Lose weight and have the same results as those spending hundreds on prepackaged meal delivery programs. Enjoy the option of fresh meals or frozen dinners from Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice or Smart Ones with the same convenience and portion control offered by well known diet centers. Visit me here for product reviews, comparisons, and recipes. Free "Lazy Girls Diet Cookbook."
The old cliche that "we eat with our eyes" is so true, especially when it comes to prepackaged meals. How many people do you think would buy Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem food if it weren't for those glitzy photos on their websites? So why not take an extra minute or two and "jazz" your frozen dinners.
In the free cookbook "The Lazy Girl's Diet Cookbook" are some fantastic ideas for eating outside the box. With these ideas and a little imagination you should be well on your way to creating some dynamite meals. Reserve eating straight out of the package for those times when you are at work or really strapped for time.
Not only will your meal look prettier and more appealing but it will also be nutritionally superior to a solo prepackaged meal. Remember Jenny and Nutrisystem always recommend the addition of grocery store foods to round out their plan.
Next time you are at home, get out a favorite china plate, a diet meal from the freezer, sprinkle it with a little imagination and you will have a delicious and nutritious meal, and a smaller waist at the end of the week. Please feel free to share you inspirations with us. Bon Appetit and enjoy the journey!
From The Lazy Girl's Diet Cookbook (free download on homepage):
Buy this.
You will get this.
Add to this *1 cup fresh chopped baby spinach*a pinch of fresh herbs*1 T grated Parmesan
and ENJOY THIS!
I hate cereal and I mean HATE, HATE, HATE. When I was a baby my mother had
to feed me cream soups, because I simply refused to eat cereal. No wonder I'm
writing this huh.
Sometimes I love to eat breakfast for dinner. Tonight I challenged myself to
cook a healthy breakfast in 5 minutes. Yes that's right, a nice cooked
breakfast in 5 minutes.
I set my stove timer for 5 minutes then proceeded to dig out a small
nonstick frying pan (or an omelet pan is great if you have one), a measuring
cup, a spatula, some Butter Flavored Pam, a two pack of Tennessee Pride Light
Sausage, and Egg Beaters Southwestern style. I popped half a bagel thin in the
toaster, while my pan heated. I then placed the two pack of sausage on the
plate I was going to eat from and popped it in the microwave per package
instructions. While pouring the Egg Beaters into my frying pan, I was amazed
how the eggs began to puff and lighten. Caution, like any other eggs be sure
the pan is not too hot. Two minutes gone now, and I was beating the clock as I
lifted the sides of my omelet to let the uncooked eggs run below. The microwave
beeped at me followed by the sound of toast popping up.
The omelet was small so I gave it a flip, and while the last little bit of
egg cooked I opened the pouch and caught a nice whiff of sausage, then made my
way back to the omelet which had nicely cooked. I folded it over and slid it on
the plate next to my sausage, then walked with the plate over to the toaster. Just
as I finished spreading a teaspoon of Light Land O Lakes Butter on my bagel,
the timer beeped. Tah-Dah, a hot breakfast in 5 minutes.
The Thomas' Everything Bagel was delicious as expected, but I wasn't sure
about the eggs. I cut into my fluffy little omelet. Hmmmm, good, better than
expected. Loads of flavor with just a bit of heat. The sausage smelled good but
I was skeptical because I hate ground turkey almost as much as I hate cereal.
It wasn't pretty to look at (not brown enough) but the flavor was definitely
reminiscent of my favorite bulk pork sausage. It was moist and a nice portion
for just 100 calories.
No doubt this was a fast breakfast, even fast enough for busy workdays, and
certainly faster than the McDonald's Drive Thru. With more time and planning,
or on a lazy weekend morning, I would have added some chopped cooked veggies,
and if I could afford the calories maybe a couple of tablespoons of cheese.
