Nutrisystem breakfast 0-2

I received my second shipment of Nutrisystem late last week and this morning I thought I would partake in new breakfast items. 

I had ordered some hot breakfast items this time, as the cold baked goods (e.g., scones) had left little to be desired. 

So I tried the egg frittata.  It's basically powdered eggs mixed with freeze-dried veggies (like in cup o noodles) and powdered cheese.  You add 1/3 cup of water and zap it in the microwave for about 50 seconds.  Let it wait for about 2 minutes and voila, you have a "frittata".  The verdict, gross.  The freeze dried veggies tasted like tough and chewy and the frittata itself was heavy on the Kraft parmesan cheese flavor and mushy/foamy on the texture.  All in all, inedible, despite pouring tabasco sauce on it.

So, I went searching in my box for something else.  This time, I decided to try their whole grain o's cereal.  Looked like Cheerios from the packaging photo. Tasted like packing peanuts - no kidding.  Original Cheerios doesn't have many more calories, why bother with this.  Again inedible.

I haven't had much success with Nutrisystem breakfast as a whole.  Alas, a very unsatisfying way to start my Monday morning.

BRUNCH: Homestyle chicken noodles with gravy AND Weigh-In

Today I skipped breakfast AGAIN chose a dinner entree for "brunch."  This time Homestyle Chicken Noodles with Gravy.  This tastes exactly the same as the Chicken A La King and the Chicken and Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables.  I mean EXACTLY.  Edible in a Campbell's Chunky Soup sort of way. (by the way, Chipotle Tabasco ROCKs; it adds a little more kick to the otherwise bland, processed Nutrisystem food).

So it's been over a week now that I have been on Nutrisystem.  It's been a tumultuous 10 days as I have been sick for 3 days and had a binge day this past Saturday with homemade ice cream, stout cupcakes, etc... 

But the results are in...  I am down about 4 pounds and I don't think about eating all the time.  So pretty good.  I think a lot of it is initial water weight, so we'll see how we do next week.

Lunch: Cheese Tortellini

Having skipped Nutrisystem breakfast again, I had the cheese tortellini for lunch today.  The small can of tortellini contained about 5-6 cheese tortellini.  It doesn't sound like much, but I feel very full and could actually not finish the sauce.  In just the past 10 days of Nutrisystem, the one thing the system has accomplished is to train me not to enjoy eating.  I love to cook and I love to eat (well at least in the past).  Now, meals are so unappealing to me and I find myself not cleaning the plate. 

I wonder if the Nutrisystem program food includes appetite suppressant, because honestly I really don't feel like eating.

LUNCH: Chicken a la king

This is lunch today, Chicken a la king.  Honestly this looked and tasted like all the other Chicken noodles dishes.  I have now finished one week of Nutrisystem and I am getting tired of the food - the taste, the smell and the texture.

I skipped lunch this morning because I couldn't bring myself to eat the breakfast, and lunch was also a struggle.  Nutrisystem definitely "wires" me not to enjoy eating anymore.

Having read the recent article in Time magazine about how weight is controlled by what you eat and not by exercise, I am testing that out with this Nutrisystem diet.  I am usually a very athletic and active person - but since starting this diet, I have yet to go the gym but have lost a few pounds already (3 1/2lbs).

DINNER: Boeuf bourguignon.. I mean beef and potatoes

This afternoon, I was channeling Anthony Bourdain and made Boeuf Bourguignon for the family.  The smell was divine and the results looked fabulous (I chronicled it here.)

Unfortunately, with all the carbs, excess protein and oil, boeuf bourguignon is definitely a diet-no-no.  So I decided to choose something similar for my dinner - beef with mashed potatoes.  I had this a few days before (I think Monday) and it was surprisingly edible and hearty.  But today next to the boeuf bourguignon, it was just unpalatable.  The smell was sad (my husband and child's cries of "disgusting"and "it stinks" didn't help.) and the taste was just as unpleasant.  I ate 3 bites, gave up and tossed it into the trash.

Instead, I ate an heirloom tomato dressed in balsamic and some sauteed greens.... alas, ...

BRUNCH: Chicken with Noodles

Ran out of the house this morning and so didn't have time to pick up a lovely Nutrisystem chococlate chip scone for breakfast (I'd rather skip breakfast than eat that thing - so I guess either way it accomplishes the goal). 

Around 10:30am when I got back from the meeting I was hungry.  no mere little lunch was going to suffice, so I decided to have a hearty brunch which in my Nutrisystem world means: "eat a dinner entree"

I selected the chicken with noodles entree. I have noticed a common characteristic of Nutrisystem "noodle" dishes - they are only about one degree of thickness away from soup.  Though they are presented in a lovely, black plastic tray/plate, it really is a thick soup with bits of meat and some bits of soggy pasta (like the pasta found in Campbells chicken noodle soup). 

oh, and I have to confess...  my brunch also included a Nutrisystem golden pound cake - a lovely Twinkie-like baked good.

DINNER: Lasagna

This was my lasagna this evening for dinner.  Actually I wish my lasagna looked like that.  The Nutrisystem lasagna is fine - it's edible, and for the most part, thick tomato sauces usually make anything palatable. 

The lasagna has a meat-ish sauce that is filled with kidney beans -which I assume is for protein and fiber.  I ate it with summer tomatoes and some sauteed greens and it was more than enough food for dinner. 

Not bad. and it smelled better than what my husband cooked for the kids!