This is the 1,200 calorie version with a chicken breast, wild rice blend, Alfredo sauce and mixed veggies (carrots, cauliflower and broccoli).  The 2,000 calorie version had a larger chicken breast, more sauce, and a LOT more rice.  I’d say 2 – 3 times as much.  My fiance threw about half of it away and mentioned he wished they gave him less rice and bigger breakfasts in the 2,000 calorie version.  I think he has a good point.

I was not a huge fan of this dish.  I don’t think it was necessarily bad, but I kind of felt like I was led on with false advertising.  Before I opened the fridge, I looked at the menu and thought, “Yum!  Chicken Alfredo!  Olive Garden here I come!”  But to my dismay, there was wild rice and no pasta.  The thing is I actually like wild rice quite a bit, but I just wasn’t in the mood for it after seeing the name and thinking Italian.  I realize the sauce is named Alfredo, and it probably has nothing to do with what it actually goes on, but I just associate Alfredo with pasta so I was disappointed!

And?  The low-fat version of the Alfredo sauce left much to be desired.  I just don’t think it is something that can be successful while skimping on calories.  Fat-free brownies?  Sure, that seems to work out fine.  Alfredo?  Not so much.

While I’m on this rant, let me address the vegetable blend.  It’s basically the  lowest cost frozen veggie blend you’d get from the grocery store.  The broccoli was 90% tough and chewy stems and very few florettes.

SSHE, I think it’s time to give this one the boot.  How about replacing it with something truly ethnic, like pad thai or tandoori chicken?

This is the 1,200 calorie version which came with fresh baby greens, cold salmon, ranch dressing, two cheese cubes, a breadstick and a fat-free brownie.

I can’t get over how much I enjoy having fresh greens!  They were crisp and weren’t wilted at all.  While I don’t think it lended much to the dish, the salmon was fine and added those Omega-3s we’re all supposed to be getting.  Although there never looks like enough dressing in those little containers, I was satisfied with the amount of ranch.  I heated up the whole wheat breadstick in the toaster which came out crispy and doughy, and I enjoyed the little cheddar cheese cubes.

I was really into the brownie.  The menu says it’s fat-free which I can’t understand since it was crusty on the outside and gooey and chocolatey on the inside.  Seattle, can I pretty please have your recipe for the brownie?

This is the 1,200 calorie version, the 2,000 calorie version had 6 slices instead of 3.  

On a grab-n-go type day, this was a convenient breakfast.  The bread was pretty standard for SSHE, this time with carrots and walnuts.  It kind of tasted like a drier, less luscious carrot cake.  I much prefer fruit to the juices, so I was happy to have the plum.

I thought this might be the last of the breakfast breads, but I checked the menu and there is one more bread coming on Day 7, the pecan bread.  I think after I get that one posted I will have a breakfast bread post or poll for the entire SSHE program because there are way too many varieties for this to go undiscussed.

Here’s dinner #2 from Part A, Week 4, SSHE – Cheese Lasagna:

This is the 1,200 calorie version, the 2,000 calorie version had four lasagna rolls instead of two.  It also came with brussels sprouts and half of a canned pear.

Here’s my attempt to show the filling inside the roll:

Flashes and extreme close-ups definitely don’t mix, but you can kind of see the ricotta cheese and herb filling.

The entree was very similar to Rosalee’s Stuffed Shells and Heirloom Ravioli except the pasta was different.  It was also almost identical to the Lasagna Roll-Up lunch but with red sauce instead of white.  It does highlight the limited creativity of the SSHE menu, but I do love them all so I’m really not complaining.  I am happy to report it had (almost) enough sauce for my tastes.  The brussels sprouts were perfectly crisp and green and the pear was fine as far as a canned pear goes.

Week 3 (2/10/09): 207.5 lbs (down 1 lb since 1/27/09)

I’m a little disappointed I’ve only lost 1 lb given that this weigh-in reflects 2 weeks of dieting, but I did eat WAY off plan a couple of days (the Superbowl and a birthday party) so I guess I’m glad the scale moved down and not up.  Also, I have been working out at least 3x per week including strength training, so I’m hoping some of this is inches lost and muscle gained.  We’ll have to see when I get my measurements done next week!

Here’s the menu for Part A of Week 3:

Day 1

Dinner: Lemon Pepper Loaf

Day 2

Breakfast: Delicious Cranberry-Nut Roll with Nutty Fruit Spread (mine still came with cream cheese)

Lunch: Quiche and Spinach Salad

Dinner: Garden Patty

Day 3

Breakfast: French Toast and Veggie Sausage

Lunch: Salsa Chicken Sandwich

Dinner: Baked Tilapia

Day 4

Breakfast: Country Cold Flax Cereal

Lunch: Pocket Pita

Here’s the menu for Part B of Week 3:

Day 4

Dinner: Vegetable Chop Suey

Day 5

Breakfast: Breakfast Wrap with Salsa and Juice

Lunch: Whole Baked Potato with Chili

Dinner: Heirloom Ravioli

Day 6

Breakfast: Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

Lunch: Bountiful Barley Soup

Dinner: Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce

Day 7

Breakfast: Homemade Granola

Lunch: Tortellini Vegetable Soup

Dinner: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Day 8:

Breakfast: Carrot Muffin with Raisins and Almonds

Lunch: Radiattore Pasta Salad

This is the 1,200 calorie version.  It has a nice home cooked tomato flavor and lots of barley.  Barley is one of those miracle grains that I keep hearing we should be eating more of so I was happy to see it on SSHE.  On the side were a package of oyster crackers (yum, a personal favorite!), a small granny smith apple and a small oatmeal raisin type cookie.

The above is the 1,200 calorie version and below is the 2,000 calorie version:

It was a little creamy pasta salad with peas and scallions topped with salmon.  I ate it cold.  The sides were a cup of pineapple and small almond cookie.

I did enjoy this dish but it made me even sadder that it’s freezing cold outside!  It would be perfect for a summer afternoon.

Nothing too mysterious about this one.  It wasn’t too dry, although it wasn’t moist either, typical of the SSHE muffins.

Above is the 1,200 calorie version, below is the 2,000 calorie version:

It was a lot of pasta!  Fortunately, the spaghetti was whole wheat and there was a moderate amount of sauce (although not as much as I would like!).  The meat sauce was ground turkey and it had a little side of cheese and celery and a half of a canned peach.  It was a lot of food but I could have used more flavor!  Maybe next time I’ll add a little freshly grated parmesan to make it less bland.