Was this breakfast great? No. Was it good? Yes. Somewhere in the great
breakfast continuum my 5 minute breakfast is a light years ahead of the
Nutrisystem Garden Omelet, in terms of flavor, texture, and cost, but falls
short of a good International House of Pancakes breakfast.
All things being equal this definitely beats out Nutrisystem for those
following the diet, and is a good more flavorful alternative for those who are
cloning the diet. I will definitely fix this again.
More recipes and great serving ideas for Eggbeaters can be found at Eggbeaters.com. The Mug Scramblers look particularly
enticing. If anyone has tried them, please comment below and let us know how
they were.
Start the day with a healthy breakfast, and enjoy the journey!
Give this breakfast a try. For 2 Tennessee Pride Light sausage pattys, 1/2 cup egg beaters, 1/2 Thomas' Bagel Thin, and 1 tsp. butter.
Learning to make a prepackaged frozen dinner is one of the most important tools in the Market Diva arsenal. If you have read my article Why Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem Work, then you know why the prepackaged meal is really the backbone of these successful weight loss systems. Even WeightWatchers makes considerable use of this technique through the sales of their SmartOnes frozen meals.
Prepackaged frozen meals provide you with two of the most important components of successful weight loss. Convenience and portion control. Convenience translates to being prepared which translates to success, but it's only half the equation. You can be prepared and still lose the game if you simply eat too much. Frozen meals can provide you with structured eating and eventually teach you what a healthy portion of food really looks like. By actively being involved in the preparation of your own food, when it's time to give up "the box", as in commercially prepared prepackaged meals, you will have the knowledge you need to keep the weight off on your own.
Another advantage of making your own prepackaged meals is this, a 50 year old overweight woman does not have the same nutritional requirements as a 25 year old overweight man. Portions can be customized to suit your own individual needs and even tweaked to speed up or slow down your rate of weight loss. As you approach your target weight, meals can transition from weight loss to maintenance sized portions.
Remember, just because you lost the weight, and trust me I know how hard that is, doesn't mean you won't gain it back when you return to your old ways. By that I don't necessarily mean your old portion sizes, but your own challenges. Stress, kids, money worries, or even taking care of a senior parent can throw your resolve right out the window. You spend so much time taking care of everyone else, there is little energy left for food preparation and proper healthy eating.
A dear friend of mine has done very well on WeightWatchers "twice" and yet today she is battling the same weight problem she's had all her life. She has the ability to lose the weight, I used to be secretly jealous of the way she could drop two pounds a week like clock work, and she knows what healthy eating and healthy portions are. Because of life's challenges she remains chronically unprepared. The first time she lost the weight, she maintained and then when the challenges of college, family and studying got to be too much her resolve failed, and she gained it all back. The second time around she dropped 80 pounds (at her annoyingly steady pace, just kidding LOL)in about 40 weeks. She looked fabulous and carried the confidence and new excitement for life that a big weight loss brings. Sadly, life got in the way once again and she gained it all back. Today she is looking for a way that works for her in all situations.
The point is, everyone can benefit from a good home food prep program. It's healthier, it will save you time, and lastly should save you a bundle. When my life gets crazy and I'm not on plan, I can't tell you how much fresh produce and even meats and cheese end up in the trash. I might as well light a match to a twenty dollar bill as do that. I'm really ashamed to admit that to you, but I hope it brings front and center what I'm talking about.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, life seldom hums along at a boring pace. We all face different challenges, but for those of us with weight problems they can be devastating. What it really comes down to is life management and more specifically in our case food management.
While freezer food may not be the end all to losing and maintaining a healthy weight, it's an important tool. Combine home made prepackaged foods, with carefully selected grocery store items, pre-selected fast food choices and a little willpower will go a long ways towards keeping you on plan.
If you don't have a diet scale you might want to purchase one along with a set of measuring cups and spoons. Portion control is key and weighing and measuring will likely lead to greater success with your plan.
