I miss my morning food deliveries already!
Of course, my fifth day of Paleta came on the heels of my triumphant walk sans ankle pain and I was feeling particularly invigorated. I was also battling a tinger of the sads, because I really enjoyed participating in this program and was bummed I couldn't anymore!
My fifth and final Paleta breakfast was hot breakfast cereal (oatmeal, I suppose) with fresh oranges (had to take those off - my allergies struck me) with turkey sausage patties and a fresh melon salad. The hot cereal was delicious. And it was nice to have something warm and thick in the morning. I wanted to sprinkle some brown sugar on it but resisted.
And lunch was delicious, if not the prettiest one I've had so far! They sent a thai chicken salad with rainbow cabbage and crisp romaine with taosted almond slivers and a spicy peanut sauce. Some carrots were on the side. They looked a little sad but I do love carrots - they were great.
Again, I wish my camera took better photos -- this looks off to me. But it was like art in a bowl. It was delightful.
My Day 5 snacks were new experiences. My strawberries came with a black bean chocolate cupcake that was a mystery to me. I still don't know if I liked it. But I was surprised that I liked my afternoon snack so much -- zucchini latkes with roasted bell pepper coulis.
Dinner was nice. Because I have this weird, random childhood memory associated with Mahi Mahi, so it was a nice surprise for dinner. And even though I don't like cucumbers, I liked the mango cucumber salsa that came with it. The coconut jasmine rice was fantastic. I could not finish the spinach. Something about its scent got to me and I was too full to force myself to finish it.
This will not be the last time I talk about Paleta but I'm still bidding it adieu for the time being so I must thank Chef Kelly for taking an interest in me and being so kind and supporting. I must thank Paleta's killer PR team at NMPR for coordinating this for me.
My suggestion would be to go into it as honest as possible. They give you the opportunity to tell them what foods you don't like and are allergic to -- do not hold back. Make sure you tell them if you aren't a fan of zucchini or spinach or whatever because odds are, a food you opted not to menion will turn up.
But beyond that, my next bit of advice would be to try everything they send because you might find a new food to love (quinoa!) and you might end up liking something you'd previously hated.
I hope you'll take a look at this delicious, nutritious program. I recognize it's pricey but I think even if you just popped for it for a week, it's well worth it just to jump start your personal motivation to take care of yourself. The program I did, 1600 calories a day, comes to about $54/day but there are other options and plans.
Thank you so much, Paleta. I truly enjoyed it. I may see you again at my door yet!
