Chicken Noodle Soup

I remember there was chicken noodle soup in my previous incarnation of Nutrisystem. It was never one of the items I ordered because I don't really think there is all that much you can do to change/bulk up soup, and I was never a big chicken noodle soup fan anyway.

While the portion is disappointingly small for soup when one is used to eating a whole can of Campbell's, the flavour is fine and I don't notice any real difference from if I was in fact eating Campbell's. 

I do miss the addition of what used to be a dairy/protein serving here in addition to lunch. I think I'm going to find that I am stealing my midmorning snack items to add to lunch on many days since most of my recipes involved using that extra protein serving in my lunch. But I don't usually snack in the mornings so I don't think that will be an issue for me.

However, since I am on Turbo Takeoff this week, there are no snacks or foods outside what comes in the Turbo Takeoff box with the exception of vegetables and "extras" which can be used to season the vegetables (unless the entrée specifically calls for it like the cereal or the BBQ chicken). They include a few recipes in the booklet which indicate that you can use sauces like soy sauce or sugar free maple syrup, but if you don't go through the other materials you won't see the specific guidance that these extras must be 10-35 calories each and limited to three per day. On the previous program, these were called free foods.

So, this is my lunch! I'm going to be having some cucumber slices in fat free ranch dressing to munch on afterwards while I eyeball that chocolate TurboShake that was supposed to be my morning snack and talk myself into trying it.

Bon appetit!

Working Down the List...

I've still got several items left to review, but I'm getting there! Hopefully I'll be finished before the NEW items come out. Yes, you heard me- there are new Nutrisystem menu items on the way! We haven't been told when they will arrive but I will do my best to get them and review them ASAP once they are available. What I have been told is that we are getting Southern Style Biscuits and Gravy for breakfast, some kind of chocolate wafer cookies for dessert, and popcorn for another dessert. I am not sure if there will be more items, nor do I have any other details- sorry! Hopefully they will be released soon so we can all give them a try!

In the meantime, here are some more entrees!


Chicken Noodle Soup (Lunch):



As you can see from the French writing on this label, this can has been around since the time I was on the Nutrisystem Canada program back in February. Yes, there's a reason for that! I just can't think of chicken noodle soup as a meal. As a side with a nice grilled cheese sandwich, maybe. Also, I find that although I don't like salty things and never add salt to anything, I feel that chicken noodle soup should be salty, and this doesn't taste salty. When I'm sick and don't feel like eating, I choose this entree. Other than that... it'll be one of those meals sitting in the back of my cupboard behind the stuff I really like.


Peanut Butter Cookie (Dessert):



I always loved the taste of rich peanut butter cookies, warm out of the oven. I know peanut butter is really high in fat so obviously the amount used in the recipe would have to be limited, but I found this somewhat lacking. The texture of the cookie was right but the flavour just wasn't there. I find it is much improved if you microwave it for a few seconds to mimic the just-out-of-the-oven feel and spread your 1 tsp of peanut butter on the top (save your fat serving for this- PB2 just didn't cut it for me this time). Would I eat it again? Yes, but there are so many other desserts that I much prefer that this is way down the list.


Tuna Salad (Lunch):



I hate tuna. I hate the smell and the texture. I knew I wasn't going to like this one, so doing the review would be pointless because even if it was the finest tuna in the world prepared by a 5 star chef, I wouldn't eat it. I passed this one off to my mother, who thinks tuna is a daily staple. Her verdict? It's a little more mayonnaise-y than she likes, but she adds a dairy/protein serving worth of canned tuna to it and puts it over a salad. She saves the carb serving for later. She orders about eight of these a month, so it's definitely one of her favourites. I still won't eat it, though! So keep in mind that all these reviews are based on my palate; some things I love you might hate and vice versa. It's always best to try everything for yourself (twice!) to find out what you like.