Nutrisystem Update Week 10: Pancakes and Pizza! #NSNation

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Nutrisystem pancakes

It’s time for our Week 10 Nutrisystem update! One of the questions I get asked the most by friends and readers is about the food on Nutrisystem. In previous posts, I’ve shared some of our favorite meals, including Cinnamon Buns, Breakfast Burritos and other yummy stuff we get to eat. This week, I thought I’d show you 2 more of my favorites…Pancakes and Pizza!

One thing I always try to do with any diet meal is to dress it up a bit. Yes, you can just eat the food straight out of the package, but I think the key to keeping it fun and interesting is to experiment with different add-ins and extras from Nutrisystem’s approved list of grocery items. I like to top Nutrisystem’s fluffy, whole grain pancakes with a few spoonfuls of Chobani nonfat Greek yogurt, a small portion of sliced unsalted almonds, and a big sprinkle of cinnamon. Very yummy!

Nutrisystem flat bread pizza

I have pizza 2-3 times per week on Nutrisystem and sometimes more. There are several varieties; this one is the Italian Herb Flatbread Pizza. The way it’s packages is like a build-your-own-pizza kit, with the flatbread, the cheese and the sauce each packaged separately.  That makes it easy to add toppings…I put the sauce down first then added my own veggies: fresh baby spinach,  sliced sweet onion and red bell pepper slices. Then I added the cheese and sprinkled a little crushed red pepper flakes on top for a little kick. Pop it in the microwave and you’re all set! I’m going to pick up some nonfat ricotta, fresh basil and a maybe some mushrooms for next time.


Although I’m finding it pretty easy to stick to the meal plan, I’m not doing very well with getting enough exercise or drinking enough water so I’ve got to really make an effort to push myself on both of those since my weight loss is going SO slowly. Hubby on the other hand seems to just be melting away.

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Nutrisystem Week 9 Update: Celebrating NSVs (Non-Scale Victories) #NSNation

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daisy tape measure

Woof Woof Papa and I just finished up week #9 on the Nutrisystem program and are back with an update for you! Weighing in this morning, I realized I’m becoming a bit too fixated on what the scale says. Yes, I lost weight this week (skip to the end to see how much) and should feel great about it, but instead of being thrilled that I’ve lost 19.8 pounds so far, I found myself feeling disappointed that I was .2 pounds short of 20! Silly, right?

Instead of beating myself up about it, I headed to the Nutrisystem Program Member’s Page to look for some inspiration  Each week, the folks from Nutrisystem post online advice and support designed to help members at each stage of their weight loss journey. This week’s advice was about ‘seeing past the scale’ and celebrating the NSVs (non-scale victories), so I decided to take stock of my NSVs. Some Non-Scale Victories I’m celebrating this week:

  • Inches Lost: I’ve been logging my measurements for 9 weeks now, but never really took notice of how the progress was adding up. I’ve lost 3 inches from my hips so far, and another 3″ from my waist!
  • Clothes: Since I work from home and spend a lot of time at the dog park, I tend to wear the same old dumpy stuff which makes it hard to tell that I’m getting smaller. I dug to the back of the closet and pulled out some jeans I love that hadn’t fit in a LONG time. Guess what? They fit great! (still several sizes to go to reach my goal but super exciting anyway)
  • Health: This one is harder to see and measure but probably the most important. I’m taking time to remind myself that I’m getting heart-healthy and reducing other health risks by losing weight and increasing my physical activity!

Woof Woof Papa celebrated his own NSV this week, too.  They had a huge holiday party at his work – a football tailgating themed party complete with ribs, wings, chili, ice cream and all kinds of other yummy but fattening foods. His strategy was to take just a tiny bit of each item on his plate. It must have worked because his coworkers noticed and about half were impressed, while the others expressed concern and asked if he was feeling OK. Too funny, but he was pretty proud of himself and told me all about it when he got home from work.

After all this talk about Non-Scale Victories I do need to update you on how much we lost this week. It’s still an important measure of our progress…I’m just going to work on remembering that it’s not the only measure of success. So, how did we do this week? I’ll tell ya!

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Staying On Track with Sugar Free Holiday Cheer from Torani!

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lattes with Torani

Regular readers probably already know that Woof Woof Papa and I have been following the Nutrisystem weight loss plan and are doing really well so far! You can catch up on our weight loss progress here if you’ve fallen behind or don’t know what I’m talking about!

