FACTOR Meals

 There are numerous meal plans out there.

I want to eat reasonably healthy but, my urge to cook sways with my mood. I visit two fast food businesses so often, they know my name or face and know what I want.   (It's not Cheers and I'm a creature of habit.)

I ordered 8 meals.

The meals are not frozen. They arrived at my front door in an insulated box

with a cold pack at the bottom of the box and one on top of the meals.

The company tries to make everything as environmentally friendly as possible. There are instructions on how to dispose of the cold packs and the box.

Each dinner is in a plastic container housed inside a cardboard sleeve with the dinner's name on the outside. 

Further information on the back gives cooking and storage instructions, nutrition facts and other pertinent information.

My first meal I microwaved as directed. It was not very palatable.

                                       BUT,

I followed the directions of a FACTOR poster and after that the meals were delicious.

 I took the meal out of the plastic tray, placed it on a heat safe plate, covered it with foil, and put it in a 375-degree preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.   

It was delicious. It tasted homemade. The portion size was more than I could finish so I covered it and put it in the fridge.

 I have enjoyed all of the meals. I have 3 more to go.  I have one more box coming and after that I will discontinue. Not because of the meals but because of budget. 

This was something I wanted to try for the new year. I did and it's done.

That's it 🍽🍽🍽

SWEET POTATO SALAD

 

SWEET POTATO SALAD

I’ve had them baked, candied, chipped and fried. What about in a salad? Would it be the same as a white potato salad? Turns out there’s more than one version, which I expected.  I  consulted many recipes. Among them  All the Healthy Things, tasty.co , eating bird food and more. I  eventually put together my own spin  based on what I had at home.  

One constant in all recipes was that the potatoes needed to be peeled, cubed, drizzled with oil and baked in the oven until tender. 

My salad included:                                       Their salads included:

bed of mixed greens  →                                   kale

charred sweet potatoes➡➡                             same

chopped pecans➡                                            walnuts, chick peas, red beans,

                                                                          avocado,  more  

cheddar cheese➡                                              feta, parmesan          

raisins→                                                            dried cranberries, & more

                                                                           

bacon bits→                                                       chicken, ham  

bottled raspberry vinaigrette🠆                            homemade  vinaigrette                                                                                                            

 

Did I mention I'd made a large casserole of macaroni and cheese?

So, in order to balance things out I had the salad and a portion of mac & cheese.  The rest of this casserole  will be portioned out and frozen for those days when I want mac & cheese. 

SECOND DAY

This time I topped it off with chicken and the vinaigrette.

This salad is a winner in my book. I will be making it again.