Disappointed

I had a really, really long day today. I didn't get a lot of sleep and it just felt like everything went wrong. My son wasn't feeling well, he was late for his doctor's appointment and we had to reschedule, etc, etc. I was feeling pretty tired and stressed out.

In the "old days", I would have ordered a pizza. I thought about it, and realized it would just allow me to prolong the pity party. I'd eat it, feel sick to my stomach, and ask myself why the heck I was torturing my body. So when I got hungry, I took out the fixings for one of my favourite dinners- the Nutrisystem Spaghetti with Meat Sauce over a bowl of spaghetti squash.

Unfortunately, as soon as I opened the box, I knew this was not going to be my "comfort dinner"! Instead of the large white tray the entree used to be packaged in, it was in the little black tray that most of the other pasta meals come in. When I took off the plastic top, I could see that there was lots of sauce sloshing around in the dish- another change. The sauce in this entree used to be thick and stick to the noodles. And that was the worst part- the serving is considerably smaller and less satisfying. I used to have a nice ratio of pasta to spaghetti squash- I could actually pretend I was eating a giant bowl of all pasta, which really helped on those days where I needed to at least feel like I was pigging out. Tonight, it was clear that I was eating squash with some noodles mixed in. And the worst part? The reformulated entree is actually higher in calories than the previous version! Why would anyone want less pasta for more calories? I'm not impressed.

So, was it bad? No, but it's just not the same anymore, and I'm really going to miss it. I'm going to have to find a new comfort meal, so it's back to the drawing board.

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.

Ode to Spaghetti Squash

I have to admit, Nutrisystem has opened me up to trying vegetables that I would never have considered eating before. Not only were they weird looking but I had no idea how to prepare them.

I bought a spaghetti squash at the farmer's market last weekend because I read how it can be a great pasta substitute but I was still a little intimidated as to how to make it. The instructions I saw were to cut it in half and place it on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or so at 375 degrees. Then scoop out the seeds and pulp and use a fork to "comb" out the noodley strands.

It really was weird seeing the "noodles" scoop out so easily! It wasn't a solid mass like I half expected- just a bunch of fibrous strands. And much to my surprise, it was good! I dumped the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce entree over the top and added 1/2 cup of tomato sauce to compensate for the extra "pasta" and it made an absolutely enormous serving that I had a hard time finishing and it was really good! I am looking forward to eating the other half of the squash tonight. Definitely give this a try to bulk up your pasta entrees, or even as a flex meal (make some meat sauce and have a slice of garlic bread for your carb and fat servings!).


Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (Dinner):



I know this doesn't look very appetizing in the dish but pasta isn't exactly the most attractive meal anyway. I am not sure why I let this sit in my cupboard so long since I enjoy all of NS's other pasta dishes (with the exception of the ravioli because psychologically it just seems like not enough food), but I read that a lot of people didn't like the spaghetti so I was nervous to try it. I was very happy to find that it was yummy, and with the spaghetti squash mixed in it made a really great dinner. I'll be ordering more of these next auto delivery.

Next week I am going to try to do a series of posts on ideas for eating fruit (beyond just peeling and eating), so check back if you're interested!