Saturday, August 31, 2013

Day 27: Crispy Chicken Tenders with Ranch Dip

This was yummy!  I practically licked the ranch dressing.  Too bad I only get a small portion of chicken fingers.

Day 27: Grilled Mahi Mahi with Caribbean Mango Saucewith Creamy Herbed Quinoa and Sesame Forbidden Rice

I enjoyed eating this.  If the sauce was better, I'd say it was one of my favorites.

Day 27: Balsamic Grilled Eggplant with Fresh Mozzarella & Basil

I would have enjoyed this if there was balsamic vinaigrette with this.  It was just a slab of cheese on eggplant essentially.

Day 27: Hard Boiled Egg Salad with Shredded Carrots, Wax Beans, Grape Tomato, Boston Lettuce and Radicchio Mix with Thousand Island Dressing

This salad was okay.  I am not a big fan of raw cabbage and this was essentially a raw cabbage salad.  I would have preferred more greens than cabbage.

Day 27: Caramelized Onion & Parmesan Cheese Omelet with Seven Grain Toast

I liked this but the onions were a bit weird tasting to me.

Day 26: Grilled Pork Loin Steak with Mushroom Cognac Saucewith Spaghetti Squash in Fresh Basil Pesto and Sauteed Baby Bok-Choy

This was actually pretty good.  I wasn't crazy about the gravy.  It was a little too salty for me.
Dessert was a "Strawberry Banana Cheesecake" and here is another example of where they should not incorporate banana with cheesecake.  Luckily the banana flavor was not too overpowering but it is a little.

Day 26: Grilled Portabella Burger with Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Smoked Gouda Cheese and Chipotle Mayo

This would have been perfect if:

  1. The bread wasn't soggy from the mushroom and
  2. The mushroom has been larger.
I don't believe mushrooms have that many calories, do they?


Day 26: Chocolate French Macarons

Yummy cookies.  They did this right.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Day 26: Exotic Mushroom & Feta Cheese Quiche with Honeydew

This breakfast was yummy.  I love mushroom and feta.  The honeydew was not so fresh tasting though.  It tasted a little over ripe.

Day 25: Walnut Crusted Chicken Apricot Rouladewith Wild Rice & Cranberry Pilaf and Southwestern Corn Sauté

Dinner
Walnut Crusted Chicken Apricot Rouladewith Wild Rice & Cranberry Pilaf and Southwestern Corn Sauté
Snack
Grilled Portabella Topped with Yellow Tomato, Basil, Fresh Mozzarella & Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dinner was okay.  Nothing spectacular.  The rice was a little hard.  The snack was yummy.  I almost licked the balsamic vinaigrette.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Day 25: White Albacore Tuna Salad Sandwich on Seven-Grain Bread with Lettuce and Tomato

Good sandwich.  Somewhat filling.  Wish there were chips.

Raspberry Muffin was yummy.

Day 25: Creamy Scrambled Eggs with Sauteed Spinach & Whole Wheat Toast

This breakfast was delish.  I still feel hungry though.  I am not sure why.  Yesterday I was exhausted and went to sleep very early.  I'm not sure why I am not feeling any energy as this diet says I should be.

Day 24: Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Dessert

Lunch
Cajun Seared Tuna Salad with Baby Corn, Tomato, Baby Lettuce & Tart Cherry Vinaigrette
Dinner
Zucchini Lasagna with Spinach and Basil with Ricotta and Parmesan Cheesewith Rosemary Sandleback Purple Potatoes and Sauteed Wax Beans
Snack
Mushroom Crowns Filled with Cajun Shrimp
Dessert
Passion Fruit Cheesecake

Cajun Seared Tuna Salad with Baby Corn, Tomato, Baby Lettuce & Tart Cherry Vinaigrette and Mushroom Crowns Filled with Cajun Shrimp


The picture below is dinner and the above was lunch and the snack.  Dinner was actually very good.  The lunch was bland and I've had the seared tuna before.  The snack was okay.  The dessert was yummy, as usual and looks like all the other cheesecakes.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Day 22: Fillet of Wild Grouper with Roasted Yellow Pepper & Shallot Saucewith Oregano Broccoli Mash and Roasted Red Beets

Dinner
Fillet of Wild Grouper with Roasted Yellow Pepper & Shallot Saucewith Oregano Broccoli Mash and Roasted Red Beets:  this dinner was unsatisfying.  I don't know why because the food didn't taste bad.
Dessert
Spinach Artichoke Dip with Whole Wheat Pita Chips: the chips and dip were great.  I did enjoy both very much.
I forgot to take a picture of both because I was concentrating on eating and getting my homework done on time.

