BistroMD diet [classic article]

Beyond making a big pot of “the Cabbage Soup Diet” or drinking sweet canned shakes all day (which doesn’t really work for diabetics or those who love savory food), most people don’t really know what they should eat on a diet. And, as you may have already figured out on your own, the “diet” frozen dinners at the grocery store are full of fake things. BistroMD to the rescue! I was happy to be hosted to experience it.

BistroMD, conceived by Dr. Caroline J. Cederquist, M.D., is meant to be a healthier, tastier way to lose weight with frozen meals delivered to your door. The packages range from 5 a week, 7 a week with a night off, and custom package — like if you don’t eat breakfasts or like to make a green smoothy for a meal, for instance. Each meal is created to be balanced unto itself.

They recommend defrosting the meals overnight in the fridge, but I always would forget . . . I microwaved them from frozen and they turned out well. They microwave in just a few minutes, so it really couldn’t be more convenient.

Even though I’m not a breakfast person, I found that I like the breakfasts best! Their egg-white omelets cook properly in the microwave, nice and tender. That’s unlike an omelet I ate recently on an overseas flight! They definitely should offer BistroMD as an option on flights. I also liked the cheese and ham in the breakfasts: quite flavorful.

I appreciated that entrees included whole chicken breasts, feeling more like “real food”. I would say that the menu I tried was a little chicken heavy and I would have liked some more turkey and more vegetarian/vegan nights. Turkey would go well with the cranberries that were on the salmon entree. The recipes themselves are wholesome, full of nutrients from a range of veggie colors . . . rather like the things my health and very figure conscious mom cooked when I was a kid. If you have a healthy cafe’ near you, you’ll be familiar with the cuisine.

They aren’t salted, so you season to taste. I’m not on board with that, because how would I know if I’m salting to unhealthiness? That’s what people are paying the doctor for. I realize that they have to compete label-wise with other brands and not salting allows for some better numbers.

They don’t include desserts, because those 100 calorie snacks and fake desserts are just chemicals and crap. You might miss them, but you don’t need them.

Conversely, you won’t have to give up starches on this plan! There was a surprisingly frequent inclusion of potatoes and rice in the meals.

Here are dishes I tried:

Strawberry Shortcake Crepes with Chicken Sausage: Savory strawberries layered in a cream cheese blend, rest inside inside delicate French-style crepes; accompanied by a strawberry topping and chicken apple sausage.

Lasagna Rollatini: Lasagna cheese rollup served with a tomato four cheese sauce and vegetables.

Chicken and Mushroom Crepes: A grilled breast of chicken is blended with mushrooms and a touch of uncured bacon, folded in a light bechemel sauce, and complemented by a hash of roasted zucchini and sweet potatoes.

Roasted Norwegian Salmon: A Norwegian salmon filet is tossed with young leaf spinach, a wild rice medley, oven-dried cranberries and toasted, sliced almonds, garnished with fresh dill and a lemon Dijon dill sauce.

Thai Peanut Chicken Breast: Chicken complemented by sugar snap peas, carrot threads and served with blanched basil and onion quinoa.

Stuffed French Toast with Turkey: A whole grain piece of French toast is stuffed with cinnamon and vanilla scented low-fat cream cheese, topped with strawberries and blueberries, served with a turkey sausage and roasted sweet potatoes.

Farmers Market Omelet: An egg white omelet stuffed with uncured seasoned ham, chopped broccoli, onion, and cheddar cheese, paired with a side of roasted butternut squash hash.

Bacon cheeseburger Meatloaf: A blend of low-fat beef and turkey are combined with natural bacon and Vermont cheddar cheese to form a unique and tasty meatloaf, paired with young carrots, chopped leaf spinach and yucca fries.

Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans: Beef eye round is braised in a red wine tomato broth, and served with creamy whipped mashed potatoes and French cut green beans.

Rodeo Omelet: An egg white omelet stuffed with uncured seasoned ham, diced peppers, and cheddar cheese, accompanied by a traditional breakfast potato hash seasoned with thyme.

BBQ Rubbed Chicken Breast: Grilled chicken breast flavored with BBQ seasoning served alongside creamed spinach and pinto bean salad.

Chimichurri Chicken: Marinated chicken breast with a chimichurri glaze served with a citrus scented black bean salad and roasted cauliflower florets accented by cumin, coriander and paprika.

Tilapia with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce: Tilapia topped with a roasted red pepper sauce is accompanied by garlic pureed cauliflower and whole green beans flavored with onion.

Grilled Chicken Breast with Garlic Veloute’: Grilled and roasted chicken breast with Ratatouille, roasted baby carrots, and roasted garlic veloute’.