Monday, Monday.

A day some of us dread.  Being on the The Fresh Diet, I woke up bright and early with breakdast already made!

On the menu today is:

• Breakfast: Fresh Fruit Salad with Apple, Blueberry, Kiwi, Papaya, Watermelon, and apricot yogurt.  It was a very full serving of fruit salad. (I could barely finish it! my favorite part was the apricot yogurt.
• Lunch: Santa Fe Style Wrap with pepper-jack cheese, Tomato, Avacado, Corn, Black Beans and Baby Lettuce.  (I thought this would be a small wrap, but it was fairly large, and definitely filling)
• Hors D’Oeuvre:(first snack of the day): Grilled Turkey Pastrami with oregano Broccoli Mash. (this snack portion is small, but delicious, and JUST enough to satisfy any hunger)
• Dinner: Spicy Chickpea Patty with Cilantro Lime and Green Chillies, with Curried Cauliflower mash and grilled Asparagus. (The patty is a standard size, and extremely satisfying)
• Don’t forget Dessert! : Sugar-Free minted cheesecake Bar with Chocolate Drizzle

(I haven’t tried the cheesecake bar yet, I’m not usually a fan of anything cheesecake, but they seem to get rave reviews on it, so I figured I’d be daring and give it a try.)

Who says you have to starve on a Diet??

You don’t with The Fresh Diet!

Please note – TasteOdyssey.com is not affiliated with the company in any way – I won a contest to try it out for 30 days and I am journaling my experience.

Tags: Aimee Lynn Chadwick diet, calorie counting, healthy meals, low calorie meals, meal delivery service, The Fresh Diet, whole food diet

In this special series, guest blogger Aimee Lynn journals her experience with The Fresh Diet – a daily menu of healthy meals designed to fit a caloric target delivered right to your door. I hope you enjoy it! – Keram

Believe me when I say I’ve tried every weight loss fad out there; excessive workouts, restricting calories, daily powder shakes, magical snake oil pills and vitamins, and none of those things really left me feeling healthy, satisfied, and alive.  The fact is, I love food! All I needed was a way to manage how much I ate, and what it was that I consumed.  Which led me to discovering “THE FRESH DIET”.

Immediately I was intrigued by the idea that with The Fresh Diet you actually EAT 3 gourmet, fresh made meals a day PLUS 2 snacks. Training your body to be a mean, lean, fat burning machine!  I decided to start a workout program called P90 to coincide with my one month trial of The Fresh Diet. What better place to share my adventure than here at Taste Odyssey with you guys!

So, for the next few weeks I’ll be logging what delicious meals I get delivered fresh to my door everyday, and how they are benefiting my progress.  My starting goal is to lose the pesky 15 pounds I’ve had lurking on my once stickly figure that I gained after I threw in the towel of beating my body up with stupid alternatives to eating healthy.

The Fresh Diet Cooler Bag

It’s been one week since I started, and I’m not only already down 6 pounds, but I feel so awake, and healthy, and alive! There really is a difference when you are losing weight the RIGHT way, and I guarantee The Fresh Diet can help anyone with that.

I was so excited the first night to hear a knock at my door with a friendly face delivering my very first awesome green cooler of my food for the next day.  I had no idea when picking my menu online for the week, that the food would taste as good as the description of it!  Sure, the portions are very small, but you start to realize that eating 5 times a day, your body really doesn’t need much more.

There are different plans for everyone…you choose what your caloric daily intake should be based on weight, gender, and goals. With the premium plan, you can choose your meals, snacks, and sides from four different options for each meal.

If you have medical issues, or allergies, or just plain don’t like certain foods, there are even options for that!

The best part is, you don’t have to worry anymore about shopping for food, being tempted in the market by the low prices of junk food, and you get a Cordon Bleu Chef hand making amazing meals for you every day!

Today I woke up to having a Canadian bacon, and bell pepper omelette for breakfast, A turkey salad with arugula and artichoke for lunch, a small portion of celery sticks with about 2 tbs. of tuna for a snack, and veggie meat balls, with quinoa, and broccoli for dinner! After dinner, I did a workout and was feeling a bit hungry, so I got to eat my final snack of the day which was the most delicious chocolate chip oatmeal cookie I’ve ever tasted.  A tiny much-deserved indulgment for a hard work out.

