Eat the Rainbow!

OK, so that sounds a little silly... but the sentiment behind it is good. Fruits and vegetables come in a wide variety of colours and they all have different vitamins, minerals and nutrients to benefit our bodies. It's great for our health to eat lots of different coloured foods. Just think back to before you started making healthier choices- what colour was the food on your plate most days? I'd guess that a lot of it was beige or brown or white- monochromatic. So try everything you can- you might be surprised at how full of flavour vegetables can be, or how satisfying a juicy piece of fruit can be!

Here's a tasty recipe to help you get some colour in your day.


Chicken Salad (Lunch):




Chicken Pasta Salad:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Chicken Salad
1 carb serving of rotini pasta
1 dairy/protein serving of chopped chicken
1 whole green onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tbsp relish
1 tbsp light mayonnaise (optional)
black pepper, garlic to taste

Prepare your pasta as directed on the package. Allow it to cool, and mix all the ingredients together. If you add lots of vegetables, you may wish to use the extra light mayonnaise for a little extra sauce but I didn't think it was necessary. If desired, chill your salad in the fridge for half an hour and enjoy!

The Chicken Salad entree is designed to be served with a small whole grain roll, so I've substituted whole wheat pasta as my carb addition instead.

I am still surprised at how much I enjoy the Chicken Salad. It's an entree that I've been eating since I first started my Nutrisystem journey back in January 2010. Yes, it looks really gross when it comes out of the package and the texture is unappealing, but I really like the flavour! Not to mention that it is pretty much a blank palette- you can use it as a base to make it whatever way you like your chicken salad. I find that green onions really perk it up, but I know some people like to use part of their fruit and fat servings to add apple chunks and walnuts for example. So definitely give this entree a try if you haven't yet (or a second shot if you have but didn't add anything to it)- it's one of the easiest meals to fix up and definitely makes a satisfying meal. You can see my other Chicken Salad recipes by clicking the tag in my Nutrisystem Entrees section on the sidebar.

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.

Having fun again!

And isn't that what it's all about? If you're not enjoying what you're doing, you're less likely to stick to it. Food should be fun! That's another reason I love my Redi Set Go.

I have a new review and a couple of recipes- enjoy!


Chocolate Macadamia Nut Biscotti (Dessert):



This has a rich chocolate flavour and was nutty and delicious. Too bad it's discontinued! I have seen them fairly frequently on eBay though so you might be able to get hold of them if you want them. I'm usually not a biscotti fan because I like my cookies soft instead of rock hard, but dipping it in tea made it quite palatable.


Chicken Salad (Lunch):



This is another entree that I view as a base for making whatever you want. Is it kinda gross to squeeze it out of the little foil packet? Yeah, but don't have it by itself and it's great! What do you like in your chicken salad? You can add chopped apples or nuts (count them as a fat if you use them), celery, more chicken... whatever you'd normally put in chicken salad. Just treat the entree as the mayonnaise-y base and you're all set. I usually add more chopped chicken and green onions to mine. Lately I've been making it a melt which is SO yummy... split your dairy serving between chicken and cheese, and put the salad mixture over a slice of bread, top with cheese, and toast in the oven until it's hot and gooey. Delicious and filling!


Macaroni and Cheese (Dinner):



I saw a recipe to make chili mac, and took a crack at making it NS friendly. I know that some people mix together the Chili with Beans and the Macaroni and Cheese and then just eat half, but I'm not a big fan of having to stop halfway! I'd rather have just one serving of something if I can do it. So I tried it on my own and it was yummy!

Chili Mac:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Macaroni and Cheese
2oz ground turkey
1/3 cup kidney beans (borrow a carb serving from elsewhere if you don't get one)
chopped onions and tomatoes
garlic, black pepper, chili powder

Spray a pan with PAM spray and sautee the onions and tomatoes with the garlic until they soften. Add the turkey and cook until it's no longer pink. In the meantime, boil water for the macaroni but don't add it to the cup until just before you're going to use it. You want to soften the noodles and mix it up but you don't want all the liquid absorbed so that the cheesy flavour goes through the whole dish. Stir in the kidney beans and spices and simmer for a few minutes. Add the softened macaroni and stir well, then cover the pan until the liquid is all gone. Top with a little more cheese if you have a free food left and maybe some chili peppers and enjoy!


