a slight modification to make it an NS-friendly dinner swap.

4oz lean ground turkey
1 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp Egg Beaters
chopped green onion and spinach
mashed garlic
Italian seasonings

1 carb serving worth of pasta
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Mix all the meatball ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Prepare the pasta as directed, drain, and put on plate. Heat up pasta sauce and add sauce and meatballs. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

This is a surprisingly large serving and I really enjoyed this meal. I also conquered my desire for seconds when I'm not actually hungry, which I'm sure added up to a lot of weight in the past! I only made one serving of pasta but a huge batch of meatballs and I did resist the urge to go back for more- I really didn't need them. It definitely hit the spot for a nice Italian pasta meal (and good as the NS sauce is- mine is better!)



Meatball Sub:


Oh, I used to love these before I started Nutrisystem, except I'd use the giant sub buns and serve it with French fries. I was a little nervous that I'd still be hungry after eating this since it's so much less than I was used to, but I was honestly stuffed afterwards, and very satisfied! It's so nice to be able to eat my old favourites.

1 small whole wheat hot dog bun
3 turkey meatballs (from recipe above- I made them all 1oz size for easy calculation- yes, I did weigh each one before cooking!)
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1/2 oz shredded cheese
chopped onions and green peppers

Warm the meatballs and tomato sauce, and pour them onto the split hot dog roll. Top with veggies and cheese, and bake in the oven until crispy. Yum!


On the side, I made one of my go-to Italian side dishes- baked tomatoes and onions. I chopped up a tomato and a few slices of onion into little pieces and poured 1 tbsp Italian dressing over top (you really don't need any more!). I also stirred in a little garlic powder and Italian herbs and baked them along with the sandwich. So yummy! I've also made this recipe with 1 tsp olive oil instead of the dressing for variety when I have a fat serving to spare.


Vegetable Ideas:

Portabello Mushroom Pizzas


If you like pizza, you have to run out and buy yourself some portabello mushroom caps because it is amazing. I still can't believe it's legal, but it is!

Scoop out the centres of the mushrooms and place them on a baking tray. Top with low sodium pizza sauce (or plain crushed tomatoes), turkey pepperoni, your favourite veggies (I wouldn't add more mushroom though!) and shredded cheese. Bake them for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is all melty and gooey. Be careful when you scoop them up with a spatula because the mushrooms get very soft and the toppings will really slide around if you're not careful!

If you use 1/2 oz cheese and 1/2 serving of pepperoni, this counts as veggies and a Powerfuel serving. How can you beat pizza for a snack? If you do want it as a lunch entree though, remember to add a SmartCarb elsewhere to your day since this recipe does not have one.