Sticking to this diet, you don’t have to worry about anything really, just that you keep on a good schedule and eat the last snack at least an hour or 2 before bedtime, and you will have started your body on the right track of burning calories and feeling great!

I’ll keep updating here daily on what meals I get and my progress.

So far, The Fresh Diet gets an A+ in my book.

Until next time…..

xo

ALC

Learn more about the Fresh Diet at www.thefreshdiet.com

Tags: Aimee Lynn Chadwick diet, calorie counting, healthy meals, low calorie meals, meal delivery service, The Fresh Diet, whole food diet

Baby Greens with Maple Shallot Vinaigrette

This is a great summer salad to enjoy as an accompaniment to barbecued foods. The sweetness of the maple and the caramelized shallots are a nice contrast to the slight bitterness of baby greens.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 cups fresh baby salad greens or baby spinach
• 1 medium shallot, peeled and sliced thinly
• ½ cup crumbled goat cheese
• 3 tbsp real maple syrup
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp oregano
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

To prepare the shallot:

In 2 tbsp of olive oil, sauté the sliced shallot with half of the pepper on medium-high heat for 3 minutes to caramelize. Reduce to medium-low heat and continue to cook until soft. Set aside.

To prepare the dressing:

Whisk the maple syrup, vinegar, remaining olive oil, salt and remaining pepper until well blended. Set aside.

To prepare the salad:

Toss together the baby greens or baby spinach, crumbled goat cheese, shallots and dressing in a large salad bowl and enjoy!

Tags: baby greens, bbq, maple recipe, recipe, salad, shallot vinaigrette, summer, vegetarian

Fresh fruit and summer go hand in hand. Try this tasty treat as an afternoon snack or as a dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole fresh pineapple
• 3 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 10 kebab skewers*

Directions:

Prepare the Pineapple

Using a large knife, slice off the top and bottom of the pineapple, about a half-inch from the ends, and stand it upright. Carefully slice off the outer peel, making sure you cut out the eyes of the pineapple. Quarter the pineapple lengthwise and lay the quarters flat, core side up. Slice out the hard core and discard, then halve the quarters lengthwise. You should now have 8 long spears. Slice the spears into one-inch chunks. Pierce four or five chunks onto each skewer and lightly dust all sides with cinnamon.

Grill the Pineapple

Grill the pineapple quickly on your barbecue on medium-low heat. You don’t need to cook the pineapple, just warm it up and let the cinnamon mix with the juices. Flip the skewers so each side has a chance on the grill.

*A note on skewers: You may use wooden skewers for this recipe, however I recommend soaking them in a bowl of water for at least 20 minutes prior to grilling to prevent them from charring during the cooking process. Alternatively, invest in a set of metal skewers that can be reused for years to come. I found my set at the local dollar store.

Tags: grilled pineapple, grilling recipe, summer recipes

My 4th and final “Side dish recipe” for the Memorial Day Weekend is a crunchy and scrumptious Asian Slaw.  This will also do well for both vegi’s and carnivores alike.

CRUNCHY ASIAN SLAW

What you need:

• 4 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1tsp. grated lime peel
• 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. Thai fish sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1/4 lb. fresh snow peas, halved crosswise (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions
• 1/3 cup red bell peppers
• 1/3 cup yellow bell peppers

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

1. For dressing, in a small bowl whisk together oil, lime peel, lime juice, vinegar, fish sauce and sugar.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine green and red cabbage, snow peas, green onions, and red and yellow bell peppers; mix well.  Drizzle dressing over vegetables; toss to coat.

Serves about 6.

Simple recipe, and only about 95 calories!

photo credit: norwichnuts

So there you have it! My 4 days of great side dishes to bring to your Memorial Day BBQ’s.  You will look like a master chef at the party.  Be safe, and have a wonderful long weekend!

Till next time…..

XO

Food Diva

*if you have tried this or other recipes please write us or comment! we LOVE hearing from you!

Tags: bbq, crunchy asian slaw, low cal, memorial day, recipe, rice wine vinegar, salad, side dish recipe, summer, thai fish sauce, vegetarian