Special Delivery! Meal Planning Made Easy.

Hey Everyone! I'm switching it up a bit today and posting about food! Exactly two weeks into my Thailand trip, I have reached that point where you start craving a bunch of foods you can get anytime at home but are definitely not accessible here. Foods like.... a bagel with cream cheese and lox, Five Guys, and salt and vinegar chips.... Sigh. Despite the amazing Thai cuisine I've got here, my mind can't seem to forget my tried and true faves. 

If your mind tends to gravitate to these scrumptious yet not-so-nutritious meals on a regular basis, you might be interested in what my next guest blogger, Rachel, has to tell you about. A quick introduction: Rachel and I have been friends since middle school! Ahhhh, yes- We've endured countless (read: horrible) school lunches together, participated in (and by "participate" I mean tried to get out of) P.E. together, and even dormed together our first year of college (and we both managed to keep the Freshman 15 at bay, thank you very much!) 

She's a wonderful friend and I'm so happy to share her post with all of you. Enjoy. 

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Hi La Femme FIT-alle Readers,


                                    Q: What do I have in common with Dan Merino and Janet Jackson? 

Hey, Danny!

A: Nutrisystem!

I’m sure you’re wondering, first, "Uh...isn't that from 1970???" and second, "What does a 26 year old female, who isn’t significantly overweight, doing using Nutrisystem?" Well truth be told, a family friend started selling the weight loss program and offered me and my boyfriend a Friends & Family deal on it. Now, while we aren’t OVER-weight, long days at our desk jobs have left us above our ideal weight, and not getting those precious nutrients we desperately need. So we thought Why not? 

i-Phones make life- and dieting- so much easier!

The Nutrisystem plan consists of 3 daily pre-packaged meals delivered to your door each month. The meals are meant to be supplemented with fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy, as described in the helpful meal planner they send along with your delivery. There’s also a nifty app for it! 

Over the last month the convenience of pre-packaged, pre-planned meals has really appealed to me. Here’s an example of one of my days on Nutrisystem:

Breakfast:

1- Super delicious Nutrisystem banana nut muffin

1- Handful of blackberries

1- Cup of Coffee w/ FF Dairy Creamer

= Me out the door 10 minutes earlier!

Snack: 

1- Granny Smith Apple (love being told to eat more fruits!)

Lunch:

1- Nutrisystem Red Beans and Rice w/ Chicken Sausage (Add a little hot sauce and this is yummy!)

1- Green Giant Single Serve Frozen Veggies

**A moment about these little guys…if you don’t buy them YOU SHOULD! A super easy way to get veggies on the go and only 40 calories. Also, if you are a wannabe extreme couponer like me, you’ll see coupons for them pretty often.

1- Small salad w/ Low fat Dressing or just use Balsamic Vinegar

= Allowing me to stay chained to my desk while still getting some healthy food in my belly! 

Snack:
1- FF Greek yogurt

When deciding to undertake our trial of Nutrisystem, we opted for the “Dinners on Your Own” option. This makes the "sacrifice", so to speak, a lot more bearable. We both eat pretty healthy as it is, so I knew we wouldn’t blow our entire day come dinner time. 

Yay!

There is something about the Nutrisystem “plan” that really speaks to my OCD side, and then there’s also the ease factor. Nutrisystem is beyond convenient, and I love it for that reason alone! Also, the benefit of portion/calorie control makes the program super effective. I sadly confess that my lunch choices at work can sometimes be upward of *gasp* 600 calories! That’s almost half my daily recommendation! A Nutrisystem lunch will run you closer to 300 cal. That being said, 30 days of eating the Nutrisystem meal plan “most” days I can say that my boyfriend and I both noticed several positive changes! The 5 meals a day kept our energy levels high which led to more after work gym visits, and the extra nutrients found in Nutrisystem meals left us feeling all-around healthier.  AND (wait for it)…my waistline actually got smaller! Yay for fitting into skinny jeans! 

As with all things, Nutrisystem is not perfect.  Among the downsides is the cost. While you can order items a la carte, a full months’ worth will run you around $200/month. If you’re someone who budgets their grocery spending each month this will seem a lot more feasible, otherwise, coughing up $200 at the start of the month can be hard to swallow. The other con I was going to mention at the start of my blogging was the packaging and the thoughts that ran through my head that they hadn’t changed their stuff since the early 70s; however, to my surprise Nutrisystem has recently undergone some major rebranding and some meal makeovers including adding frozen food items, which makes the sight of Nutrisystem on my desk leaving me looking less like a dowdy secretary and more like the sassy, healthy, Executive Assistant that I am. 

So after my thorough review of the program, if your New Year’s resolution includes getting healthier and thinner order some Nutrisystem at 1-800-321-THIN. And if you’re looking for a super helpful service representative, ask for Sharon!

Happy, Healthy Eating in 2012!

~ Rachel