Pancake Mix (Breakfast):


I love using the pancake mix but I wasn't wild about this recipe, despite it being a big hit on the Nutrisystem boards. It wasn't bad- just not to my taste.

Apple Bundt Cake:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Pancake Mix
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp butter extract
1 tbsp Splenda

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl then pour into a sprayed dish and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Enjoy with a drizzle of maple syrup if desired.

Because of the higher percentage of liquidy ingredients, this cake is very soft and spongey, and I just prefer a denser cake so this isn't one of my favourites. It's also a little lower in protein- make sure you still have a full dairy/protein serving with it since the Egg Beaters replace the milk. I actually used Blueberry Pancake Mix and apple/blueberry puree and I liked the flavour, just not the texture. It's not as filling as some of the other breakfasts either.

You can customize it with differents fruits and spices to make it to your liking. Many Nutrisystem members use baby food to get a variety of pureed fruits, which is much easier than making your own. My son didn't seem to mind that I borrowed a jar of his. It was a little weird using baby food until I remembered that the reason I buy organic food for him is so that he just eats plain fruit, so why shouldn't I eat it too? I may try this again with different ingredients- he has an apple/mango blend that might be fun to make! I might also try adding some nuts (fat serving) or some fruit chunks just to give it a little more texture.

It's not all sunshine and roses...

Well, I suppose I had to find something I didn't like eventually! Otherwise everyone would do Nutrisystem. But oh well, I just don't have to order it again. I'm hoping this blog will help show people exactly what they are getting so they have a better shot at picking foods they do like if they choose to order from Nutrisystem. At this point, I would definitely still recommend it.

Today for breakfast, I had a cranberry orange pastry that was pretty darn good. So far, all the baked goods have been scrumptious and for a carbohydrate addict like me, that's saying something.



For lunch, I chose the chicken salad. This was pretty good, although I like my chicken mayonnaise-y and that's the way this was served. It was heavy on sauce- I would have preferred a little more of the chicken and veggies. With a little black pepper though, it was enjoyable. I am not sure why Nutrisystem chose this type of package for it- it's in a plastic pouch so you pretty much have to squeeze it like a toothpaste tube to get out all the chicken salad. I would have thought a dish-type container like the lasagna tray would be better so you can actually get it all out.



For dinner, I decided to have a hamburger. Condiments are allowed on Nutrisystem in moderation, so I was picturing a nice juicy hamburger on a whole wheat bun (you provide your own) with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and relish. Sounds good in theory, doesn't it?

The hamburger comes in a box containing a little plastic tray with something I can only describe as dessicated shoe leather in a circle. To "rehydrate" the patty, you pour boiling water on it until the tray is full and let it sit for 2 minutes. Well, OK. Maybe it would magically morph into a hamburger the way those little kids' foam toys turn from tiny little things into giant animals and monsters.

My hopes were dashed when I returned from making my cauliflower and saw a wet, dessicated shoe leather type object floating in the tray. I tried to pick it up with a fork to put on my bun and it fell apart. Not very appetizing. Fortunately, when you add enough stuff to it, all you really taste is bun and condiments, so I suppose it passes the edible test (I mean, I could EAT it, I just didn't WANT to) but this is not an entree that I will ever choose again. Unfortunately I have two more in my cabinet and I will be sure to take a picture next time for your viewing pleasure!

The saving grace to the meal was my cauliflower "mashed potatoes". I'm sure a lot of you have heard that mashed cauliflower can pass as a reasonable substitute and it wasn't bad at all. I steamed the cauliflower in my Starfrit silicone steamer and then put it in the food processor with a little milk and some garlic and pepper. It wasn't exactly potatoes, but it was pretty yummy and took care of my veggies for the meal (I get bored eating salad all the time).

For dessert, I asked Dan to choose something for me and he brought me a double chocolatey almond cookie. This didn't last long enough to have a picture taken of it! It's a yummy chocolate cookie with chocolate chips and almond bits. I love soft, chewy cookies and this was perfect.

I noticed that I was less hungry today, which was nice. I didn't even eat my extra carbohydrate serving that I am allowed at dinner since I have so much weight to lose. I didn't really want one and I was already comfortably within my range for calories, carbs, etc (I track on Sparkpeople to make sure I'm eating a balanced diet and am adding the right things when I have choices) I chose not to eat it. Hopefully my body is beginning to adjust to eating less and more often.