If you do not have an account with The Daily Plate, you might want to set one up. This is very helpful when adjusting old recipes or creating new ones.
If you need inspiration, there are about a zillion diet recipes on the net. Some of my favorites are from WeightWatchers members, not the recipes from the cookbooks, but the recipes from group leaders and other members. They are not as exotic as those found in the cookbooks, but more down home comfort food. Don't get me wrong, I like exotic recipes at times, but on a day to day basis comfort food wins every time. Here is a link to a large collection of WeightWatchers recipes.
Have you ever wondered why Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, and Medifast work, when they are expensive and for the most part have awful tasting food? Why are McDonald's and other fast food restaurants so successful, even in the midst of the current recession? Well in a word, convenience.
The crazy thing is all of these businesses have a lot in common and not all of it is good. We all know most fast food is unhealthy and laden with sodium and chemicals our body's don't need. Warnings abound in their literature such as french fries that contain dairy and wheat, and the list goes on. You ask, then what does Jenny Craig and McDonald's have in common? Chemicals, bad food, and convenience. While diet programs are thought to be healthy for the most part, the only departure from your local drive thru is quantity and calories and often even less quality then fast food. Given a choice between Nutrisystem and McDonald's, yes Nutrisystem is healthier as it has a lot less calories and does encourage weight loss. In all fairness, Nutrisystem has worked to cut the sodium from what it was in earlier products. But, just like McDonald's it's not something you should live on day after day and year after year, and who could anyway.
Like McDonald's, both Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem have enormous advertising budgets that have made them a household word. There are also many testimonials online to support the success of these plans in taking off the pounds. With spokeswomen like Marie Osmond and Janet Jackson, the subliminal message is I can look like that too with the help of Nutrisystem.
We have brought front and center some of the negatives, let's take a look at why these programs enjoy such great success.
Participants were divided into three study groups. The first group received traditional advise from a nutritionist in a standard medical setting and sent home to prepare their own food. The second group received prepackaged meals and nutritional support and counseling in a diet center setting, and did not prepare their own meals. The third group received prepackaged meals and only telephone support.
At the end of the study it was concluded that those in the second and third groups who received prepackaged meals lost the most weight and tended to keep it off.
As I said before convenience seems to be a major component in the success of these diet plans. Let's face it, we are all often overworked, overstressed and unprepared to stay on plan. Diet home delivery services fulfill the need to be prepared and do it so well that we are willing to sacrifice taste, and a great deal of money to get this benefit.
The final piece to the puzzle is kind of a no brainer. Portion control. We as Americans have gotten used to gargantuan portions of food, and we wonder why we are fat? Diet plans such as Jenny Craig teach us what a real portion should look like. It also reinforces this with a "when it's gone it's gone" kind of mentality. Yes I guess you could open a second package, but maybe the expense, and the fact that the food isn't all that great will detour you.
So really it's all just common sense why these plans work. They provide convenience, portion control, and the ability to stay prepared no matter how crazy life gets. The trade off is they are expensive, don't really taste very well, are full of chemicals, and in my opinion not a sustainable way to eat.
For those on a tight budget, or those of us with food allergies and sensitivities, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem are not an option. What is an option is replicating these diet programs with a combination of grocery store food, and a bit of freezer cooking. If you can't or don't cook, then you will still have the advantage of saving a lot of money.
Visit The Market Diva Diet Blog often and let us do the homework with product reviews and comparisons as well as food preparation tips and advise. Be well and enjoy the journey!
This blog is mostly dedicated to feeding the body, but sometimes the soul could use a little nourishment too. While surfing I ran across a blog called Weight Loss Success Stories. The really cool thing about these stories is they were from just plain folks who fought the good fight and won.
For the most part these were not testimonials for such popular plans as Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, or WeightWatchers, they were heartfelt stories shared by people who figured it out and got it right. If you are like most of us with weighty issues, then you can appreciate how hard that can be.
