Tuscan Boats and Brunswick Stew?

After a couple of sick days off of work I returned today to find that I was missed but no real concern for my well being…just back to the grind. Anyway, I’d like to recap a few of the meals I had over the past few days. Over all I really have enjoyed the breakfasts. I began the day with a Cranberry oat scone, skipped the orange marmalade cup and drank the orange juice. It was just enough and I’m trying to drive my sugars down so skipping the marmalade was good for my sugar and it really didn’t need it. I drank the smoothie before going out around lunchtime just to hold me over until I could get back for the Tuscan Boats and this quirky little nutty wheat berry salad. Now the Tuscan boats are basically potato skins served with all the same stuff on them as if you ordered them at a bar; nice and cheesy, too. The real surprise was the little salad. It had all kinds of whole grains, nuts and seeds and just wet enough with an Asian inspired sauce to keep you spooning it in. It’s just a small cup but it was plenty. I really enjoyed it and what it did for my digestive system. WOW! I have a feeling that Brunswick Stew is a northern dish but it was another one of those surprisingly good meals for me. It had lots of vegetables (including okra) with chicken and a thick white cream style sauce. By itself it would have been very satisfying but there was also a corn and lentil loaf that tied it all together for me. I’m really enjoying the variety of the Diet to Go meals.

This mornings breakfast was a Greek Style Burrito with Chicken Sausage and fajita veggies. I loved the Burrito. The wheat tortilla was filled with scrambled eggs and feta cheese for that greek flavor but there was a disconnect with the sausage patty. For some reason I find the sausage patties come pre-flavored with some kind of sweetening ingredient on them. I don’t know whether it’s like a maple syrup flavoring but for me, if I’m eating sweet like pancakes, French toast or waffles I’m OK with the “morning meat” to have some sweetness to it, like hickory maple bacon or something. If the entrée is savory, the entire dish should be savory for me. I still ate it but if the sausage patty was spicy like a Jimmy Dean patty it would have been great! Lunch was a massive serving of Michigan Turkey Salad…so much in fact, I couldn’t eat it all. It was made of cubed turkey in a mayonnaise type mixture and served with a Dakota Roll. I micro waved the roll for about 20 seconds until it was heated through and deliciously doughy again. Real good but again a really large serving. Dinner was weird for me; blackened turkey loin with carrot chipotle puree and asparagus risotto. There was plenty of turkey, too much in fact, but it was seasoned strangely for me. The seasoning on the turkey and the chipotle carrots just didn’t go together well for me. The asparagus risotto on the other hand was rich, creamy and perfectly cooked. If you’ve ever tried to cook risotto yourself, you would appreciate how perfectly this was done. This meal came with a side of mixed vegetables so I ate mostly the veggies and the risotto. Really good risotto!

I bought another piece of exercise gear and it arrived today. It’s called a Powerslide and I’m hoping I love it enough to stick to some kind of routine with it. I’ve bought hundreds of dollars of exercise gear over the years only to garage sale or end up giving them away. I really only liked one piece of pro gear you’d find in a gym. It’s called a Versa Climber. It mimicked the mountain climbing motion using both hands and feet. I noticed no one used it because it is really hard. Once I got past a certain stage, it was something I really enjoyed. I’ve had rowers, cycles, treadmills, the Chuck Norris thing but from Nordic Track, and yes, a Nordic Track (skier thing). I decided on the Powerslide because I’ve never had one, always wanted one and it has no moving parts and doesn’t take up too much space. I’ll let you know how I do. I tried it tonight before dinner but didn’t last very long…it’s pretty hard too. I know I have to add some form of physical activity to this meal program so here it is. Remember I only lost 1 pound last week…I’m feeling a big number this week. Tune in tomorrow and find out!!! Wish me luck.