The holiday season is probably the most difficult time of the year to stay on track with dieting, but we’ve been treating ourselves to some low-calorie and diet-friendly drinks, thanks to Torani Sugar Free syrups! They’re available in several yummy holiday flavors so we can indulge in holiday cheer without derailing our diet.

torani cheer

I’ve been enjoying the Pumpkin Torani in my coffee and even in a special cocktail I made for a little holiday splurge.  The hubby had the very clever idea of adding it to the Nutrisystem protein shake mix. The Hazelnut Torani is especially delicious in the coffee shake! We went a little overboard with the whipped cream, but it’s fat free so that’s a plus! The idea is to find small ways to replace full-calorie treats with lower calorie ones, and save them for special occasions…that way you don’t feel totally deprived and can enjoy a little Holiday Cheer with friends and family!

Stop by and snag a $1 OFF Torani Printable Coupon and get started on your own holiday cheer. You can find both regular and sugar free in the coffee aisle! Thanks to Torani and SheSpeaks for arranging for us to receive these products so we could try them and share our honest opinions with our readers.

Nutrisystem Week 8 Update: 2 Months and Still Going Strong! #NSNation

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Nutrisystem food

It’s hard to believe that we’re finishing up our second month on Nutrisystem already. The time has really flown by! When we first started, one of my biggest worries was that we’d get bored or tired of it or wouldn’t be able to stick with the program. It’s actually turning out to be just the opposite! The longer we go, the easier I’m finding it to be.

Just going on auto-pilot and eating the right portions of the right types of foods without having to think about it all the time…that is super easy once you get going and I am loving it!

The weight loss is slow and steady, which takes lots of patience but is the way it’s supposed to be if done in a healthy way. And at this busy time of year with so much to do, it’s really been helpful having everything packaged and ready to go so no matter where I am or what I’m doing, I don’t find myself stuck wondering what I should be eating. We’ve all been there…at the food court or drive thru knowing we shouldn’t be doing it, but hungry, tired and in a hurry.


So our cupboards and freezer are all stocked up, and we’re ready for Month 3! How have we done so far? Here’s the scoop…

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Almondina: Indulgently Tasty Low-Calorie Treats for People! (Sorry, Daisy)

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almondina cookies with coffeeBeing on Nutrisystem now for 2 months, we’ve become extremely careful about the types of snacks and treats we keep on hand so we don’t undo all the progress we’ve made so far with our weight loss. It’s especially difficult during the holidays, when we want to have nice cookies and treats around for guests, as well as stock up on some items we can use in gift bags and baskets. That’s why we’re super excited about discovering Almondina!

Almondina is an all-natural crispy almond cookie treat that’s perfect with coffee, as a dessert, or an afternoon snack. Their tagline is “Indulgently Tasty. Minimal Calories. Thin. Light. Crunchy.” and that totally sums it up! At only 30 calories, we’ve been enjoying ours as an “Extra” on our Nutrisystem meal plan. We each get 3 extras per day at up to 35 calories each. Favorite flavors so far include the Choconut, Ginger Spice, Chocolate Cherry and the Original (with almonds and raisins), and we can’t wait to try more varieties, too! We’ve been careful not to open them all at once or we might lose our will power and eat them ALL!!!!

I’ve also decided that they make a fabulous gift item to include in some gift baskets I’m putting together, along with colorful tea towels I snagged on sale, and some delicious sugar free Torani coffee syrup! I’m still looking for some baskets or other nice containers on sale. I found a few cute flower pots on clearance and am thinking about using those as gift baskets this year, too:

Almondina gift basket

In addition to being delicious, Almondina Cookies are:

  • Free of cholesterol, coloring and preservatives
  • Made with no added fat or salt
  • Low in calories – only 30 per slice
  • Made in America
  • Kosher and Pareve (non dairy)

If you’re looking for healthy and fancy hostess gifts, stocking stuffer, treats for your holiday guests, or something special to add to your gift baskets, be sure to keep an eye out for Almondina Cookies when you are combing the gourmet food gift aisles at TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Home Goods and other similar stores. You can also find them at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and many of the major grocery chains, too! Stop by and say hi to Almondina on Facebook, and follow @Almondina on Twitter to keep up with all the new flavor offerings and more.

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