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

December 5, 2012
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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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Nutrisystem Week 7 Update: Shakes and Cinnamon Rolls! #NSNation

December 1, 2012
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breakfast with nutrisystem

I was never much of a breakfast person before starting the Nutrisystem program, but I find myself becoming a big fan! Last week, I tried the new frozen breakfast burrito entree, and this week I had my first Cinnamon Roll along with a yummy chocolate protein shake. If I’d known I could eat pastries and drink shakes every morning and still lose weight, I would have started eating breakfast a long time ago!

The shakes are easy to make in the handy blender cup that Nutrisystem sends, and my favorites are chocolate and coffee. They’re meant to be a breakfast item, but I sometimes save mine for later in the day depending on my schedule and mood. And the cinnamon roll is even more delicious than I’d imagined…very much like the yummy Cinnabon ones you can get at the mall or airport!

Nutrisystem Cinnamon Roll

I love that we are 7 weeks into the program and I’m still discovering new food items!  They definitely have enough options to keep things interesting! We just placed our next food order and I reordered a bunch of my favorites, but am also excited about trying a few more new entrees!

Woof Woof Papa wants me to let you know that he got back on track and has recovered from his Thanksgiving feasting! He’d gained some pounds the week after Thanksgiving and has managed to drop them again quickly. Having a reliable and easy plan in place, that we know is working, really helps…so THANKS to Nutrisystem for that!


So how did we do this week? Here’s our week #7 update:

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Daisy and I Get Our Cho On! It’s #ChobaniTime

November 29, 2012
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chobani time

Daisy and I are huge fans of Chobani Greek Yogurt and regularly share the nonfat plain variety for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. I eat most of it, but Daisy is super happy to help clean the container before it goes in the recycling bin!

Besides licking the bowls, spoons and containers, Daisy also enjoys when I freeze Chobani in small spoonfuls mixed with frozen peas and carrots. You can also stuff a KONG toy with Chobani and freeze the whole thing! The probiotics in yogurt are supposed to be great for the digestive system, but Daisy just thinks it’s the best treat ever!

If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about over Greek yogurt, I’ll tell you. It’s creamy, rich and delicious! It’s strained to get the extra liquid out so it’s thicker than regular yogurt and has twice the protein  too! The plain Chobani is a healthy substitute for sour cream and can also be used instead of mayonnaise in dips or recipes. Being on Nutrisystem, I love it because a single service is equivalent to a “Power Fuel” which I’m allowed 2 of per day, in addition to the program foods.

Daisy dog eating Chobani Yogurt

We recently had the chance to sample several yummy flavors we hadn’t tried before. As I mentioned, we’ve been enjoying the plain, nonfat variety for quite a while now, but the fine folks at Chobani wanted to make sure we weren’t falling into a rut, so they sent us over a nice variety pack including blueberry, passion fruit, pineapple, raspberry, mango, strawberry and apple cinnamon.

Which was my favorite? SO hard to decide but I loved the mango, pineapple and apple cinnamon the best! The passion fruit had a great flavor but the texture was kind of odd because of all the seeds, although that might just be my issue because I feel the same way about raspberry stuff with seeds, too.  Daisy was crazy about the apple cinnamon and her papa really enjoyed the blueberry and the strawberry (he loves all things berry-related).

In addition to being fabulous straight out of the container, or frozen for dog treats, there are tons of great recipe ideas for using Chobani in entrees, salad dressings, soups, baked goods and just about anything else you can think of. Be sure to stop on over at the Chobani Kitchen to check out their recipes as well as snag some Chobani coupons so you can get your Cho on, too!

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Nutrisystem Week 5 Update: New Foods + Tips for Thanksgiving! #NSNation

November 17, 2012
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Nutrisystem breakfast burritoWe received our month 2 food delivery from Nutrisystem last week, and got some yummy new items including a tasty and filling Breakfast Burrito! Also loving the new desserts, but more about that in a future update! One of the things I really enjoy on the Nutrisystem program is the variety. We get to stock up on our favorite foods (pizza for me and cheesy home style potatoes for the hubby) plus try new ones from the large menu of options.

While things are going really well and I’m super pleased with our progress, I have been a bit worried about staying on track as we head deep into what I like to refer to as “the holiday eating season”. That’s the time of year that starts around Halloween and runs through New Year’s.

To help, the folks over at Nutrisystem sent us some Diet-friendly Tips for Thanksgiving! That’s another thing I really like about the program…it’s not just about the food. We also get support, advice, tools and tips to help us change the habits and eating issues that led to our weight problems in the first place.

A few Thanksgiving Diet Tips and Strategies we are planning to follow (they work for everyone, not just Nutrisytem members):

  • If you’re cooking, keep your bottle of water with you in the kitchen, so you’re less tempted to snack.
  • Stay away from the appetizer table. We’ll substitute raw vegetables since those are unlimited!
  • Instead of just sitting around after dinner, take a family walk, or organize a touch-football game. We plan to take Daisy for an extra long walk!
  • Don’t skip meals in an attempt to “bank” calories. Instead, eat everything on your meal plan leading up to the holiday event to help stay on track.

Since most of us dieters will still want to indulge in some of the traditional Thanksgiving favorites, here are some portion guideline to keep in mind:

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Nutrisystem Week 4 Update: Weight Loss, BMI and Bears…Oh MY! #NSNation

November 10, 2012
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Daisy dog checking out our Nutrisystem food deliver and bear

It’s time for our weekly Nutrisystem progress update and I can’t believe 4 weeks have flown by so quickly! In case you missed it, you can catch up on last week’s post here. Woof Woof Papa and I are pretty happy after our weigh in today, and we’re both celebrating a couple of milestones to tell you about!

One milestone we’re both celebrating this week is an improvement in our BMI numbers. BMI stands for Body Mass Index, and is an approximation of body fat based on a person’s height and weight. Because Obesity is linked to numerous diseases and health conditions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone know their BMI and try to stay within the Normal Range. If you’d like to learn more you can visit the CDC and use their Free BMI Calculator here.

Thanks to the tools and apps available to Nutrisystem members, we always know our BMI. Our charts update automatically each time we log our weight and this is really helping us stay motivated. Weight loss is slow and takes a long time, no question about that…if there were an instant fix, we’d have ALL heard about it by now. But being able to visualize our small victories along the way really helps us stay on track! As you can see, at the end of our first 4 weeks, we’ve both dropped from the Obese range (yikes!) to the Overweight Range. While we’re not where we need to be yet for optimal health, we think this is a great accomplishment and are thrilled!

Chart showing my BMI improvement on Nutrisysten

chart of hubby's BMI on nutrisystem

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