Day: May 5, 2010

I was concerned about lunch today, because I ordered the mushroom souffle and Gruyere Cheese panini on whole wheat ciabatta bread.  After the bread difficulties I had with breakfast, I was not excited.  To make matters worse, I don’t know if other bypassed people have this problem, but bread microwaved can be disastrous.

I didn’t heat the sandwich as long as I think I should have, but with breakfast still looming large in my head, I was worried.  As a result, I got some cheese melting, but the inside of the sandwich was essentially cold.  It would have been much better warm.  And pressed, like a panini.

The flavors were very mild, and I should have added a little something (salt is my go to, but I didn’t want to throw salt on the sandwich), but it wasn’t as bad as the French toast experience this morning.  The cheese was good, there was nothing special about the mushrooms, but it was definitely a nice sandwich.

I think I would have thought more highly of this had it been warmer, but again, my own stupidity in ordering a big sandwich is to blame here.

Breakfast today was a miss, and it was entirely my fault.  When I saw the description – Hawaiian Pineapple Stuffed Whole Wheat French Toast with Strawberries and Blueberry Cottage Cheese, my mind immediately went to Tonga Toast – only with Pineapples.  I forgot all about the cinnamon and sugar and fried goodness that makes Tonga Toast what it is.  I saw Hawaiian and French Toast in the same sentence and started drooling.

The bread was too thick for me to ever be able to enjoy.  The pineapple filling was sweet and delicious, but I couldn’t eat all of that bread.  After three bites, I passed it over to my husband.  It was thick and dry and the whole time, my mouth was whining and complaining about how I promised the sweet, fattening goodness from the Polynesian Resort.  It’s the first time in the three day diet that I’ve missed sugar.  But, on the plus side, it’s also the first time in three days that the thought of bread made my stomach hurt.

I’m not a huge fan of cottage cheese, but the blueberry flavored cheese was a delicious contrast to the thick, dry bread.  The fresh strawberries were red, sweet, and delicious, and also would have helped in making the bread more palatable if I had been able to eat them together.  The bread was just too much for me.

Jim ate the breakfast that I couldn’t and enjoyed it – much more when he ate the French Toast together with the cottage cheese.

Mango Vanilla Pudding is my treat tonight, and I really had to wait until after 9 o’clock to enjoy this smooth, light, delicious dessert.  I was so full from dinner, there was no way I was going to enjoy this if I had eaten it any earlier.

There are no photos of the pudding – I’m sorry – but it was a French Vanilla in color pudding, and a decent sized container.  If there was anything negative to say it would be that you can taste the artificial sweetener aftertaste, and for some, this might be a bad thing.  I’m very familiar with the taste, though, and no longer find it offensive. 

The mango flavor was delicate, balancing perfectly with the vanilla.  We don’t do mangoes very often in our house, and it was a nice change of pace.  This was a wonderful way to end another successful day of dieting!

The one thing I really have to say about this diet is that I am FULL.  Full as in when I first had my surgery and I ate half of a container of Wendy’s chili – that kind of full.  As opposed to now, when I can eat the whole chili and a side salad, and still reach for a handful of pretzels.

Dinner tonight is Roasted Pork Loin with Pineapple Mango Chutney with Cuban Style Black Beans and Roasted Bell peppers.  When I first opened the container, I thought “Whoa, this is way too much food!”  There were two generously thick slices of deliciously seasoned pork loin, on top of a heaping helping of black beans.  I didn’t have the menu with me, so the small portion cup of Pineapple Mango Chutney required multiple sniffs from me before I determined it was not apple sauce, and I poured it over the pork.

Again, you don’t get instructions, and I put the container in the microwave to heat.  I had sent an email to The Fresh Diet and got back an answer of microwaving anywhere from 1 – 1.5 minutes, depending on your microwave.  I was at my mom’s, and she has a brand new microwave with loads of those watt things that determine how quickly your food becomes nuclear waste.  Because the meat was so thick, I figured a minute and a half might be good.  I was wrong.  Fortunately, this time, I erred on the side of caution, and another 45 seconds in the microwave produced a tender, moist, and perfectly hot piece of pork.

As with all of my meals so far, I was full way before I was finished.  I really think that is where this diet has every other plan beat.  I’ve done NutriSystem and Jenny Craig, and counted my points on Weight Watchers.  Never before have I been on a diet where half way through the meal, I am wondering how I’m ever going to eat the next meal.  Usually, I’m wondering if there’s cheesecake somewhere.

The whole dinner was really good.  I cut the peppers up and mixed them in with the black beans, and it added a bit of dimension to the beans, which were really very good.

Another thumbs up for the Fresh Diet.

The flavor is there, all the components for a delectable little snack are in the container.  My only complaint is that I unpacked everything, put it all in the fridge, and took it out expecting to eat it, but the whole wheat crostini was a whole wheat soggy 🙁

The snack, Charred Lamb Loin on whole Wheat Crostini with Oven Roasted Tomato, smelled and looked amazing, but without thinking, I put it in the fridge until snack time.  I’m so glad I was at my mom’s at the time.  I took the soggy crostini and threw it in her toaster over, but had I been at work or even at home where I would have had to put my  oven on, I would have been ticked!

The tomatoes were a yellow tomato, oven roasted to perfection.  The lamb was beautifully cooked and seasoned deliciously.  I added salt, as I always do when tomatoes are concerned, but it really just enhanced the flavors of everything.

This is another snack I wish there were more of – I could have easily made this a whole meal!