Salad Free Week at Stomach Rumblings Continues!

I'm really enjoying trying as many new ways as possible to fix my veggies so that I can avoid salads. As you have probably seen if you've read my back posts, I try to cook my veggies with the entree as often as possible. It makes a bigger meal, plus the entree and the veggies both taste better as a result!

Here's a dinner recipe that I got from the Nutrisystem Recipe Club. I had some doubt about it at first- I've never been crazy about eggplant and the Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes but I figured in the spirit of Salad Free Week I would give them a try! I did make a couple of modifications- here is the recipe the way I prepared it. It's fairly labour intensive but worth trying!

Meatloaf & Tomato Sauce with Mashed Potatoes (Dinner):


Eggplant Rollatini:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Meatloaf & Tomato Sauce with Mashed Potatoes
7 thin slices of eggplant
4 tbsp ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Aylmer Accents Chili Tomatoes
diced onion
sprinkle of mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning
chives

Take the eggplant, cut off the top and bottom, and attempt to cut it into thin slices. Realize that the first few chunks you've hacked off are way too thick. Set them aside and try again. Start cutting a slice and then notice it is so thin that it falls apart. Swear, hope you'll have enough eggplant, and try again. Eventually we hope you'll have seven reasonable slices of eggplant, although in my case they were definitely not uniform in size and some parts got crispy from being overcooked and some parts were really thick and mushy.

Anyway- take your eggplant slices and put them on a baking tray that's been sprayed with PAM. Arrange the slices in a single row on the tray and spray the tops and add Italian seasoning. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 depending on how thick your slices are, then set aside and allow to cool.

Open the Meatloaf entree and scoop out the meat and mashed potatoes and place in a bowl- try to leave as much of the sauce as possible in the tray. Add the ricotta cheese and chives and mash with a fork until smooth. Spoon the filling on top of the eggplant slices and roll them up.

Spoon a little tomato juice into a glass baking dish and arrange the eggplant rolls seam side down in the dish. Top with the remaining meatloaf sauce, onions, and tomatoes. Add the cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is all gooey and melty.

I had to take the photo in the pan because I was sure I couldn't scoop them onto my plate and have them look as pretty! Believe it or not, that is ONE serving. It's an enormous amount of food- much more so than you get in the little tray! I was stuffed when I finished eating and surprisingly, I really enjoyed the meal.


Flex Meals (Lunch):

I've really been enjoying portabello mushrooms lately. They are so rich and hearty and you can stuff them with just about anything and they'll taste delicious. It's also refreshingly simple!


Lobster Stuffed Mushrooms:


3 large portabello mushrooms, insides scooped out
4oz chopped lobster meat (or crab if you prefer)
1 wedge light Laughing Cow Herb & Garlic cheese
2 tbsp Philadelphia Ultra Low Fat Herb & Garlic cream cheese
2 tbsp fat free sour cream
diced green onion
garlic
1oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Place the mushrooms on a baking tray. Combine remaining ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended (but not liquid!). Spoon into the mushrooms and top with cheese. Bake until the cheese is gooey and enjoy!

This counts as lunch + veggies + dairy/protein + free food, minus the carb. I am betting you won't miss it though- I couldn't eat another bite after finishing the mushrooms. Enjoy that carb serving elsewhere in your day- I had it with my afternoon snack to make a sandwich with my sliced chicken. Yum!

New foods and more tips and tricks!

I've been away for a few days visiting family so I haven't had as much time to be online as usual- still sticking to my program, though. I had my first major challenge this week. I went out to dinner with a friend, and I decided to eat my NS dinner before going out to reduce the possibility of temptation. I just ordered a big garden salad with fat free dressing. I was really proud of myself. Of course, my friend ordered a burger and fries and seemed to take perverse pleasure in trying to get me to eat some fries. Then after dinner, he tried to get me to split a dessert! It wasn't easy, but I didn't want to throw away everything I've done for something that would taste good for a few minutes and then be forgotten. If I got through that, I can get through anything!

Here are some of the new things I have tried.

Fudge Graham Bar (Lunch):


I really liked this! It smells exactly like a graham cracker and I liked the chocolate. I think this would be good with a little of Walden Farms calorie free marshmallow dip on top- it would taste exactly like a S'more. It was more chocolatey than fudge-y, which I like better anyway.


Macaroni and Cheese with Beef (Dinner):


Since I liked the regular Macaroni and Cheese, I figured I would like this and I was right. It tasted exactly like Hamburger Helper cheeseburger macaroni. Loved this- it definitely made me feel like I was cheating. There is absolutely nothing missing from the flavour. I think Kraft Dinner and Hamburger Helper could take a page from NS here.


Carrot Cake (Dessert):


This was pretty good. I wasn't impressed by the frosting, since I was expecting the usual cream cheese type. This didn't really make much of an impact on the flavour so as far as I was concerned, it was only there for appearance. The cake itself was very good though and I enjoyed it.


Meatloaf and Tomato Sauce with Mashed Potatoes (Dinner):


My question here is, where's the beef??? The box shows a nice thick slice of meat loaf, a pile of mashed potatoes, and dill pickle slices. The entree was almost entirely mashed potatoes with a couple of bites of meat loaf. Now, I like mashed potatoes as much as the next person (despite the unappealing look of the entree in the photo), but if I just wanted to eat potatoes, I'd have the lunch Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes. I was disappointed because this is one of my personal favourite comfort meals and I don't think it's going to be one of my go-tos. It was okay, but not what I wanted. And why would they put dill pickle slices on the box if they don't give you any? They haven't done that for any of the other meals.


Buffalo Chicken Wrap (Dinner):


Loved this! It is zesty with a kick, and I found it very filling. There is too much meat and sauce to fit on their wrap, though. For some reason they give you a wrap for this meal and not for the veggie fajitas. I also thought it was a little odd that the wrap tasted slightly sweet but it was OK. I added some onions, bell pepper, lettuce, and tomatoes after taking the photo and it was a really yummy meal.


Here are a few things I've tried with the NS meals to jazz them up a bit.

Granola Cereal (Breakfast):


I turned it into apple crisp and it was fantastic! Chop up your apples and stir them up with cinnamon and a little brown sugar Splenda, and a little sugarfree maple syrup if you like. Top them with the granola cereal and 1 tsp of butter (yes, I am stealing your dinner fat serving but it's worth it!). The butter will melt in the oven so it doesn't need to be stirred or anything. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy! You can also make this the night before and just microwave it in the morning- it tastes just fine.


Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes (Lunch):


I got the idea from the Nutrisystem boards to make potato salad! First prepare the potatoes as directed. Then I hardboiled an egg and diced onions and celery, then stirred in a little mustard. This was incredibly filling and yummy. At first I didn't add enough mustard so the cheesy flavour was a little odd for potato salad, but I just added a bit more and it was fine. I really enjoyed this. Add whatever things you'd normally add to potato salad (except mayo but you don't need it) and try it out! You can eat this warm or refrigerate it and have it cold like regular potato salad.