I have been on Nutrisystem for a few months and am ready to start my slow transition to normal foods. While I liked Nutrisystem meals and found them very convenient, it is time to wean myself off this diet and rejoin my family in eating meals together.

Nutrisystem’s low calorie foods and small portions inspired me to cook at home more and choose healthier options all the time, not to mention avoid overeating. I am very conscious about what I cook and try to make plans for all weekly dinners. This way I get what I need at the grocery store and nothing extra. It’s easy to lose focus, but I am determined.

This is why every time I cook, I think about what meal would Nutrisystem offer and what ingredients will be acceptable for a sensible diet. I love getting creative in the kitchen and showing a good example to my kids.

Today I bought ground pork and so a Nutrisystem inspired meal was born – turkey cutlets with mashed potatoes and tomatoes. It’s completely delicious and takes just under an hour to make.

Ingredients:

• Organic ground turkey (1-2 store bought packages, can be ground turkey breast)
• 2/3 cup of organic reduced fat kefir
• 2 organic eggs
• 2/3 cup of Organic bread crumbs
• Seasoning of choice, salt and pepper
• ¾ of large Vidalia onion
• 5-7 organic mushrooms
• 2 table spoons of olive oil (optional)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Water for cooking

For mashed potatoes:

• Organic potatoes, peeled and cut in 4 parts
• A pinch of salt
• A cup of heated reduced fat milk
• 1 spoon of butter (optional)
• Frozen or fresh dill for garnishing
• 1-2 table spoons of heavy whipping cream for cutlet sauce

Preparing meat for cutlets is pretty simple.

Take a large plastic or metal bowl and add meat, kefir, eggs, bread crumbs, and seasoning.

Then chop onion, garlic, and mushrooms by hand or with a help of chopping tool, like Best Chef onion chopper.

I always use this tool to save time and to chop everything in really small cubes.

Add everything to the meat mixture and mix by hand until everything is fully combined.

After you are done with meat, let it sit in the bowl for a bit and peel potatoes. It’s up to you how much of them you’ll use. I usually make a lot of mashed potatoes because everybody in my family loves them, even next day.

Cut potatoes into four parts, place them in a pot on the stove, add salt, and cook until soft and done.

While potatoes are cooking, put a pan with just a drizzle of olive oil on medium heat and start forming small oval cutlets and place them close to one another on the frying pan.

Oil is optional, because even without it your cutlets will release juice naturally and won’t stick. Wet your hands periodically to make the round cutlets. I usually make so many of them that I fill two frying pans and let my family enjoy them for two days.

While keeping an eye on the potatoes let your cutlets brown on one side and then flip them to the other side. When both sides are nice and brown, add some water and close the pan with a lid. Flip them one more time in a few minutes.

While cutlets are cooking, potatoes should get done. Pour the water out and dry them in the pot on the heat for a few minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Put a cup of milk of choice in the microwave and heat it for a minute. I like to add a few cubes of butter in the potatoes for my family, but it’s totally not necessary. Pour the hot milk into the potatoes and puree them using hand held KitchenAid mixer or a similar device. The puree should be white and fluffy. You can always add more milk for softer consistency - it’s entirely up to you.

Your cutlets should be about done. Make sure you turn the heat off when there is still some liquid left on the bottom of the pan if you want to make some sauce. It’s entirely optional, but I like to treat my family. Take all the cooked cutlets out and add some heavy whipping cream to the liquid that is left. Heat it up again and stir until it thickens.

You are almost done! I like my cutlets with tomatoes, but you can also make salad or use any other vegetable of choice. When arranging this meal on the plate, scoop some sauce and put it on top of cutlets. You can garnish mashed potatoes with dill. Since I am on diet, I forgo the sauce and put very little mashed potatoes. See, even while dieting you can cook a fresh meal, watch your portion, and choose what’s healthy for you.

Enjoy!