…the journey so far.

Dinner tonight from PureFoods Fresh Start gluten-free was Chili-Rubbed Beef Steak with Candied Sweet Potatoes, Sauteed Vegetables, and Feta Cheese and it was delish!

This was the first meal large enough to put on a proper dinner plate, which was fun. I realized I had not eaten any beef or pork yet, and was going to have a lot all at once if I didn’t get a meal of the red-meat variety in, soon. So I did!

I prepared this in the microwave, just as instructed, except I cut up the beef steak before nuking, because I’m not a fan of “one big block of meat,” ever.

I was pleased to learn what an appropriate portion of feta cheese looked like, because I really over-do on my cheese, when left to my own devices.

The sweet potatoes were very tasty and the sauteed vegetables were heavy on the onions, as tends to be the trend with all PureFoods items that contain onions, thus far.

I took a photo of the onions and peppers I did not eat, just for good measure.

Filed under: PurFoods, PureFoods Fresh Start, gluten-free, photos on December 31st, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Today’s lunch was 3 Bean Vegetarian Chili with Baby Carrots and Cheddar Cheese from PureFoods Fresh Start, gluten-free. Pretty dang good!

I put the chili (which is not thick like chili, more like a tomato-based three-bean soup) into a bowl to microwave, as instructed. The soup was still frozen in some places from the trip, so I did the 60 seconds, stir, 60 more seconds as instructed, then added another half-minute because it wasn’t quite hot enough.

The little packet of carrots was comical, not because of the quantity, but because of the “ashy” quality of the carrots, in the little package. I chose to trade out for my own baby carrots, because I like ‘em moist and fresh and a little heartier.

This was a really good lunch, actually, although the black beans from last night’s dinner had me a little gassy, and I suspect these will do that job too. Need to check out my week’s menu and be sure to plan appropriately for when I’m going to be out in public, as opposed to home alone. Also, I realize I’ve not had any red meat yet, in three meals. That means tonight’s dinner will be one of the pork or beef dishes, just to keep me from having a “too heavy” day for my tastes, down the line.

Feeling good!

Filed under: PurFoods, PureFoods Fresh Start, gluten-free, photos on December 31st, 2011 | No Comments »

Meal number two from my first delivery of gluten-free meals from PureFoods Fresh Start was the Vegetable Omelet and Gluten-Free Roll.

Another yum.

I chose to start with an egg dish because I recall some online reviews about how the eggs don’t always delight, and I wanted to take my most enthusiastic period of this diet to try something that may not be a hit.

No worries. It was great.

I generally do not like mushrooms, but in the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to eat them when they’re in dishes I otherwise would like, be cause I hate being “that guy” who orders things and asks for them to be “without this, add that, this thing on the side” unless I’m just really in a mood. So, I’ve been trying to expand my tolerance level of mushrooms and it seems to be paying off. The asparagus definitely helped!

I cut the gluten-free roll in half, put on a little butter, and had it toasting in two halves in the toaster oven while prepping the omelet. They say to heat the filling first, then add the egg, probably because they don’t want the egg to get rubbery, but I didn’t really want to negotiate all that, so I put the egg — opened up — on my little bread plate, evenly spaced the veggie and cheese filling onto the egg, and then nuked it for 45 seconds at full power, as instructed. Then I lifted up the egg and let the liquid that had collected under it drain off (I’m pretty anti-runny stuff, even though it was just “vegetable liquid,” I’m sure). Pat, pat, pat with a papertowel, then back in the microwave for another 45 seconds at full power.

I spread some raspberry preserves on my toasted gluten-free roll. Yes, this — plus the butter — surely added 150 calories or so, and otherwise, this breakfast would’ve only been 180 calories (remember, the gluten-free delivery doesn’t include snacks or treats, and is basically a 900-calorie day on its own). While my goal is to add things like fruit and nuts and skim milk and yogurt and such, that’ll be easy to do when there’s no bread involved.

Oh, and as gluten-free breads go, this one was good! Fluffy and light. Now, the waiting game of finding out whether their recipe is one of those that doesn’t agree with me or not. Without going too far into the TMI territory, there are some gluten-free breads that are better mixes of alternative flours than others. (This one was okay.)

Filed under: PurFoods, PureFoods Fresh Start, gluten-free, photos on December 31st, 2011 | No Comments »