Bar Food

I can't be the only person who loved to go to the bar and eat greasy food with a cold beer, right? But of course, the average bar appetizer has four figures of calories, not to mention more than a day's worth of fat and sodium! So, while it's a nice treat, it wouldn't be a thing to do often.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have a delicious, gooey meal, completely guilt free? You can even save your extras and have this on your patio with a light alcoholic beverage if you feel like a splurge! I don't think anyone would guess that this meal is totally on the Nutrisystem program- I still can't believe it is, and I'm eating it right now!

Cactus Cut Potato Nachos (Dinner):

1 pkg Nutrisystem BBQ Seasoned Chicken
1 small white potato
1 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
2 tbsp. plain greek yogurt with 1 tsp dry Ranch powder
spices- chipotle pepper, garlic/roasted pepper seasoning, seasoning salt (optional)

This recipe requires a little more prep work than the average dinner, but it is SO worth it. First, slice your potato into extremely thin slices with a mandolin. Put them in a bowl of water and soak them for an hour.

In an hour, come back and pat the potato slices dry with a paper towel. Spray the slices with cooking spray, and sprinkle them with spices to taste. Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees, and bake the potato slices for 12 minutes or until brown and crispy.

In the meantime, spray a frying pan with a little cooking spray, and cook your onion and bell pepper until they start to soften. Add the package of Nutrisystem BBQ Seasoned Chicken, and continue to cook until all ingredients are heated through and well mixed.

Layer your potato slices on a plate, and top with the chicken and vegetable mixture. Sprinkle the cheese on top, and microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted. Top with the plain greek yogurt and enjoy!

Count this as your Nutrisystem dinner entrée (the potato is the SmartCarb serving that you add to complete the entrée- it does not count as a separate SmartCarb serving), plus a Powerfuel for the cheese, 2 vegetable servings, and an extra for the Greek yogurt dip (or use just 1 tbsp. and call it a free food!).

I'd love to hear some feedback on this one- I think it's going to become one of my new favourite dinners!

Turbo Takeoff Day Six

I feel like I have to relearn all over again which foods I like, and then think about what to do with them. I am not sure if all of the tricks I used to use still work, and then the foods themselves are just different.

I've tried now nearly everything in my Turbo Takeoff box, with varying reactions. I know I generally loved the Nutrisystem breakfast baked items, but once again I was disappointed. The chocolate chip baked bar was just as awful as the blueberry lemon one- cardboard that tasted of chemicals. Even the double chocolate muffin had a strong chemical taste. It really makes me miss the cranberry orange pastry and the apple strudel scone!

I had some issues with the texture of the loaded potato, too. I used to do all kinds of magic with that, but I found myself unable to fry it into potato cakes. I don't know if it was user error this time (I didn't use a non-stick pan and perhaps didn't use enough Pam) and I'll have to try again, but I was sad about the results if not the flavour. I did definitely enjoy the taste, though!

I am wondering why the dry cup entrees are no longer add boiling water; I really hate adding room temperature water and then microwaving, because items often boil over and then I lose part of my lunch as well as make a mess. The boiling water was easy and worked well. Yesterday though when I tried the three cheese chicken lunch, the sauce didn't coalesce properly when I used boiling water. Surprise surprise, then it boiled over even on lower power in my microwave (when the instructions clearly say high). I am finding these to be small but annoying frustrations.

The BBQ seasoned chicken dinner, I really enjoyed. I cooked up some diced onion and green pepper in a little bit of low calorie BBQ sauce in a pan, then poured the entrée over top. I took a Flatout wrap for a carb serving and then added lettuce and tomato to that before filling it with the rest of the meal. It made a really filling and delicious dinner- one of the first times I've felt satiated this week.

I was a little skeptical of the Italian herb flatbread pizza since I couldn't use any of my usual modifications. I was pleasantly surprised that the included cheese is a little better than it was before. I did miss being able to add turkey pepperoni, but it was still acceptable when I topped it with onions, peppers, and tomatoes.

I am looking forward to this week coming to an end, so I can start playing again. While I am glad I have the convenience of the food, I am looking forward to being less hungry and still losing weight!