While each story has it's message, the big picture I got from reading this blog is, there is no one right way to lose weight. Weight loss is individual and one size does not fit all. Just as recent breakthroughs in cancer treatments are protocols that are targeted to a persons bio- individuality, I believe weight loss is the same.
In my humble opinion the bottom line here is "know thyself". Enjoy the journey!
I have long been a fan of those lovely little multi grain bagels that they sell at Chick-Fil-A with visible grains and seeds mixed right in the dough. Lender's Healthy Grain Multi Grain Bagel reminded me very much of those bagels with a very similar texture and taste.
They are available at Walmart in the refrigerator case. The line is called Lenders Healthy Grain Bagels. Read about them here. This is a medium sized bagel weighing in at about 210 calories. While that doesn't sound like much of a find, here is the awesome part. This bagel boasts 11g of protein, and 8g of fiber. The ingredients list is reasonable, mostly vitamins, with no soy. Soy is not recommended for those with an under active thyroid, so that is very much a plus.
I toasted mine which produced a nice chewy bagel and satisfied my craving for one of America's favorite breakfast foods. I added about 5 additional grams of protein by topping my bagel with 2 slices of Hormel Natural Choice Honey Ham (no preservatives or nitrates) and a nice dollop of Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese. I prefer the whipped cream cheese over light or fat free cream cheese because it has a lighter texture, is more spreadable, and has about the same calories as light cream cheese. While I'm not strictly a brand name shopper, this is one time when Philly is definitely worth the extra pennys.
There are a couple of downsides to this product, but they are definitely not a deal breaker. The bagel while having a nice texture, did have a certain stretch to the mouth feel, but again not a deal breaker for me. This bagel was also a little higher in calories than Nutrisystem, which has a similar product, the Honey Wheat Bagel. Let's compare the two.
Bagels are no longer off limits! Soft and fresh with a taste
of honey, our Honey Wheat Bagel is the perfect thing to bring along to the
office in the morning. Top it with some fat-free cream cheese for a delicious
breakfast that's sure to start your morning off right.
Preparation Method: READY
TO EAT.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 Package
Servings Per Container 1.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories 170
Calories From Fat 20
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2.0 g.
3%
Saturated Fat 0.5 g.
3%
Cholesterol 0 mg.
0%
Sodium 250 mg.
10%
Total Carbohydrate 33 g.
11%
Dietary Fiber 4 g.
16%
Sugars 2 g
Protein 5 g
Percent Daily Vitamin A
0%
Percent Daily Vitamin C
0%
Percent Daily Calcium
2%
Percent Daily Iron
6%
* Based on 2000 calorie maximum recommended
amounts.
Nutrisystem's Honey Wheat Bagel vs. Lender's Healthy Grain Multi Grain Bagel
Nutrisystem Lender's
Calories 170 210
Fat 2g 2g
Sodium 250mg 320mg
Total Carbs 33g 40g
Fiber 4g 8g
Protein 5g 11g
Cost per bagel $3.14 plus shipping $ .53 no shipping
Conclusion
The Lender's Bagel although higher in calories offered a more complete nutritional option as an almost stand alone meal which includes plenty of fiber and a whopping 11g of protein.
Nutrisystem's bagel needs the addition of grocery store foods to ramp up the protein and complete the meal. This would also raise the calories making it more comparable to Lender's.
The cost is a no brainer with the Nutrisystem's bagel selling at 6 times the amount of the Lender's bagel, and that doesn't include shipping.
For those following Nutrisystem or Jenny Craig, as well as those cloning either one of these diets, this one is most definitely a keeper.
Serving Suggestion
Toast one bagel to your liking. Spread 1T of Whipped Philly Cream Cheese and top with 2 slices of Hormel Natural Choice Ham. ENJOY!!!
Nutrition for Serving Suggestion as calculated by The Daily Plate 275 calories, 5g fat, 565 mg sodium, 44g carb, 8g fiber, 16g protein
