Turbo Takeoff

I have to admit that I am really not enjoying the Nutrisystem Turbo Takeoff week. It is extremely low calorie, so much so that they state very clearly only to do it for one week and even to curb your exercise. While it's easy to follow, that's because for the first week you are pretty much only consuming the Nutrisystem food plus fresh veggies. There is no adding in any Smartcarbs or Powerfuels (I still feel silly writing that and I wish they gave them better names!) anywhere, so there really isn't much you can do with the food besides heat and eat. I can be 100% straightforward when I say that if this was how the program continued, I would prefer to be fat.

My next complaint is that they prepack the food that is in the Turbo Takeoff week, and there are just way too many bars. They give you a Nutricurb bar for your afternoon snack, which has stats similar to your average protein bar. So some days, you get a breakfast bar, a lunch bar, and a Nutricurb bar. There just isn't enough bulk even when you add in your four veggie servings. I don't like being hungry all the time. Even though the regular entrees are still small before you bulk them up, they're more satisfying than just eating a cold bar for a meal. I have had several moments when I have felt lightheaded from eating so little, and I'm definitely crankier than usual. They didn't have a kickstart like this when I first did Nutrisystem back in 2010. However, since it's only one week, I will persevere.

Today at least has been better. I had the granola cereal for breakfast, and it was pretty close to what I remembered. Instead of adding in the skim milk as required to complete the entree, I added in a 1/2 serving of Greek yogurt. It's much more filling that way and I can't stand cereal so this is the only way it works for me. It was tasty and for at least a little while I didn't feel deprived! I missed being able to add the fruit, though.

I haven't really been taking many photos this week because I've been so hungry that as soon as I grab my food I just want to put it in my face. I will try to be a little more conscious of my record keeping here!

So far I have tried: beans & ham soup, harvest nut bar, fudge graham bar, macaroni & cheese with turkey sausage, chicken alfredo, cinnamon streusel muffin, in addition to the granola cereal and chicken noodle soup.

The beans & ham soup is also much as I remember it. I couldn't add my usual veggie dogs, sadly, but I did still add the ketchup and mustard and it left me with the familiar baked bean type dish that I remembered. While it was small, it was pretty filling and I enjoyed it. I would order this again.

I seem to have been grabbing things that looked familiar, which I suppose makes sense! The harvest nut bar is a little on the small side, but it tasted pretty decadent and I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't so hungry that I was stuffing it in my mouth. While it was good, I prefer to have something for breakfast that feels more like a treat and I probably would not order this again.

The fudge graham bar is yummy and exactly as I remember it. In the past, I used it as a meal replacement when I was on the go, or else as the "dessert" to a meal which was a big salad with a protein serving on top. That isn't an option this week (or apparently at all anymore unless you borrow the powerfuel from a snack and I have to ask if that is still okay), so I ate the bar, liked it since it used to be a favourite of mine, and then looked regretfully at the package when lunch was over.

The mac & cheese with turkey sausage was pretty good. I'm actually not sure what I would do to modify this entrée but I haven't put much thought into it. The sauce was creamy and delicious and the sausage chunks tasted good. It was much better than I expected and I would order this again.

I felt similarly about the chicken alfredo, although I still miss the Florentine entrée that was discontinued years ago. That was SO good. I wish they would put more vegetables right in the Nutrisystem entrees but I can understand why they don't and just have you add your own. This one I think could definitely do with some onions and peppers and spinach mixed into it to bulk it up a bit, but the flavour was pretty good on its own. The chicken was a little dry but it was okay.

The cinnamon streusel muffin was yummy! I love their baked breakfast treats and was not surprised that I enjoyed this. I would most definitely order it again.

Three days into Turbo Takeoff... only four more to go thankfully. I hope I am losing inches this week and all this hunger is worthwhile! 

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!

The search begins!

So I'm a little crazy- I've always been the kind of person who gets things when other people said it couldn't be done. I like being able to find a way to do it. Of course, in weight loss, this is usually a good thing- I find a healthy way to make things that I like. With Nutrisystem, some of that is coming out, but the crazy in me is trying to find a way to get hold of discontinued meals. I think I'm nuts, because even if I find something I love, odds are that I'll never be able to find it again! But, I want to try as many things as possible, so there it is. Since Nutrisystem food has such a long shelf life, maybe I'll be finding discontined items for a while. I hope to keep finding the Beef Tacos, now that they are gone from the Canadian site. I have to ration the few I have left!

Florentine Sauce with Chicken Fettuccine (Dinner):


This was my first discontinued find, and it was delicious. Why on earth did Nutrisystem get rid of these??? The chicken and noodles were in a rich, creamy sauce with spinach. It tasted too decadent to be a weight loss entree! I am trying to hunt down more of these as well.


Peppermint Cookie Patty (Dessert):


I was expecting to love this since I adore mint and cookies, and it got good feedback on the Nutrisystem boards. It just didn't do it for me, though. It is basically a chocolate coated soft, chewy mint patty- there was no crunch from a cookie. I was expecting the mint to be more of the soft, melty kind like in After Eight bars. Having to chew the mint really made me think of bad mint bubble gum. With so many great desserts to choose from, I'm not going to waste any more time on this one.


Apple Granola Bar (Breakfast):


OK, this was the first item I've actually taken one bite out of and thrown in the trash. It tasted dry and crumbly, and the fake apple taste was just overwhelming. I couldn't possibly eat it. I used to read posts about people throwing away items and I said to myself, at about $3 a pop, I wouldn't be that wasteful, but I guess everyone has their breaking point! I am really not a fan of the fake flavours- would it have been so hard to put in some dried apple chunks?


Apple Strudel Bar (Breakfast):


I had some trepidation about this, since I'd had the Apple Granola Bar the day before. I took a bite and the icing and heavy sweetness of the strudel bar seemed to mask most of the fake apple taste. I'm not crazy about this and I won't order it again, but I was able to eat it. It was much better than the other bar.


Sloppy Joe Mix (Dinner):


I decided to try the Sloppy Joe Mix with pasta instead of a bun, like I speculated in my last post. OMG, this is diet food??? You've got to be kidding me. I prepared the Sloppy Joe Mix following package directions except that I only microwaved it once- I didn't want it to thicken up too much. In a saucepan, I added chunks of my favourite veggies- onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, and tomatoes, and added the Sloppy Joe Mix on top. There didn't really seem to be enough sauce, so I got the idea to add a half cup of fat free cottage cheese for my protein serving. I prepared my pasta serving (I use Catelli Smart), and dumped it into the saucepan to mix, and then served it. It was rich, cheesy, and delicious. Dan had a bite and he wanted to eat it himself! I am definitely adding more of these to my next order.


Beans and Ham Soup (Lunch):


When I first opened the can, this looked very unappealing. The soup had separated, leaving a clear liquid floating on top. Fortunately, I had a recipe up my sleeve to try with this! Cut up two fat free/low fat hot dogs (no more than 100 calories total), and dump the soup on top. Then add a tbsp of Splenda Brown Sugar Substitute, and a few squirts of ketchup and mustard. Stir until blended, then microwave for two minutes. It tastes like weiners and baked beans. I was sure I took a photograph of the finished product, but I can't seem to find one so I suppose it smelled so good that I was too eager to dig in! I'll get one next time. This was delicious and I'll be ordering more!