Day 22: Lemon Pepper Grilled Shrimp Salad with Grape Tomato, Romaine Lettuce, Whole Wheat Croutons & Ranch Dressing

The salad was very good and the macaroons were awesome!


Week 3: Weigh-in

At the beginning of the Fresh Diet, I planned on loosing 63 lbs. So here is a breakdown of how much I'm loosing.

WEEK
LBS LOST
Week 1
4.5 lb.
Week 2
1.0 lb.
Week 3
3.0 lb.
Total lost
8.5 lb.
Total left
54.5 lb.

I went on the elliptical once for week 3 for like 20 minutes. I don't think I did more activity than the prior week so maybe it's still just the diet helping me out.  I need to analyze my activity...

Day 22: Star Anise Poached Pear and Flax Seed Pancakes with Turkey Bacon

I gave away my orange that came with this.  I don't really like them and the meal is filling anyway.  Pancakes were good but I just wish I could have cooked the bacon on a frying pan.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Day 21: Creamy Banana Cheesecake

I was a bit overwhelmed by the banana flavor for this cheesecake. I think they should have kept this one as a simple cheesecake without the banana.

Day 21: Smoked Paprika Rubbed Pork Loin Steak with Roasted Piquillo Pepper Saucewith Wild Rice & Cranberry Pilaf and Green Beans with Walnuts & Garlic

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this or not but I actually enjoyed eating it.

Day 21: Dark Chocolate Mousse

I ate this far too fast. I don't even remember if it was good or not.

Day 21: Grilled Mahi Mahi Caesar Wrap with Romaine Lettuce & Tomato on a Spinach Tortilla Wrap

This wrap is pretty typical. I warmed it up and it didn't do much difference.

Day 21: Apple Chai Pancakes and Turkey Bacon

The pancakes were good despite the fact that they do not taste like regular pancakes. They are obviously whole wheat but they are good. And frying up the bacon in a pan was exactly what the doctor ordered. I have special pots and pans that do not require butter or oil so it was perfect and didn't raise the calorie intake.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Day 20: Crispy Quinoa Cakes made with Onions, Spinach, Sweet potato, Pistachio and Tahini Pastewith Spiced Sweet Potato Fries and Cajun Rubbed Roasted Yellow Squash Spears

The dinner was not filling at all but at least it tasted okay after I heated it in my toaster oven.

The snack was yummy and was a good appetizer.


Day 20: Pistachio Crusted Goat Cheese Salad with Red Grapes, Beets, Black Olives, Boston Lettuce and Herb Vinaigrette

This salad was delicious!!!  I was a little skeptical about how the cheese looks but after I broke it up into smaller pieces, it was awesome.

Day 20: Zahtar Spiced Nuts

I ate this earlier than I normally eat my snacks.  I noticed that after I ate my breakfast, I felt sleepy and that is not good when I have homework to do.  So I ate this and I started getting the energy I needed.  It was very tasty.  I just felt like it should have had sugar with it for some reason.

Day 20: Scrambled Egg Whites with Diced Tomato, Fresh Herbs & Turkey Bacon

This meal was good.  I should have taken out the turkey bacon and fried it up someplace else separately though.


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Day 18: Fillet of Wild Snapper with Sun-Dried Tomato Pestowith Pesto Pearl Barley and Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

Fillet of Wild Snapper with Sun-Dried Tomato Pestowith Pesto Pearl Barley and Grilled Portabella Mushrooms: this was good. Mushrooms didn't go that well with the rest but they were tasty.
Snack
Fresh Mozzarella on Whole Wheat Crostini With Kale and Sun Dried Tomatoes: this would have been better if the bread was separate.  The bread got soggy.

Day 18: Chicken Caesar Wrap with Romaine Lettuce & Cucumber on a Sun-Dried Tomato Tortilla Wrap

The wrap was pretty good.  It was not filling but it tasted good so it was satisfying enough.  The "Greek Spanakopita with Spinach & Feta Cheese in Phyllo Dough dessert" tasted more like a fried snack rather than a dessert. It was delish still!

Day 18: Mexican Style Omelet with Green Salsa, Sour Cream, Chives, Cilantro & Whole Wheat Toast

This breakfast was actually satisfying today.  I think my stomach is finally adjusting to the portion size (thank goodness!).  The flavors are good.  I mixed the salsa with the sour cream and dumped it on top of the omelet and just added little pieces at a time onto half-slice of bread.

Day 17: Peach Cheesecake

I savored this to the last bite.  I really don't taste the peach at all, which is fine by me.  The cheesecake was still delish.

Day 17: Chicken Breast & Basil Pesto Rouladewith White Bean Purée and Rosemary Scented Grilled Purple Potatoes

The food in this one was actually not bad at all, individually.  Yes, there are mostly carbs in this one but it wasn't half-bad.  The chicken was yummy with the pesto, the been purée tastes like hummus so I didn't feel that it went well with the potatoes or chicken.  Otherwise, everything individually still tasted very good.

Day 17: California Style Wrap with Avocado, Baby Lettuce, Roasted Turkey, Monterey-Jack Cheese and Fresh Chunky Salsa

I actually felt very full with my lunch so I ate this throughout the day, even though it's very small.  The chips were actually very good.  The dip had too thin of a texture which reminds me of an imitation guacamole I once had.

I did forget to take a picture of my lunch.  I had a "California Style Wrap with Avocado, Baby Lettuce, Roasted Turkey, Monterey-Jack Cheese and Fresh Chunky Salsa" and it was very good and filling.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Day 17: Sauteed Kale and Chia Omelet with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Feta

This breakfast was okay.  You can't really tell from the picture but they give a half of a tomato here.  I'm not a huge fan of tomato so I chopped up everything and ate it that way.  It made things bearable.

I have come to realize that I am eating and paying for over-glamorized cafeteria food.  If I were to buy this in the cafe downstairs from my job, it would probably taste a little better because of all the fat they put into it, and to make matters worse, I'd probably be paying more because I work in Manhattan.  So all this healthy eating is making me not want to eat at all because it's mostly so tasteless to me.  There are times when it's great but it's like I get a different chef/cook or something every so often that likes tasteless food.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Day 16: blueberry cheesecake

I'm not a fan of blueberry so I took a chance with this.  It wasn't horrible but I didn't greatly enjoy it either like the previous cheesecakes I've had from The Fresh Diet.

Day 16: Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup with Black Bean, Corn, Bell Pepper, and Tomato

This soup had fairly good favors but the tortilla didn't taste good... Almost stale tasting.

Day 16: Eggplant Rollatini with Fresh Mozzarella.with Creole Blackened Tomato and Sauteed Button Mushrooms

Eggplant Rollatini with Fresh Mozzarella.with Creole Blackened Tomato and Sauteed Button Mushrooms: really good actually
Snack
Buffalo Style Chicken Strips with Roasted Pearl Onion: meh, this was okay.


Day 16: Smoked Salmon with Sauteed Kale, Leek Fritters and Lemon Cream

Todays breakfast is the "Smoked Salmon with Sauteed Kale, Leek Fritters and Lemon Cream" and it was pretty good. I had to rush to eat it though because I have an early morning appointment and that's when I realized how hard it is to eat and run.  This breakfast was not meant for eating and running. I had to heat the pancakes separately from everything else and then put it back together to eat it. Although it didn't take me that long, I really just wanted to grab the breakfast and go to work and eat it on the way.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Day 15: Fillet of Swordfish with Raspberry Lime Saucewith Sauteed Spinach and Quinoa Medley with Sweet Corn and Fire Roasted Peppers

This was the "Fillet of Swordfish with Raspberry Lime Saucewith Sauteed Spinach and Quinoa Medley with Sweet Corn and Fire Roasted Peppers" dinner and "Mushroom Crowns Filled with Pesto Chicken" snack.  The dinner was very good.  I had no problem eating it.  The snack sucked though.  I just hate dry chicken.  I only heated it for 30 seconds so I know I didn't overcook it.  Oh well, I hope tomorrow's meals/snacks are better.

After I ate, I did some homework.  Since the homework was easy, I was able to finish it quickly.  So after I was done, I went and dusted off the old elliptical and did 20 minutes.  I felt a little dizzy afterwards but that quickly went away.  I guess I got to get used to it again.

Day 15: Pear Walnut Muffin

Had a weird taste to it when I began but it was actually really yummy once I got over it.  It is the pear. I think, that threw me off.  I love the walnuts in it.

Day 15: Philly Cheese Steak Whole Wheat Wrap with Sauteed Bell Pepper & Mozzarella Cheese

Awesome wrap!  I nuked it a little bit longer than I should have but it was still delish!  New fav.