Dietlicious – A review

I have always been turned off diet food delivery services – the food was over processed, the flavours were bland and there was so much sodium in them I felt they were doing me more harm than good. After a decadent winter that included far too many delicious dinners out and home made puddings, I wanted to start spring afresh. I stumbled upon a company called Dietlicious and thought the food looked tasty, fresh and “real” (I studied the ingredients lists and there were no preservatives). Plus it was affordable ($9.50/lunch and $11.90/dinner). I finally took the plunge and placed an order for 2 weeks of lunches and dinners – you have the option to order the full 1200 calorie plan which includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, fruit + vege and snacks, however I prefer to sort this out myself.

I placed my order on Thursday night and Friday morning a giant box arrived at my office! I popped everything in my office freezer and was very excited.

Please click through to continue reading about my Dietlicious experience. If you’re just here for the desserts then click here.

Day 1.

Lunch: Thai Chicken with flat noodle. I added frozen veges when cooking it. The food was tasty and tasted fresh and not heavily processed like some competing food delivery companies *cough*. I love my Thai food to be spicey and super flavourful so I added some chili sauce. Delicious! I still felt a bit hungry afterwards due to an intense Crossfit workout so I had a cup of peppermint tea.

Dinner: Pork with chili and shallot. I defrosted and sliced the marinated pork and panfried it in a little bit of peanut oil. I added some frozen stir fry vege mix and the marinade and pan fried until everything was cooked through. I served it with a side of brown rice but barely touched it, the pork and veges were filling enough! Very tasty and a good amount of chili, my lips are still tingling.

Day 2.

Lunch: Texan Beef Wrap. I microwaved these wraps and then finished them off in the sandwich press to crisp up the wrap. I served them with peas and corn and some spicy salsa. I found the meat inside the wrap a little dry but when combined with the salsa it was delicious and filling. I checked the website later and noticed they suggested you heat it for less than the packet instructions say so I may have overcooked it resulting in the dry filling.

Dinner: HOLY CRAP I AM SO HUNGRY. Ramen. I had a previously arranged business dinner date. I ordered a spicy ramen and ate the meat and veges and 1/2 the broth. I left 90% of the noodles.

Day 3.

Lunch: Moroccan chicken and brown rice. I added frozen peas and corn to this microwaved lunch and it was delicious and flavoursome. In fact it was so filling I could barely finish it!

Dinner: Yet another dinner date, this time at a dumpling bar. I avoided the carby and delicious looking dumplings and opted for the poached soy chicken (with skin removed) and greens. Still feeling hungry most of the day.

Day 4.

Lunch: Shepards Pie. Delicious and filling! I kind of wished it had a lovely parmesan crust on top of the potato, however I was very happy and satisfied with this meal. I served it with microwaved veges.

Dinner: Spinach filo. I heated the spinach filo in the oven and it came out deliciously crispy and fragrant. I ate the pie with veges I stirfried with a little peanut oil and soy sauce. A tasty and filling meal! I find today I am not nearly as hungry as the previous days, I think my stomach is started to adjust to smaller portion sizes.

Day 5.

Lunch: Cinnamon scented lamb with eggplant. I ate this with microwaved veges. The sauce was delicious (although I couldn’t really taste the cinnamon) but I wish there was more eggplant in it as I LOVE eggplant. The lamb was rich but not fatty and the meal was VERY filling, I could barely finish it!

Dinner: I felt like cooking tonight so my housemate and I made one of our favourite Michelle Bridges 12WBT recipes – steak with mushroom sauce. We served it with a ridiculous amount of broccolini  and also roasted some potatoes (a little naughty but they tasted amazing)

Day 6.

Lunch: Piri piri chicken. I pan fried the chicken and served it with peas and corn. A delicious and easy late Saturday lunch.

Dinner: Feeling super lazy I ordered delivery, but I kept it healthy! I had 3 chicken rice paper rolls from Miss Chu.

Day 7.

Lunch: Greek lamb with sumac. After defrosting the lamb I popped it in a 200°C for 8 minutes and served it veges and a small bread roll. Very tasty and filling, I couldn’t actually finish my lamb (which is rare!)

Dinner: It was Father’s Day dinner at Bloodwood, and although I didn’t want to ruin my healthy eating, I also didn’t want to deny myself delicious food from a restaurant I had been dying to try for ages. I had walked 15km earlier in the day so I am sure that helped!

Day 8.

Lunch: Kashmiri lamb curry with lentils – this tasted ok and was filling after a crazy Crossfit workout but I probably won’t order it again.

Dinner:  Pumpkin + spinach risotto cakes – these are officially one of my favourite meals! I baked the risotto cakes in the oven and they came out brown and crunchy, and then were smothered in the pesto that was provided. I served it with home made roasted vege and it was absolutely delicious and satisfying.

Day 9:

Lunch: San choy bau w brown rice – I forgot to bring lettuce leaves (damn) so I just ate it as is with a side of steamed greens. Another favourite! This was flavourful and very filling, I wish it had more crunchy bamboo shoots but that’s just me, I am addicted to them.

Dinner: I went out for dinner with a friend, we went to Japanese to keep it healthy. We shared a plate of a terriyaki beef and ate a mountain of veges!

Day 10:

Lunch: Feeling a bit sick today so I just picked at my spicy spinach chana dhal with basmati rice. It tasted fine but I was too busy sulking.

Dinner: Still sick, I ate toast for dinner haha. Sooky la la!

Day 11:

Lunch: Working from home today so I got to use the fry pan at lunch. I pan fried the Malaysian lamb fillet with nonya marinade and it reduced to a beautiful stick glaze and tasted AMAZING. Served with more of my homemade roasted vege, this is another favourite dish.

Dinner: Piri piri chicken – I pan fried the chicken and served it with a load of steamed greens. The chicken was nice but a little bland so I added some sweet chili sauce to it after the photo was taken. Naughty!

Day 12

Lunch: Coriander chicken with yoghurt, ginger, garlic + chilli – this dish sounded amazing but I didn’t particularly like it. Flavourwise it just didn’t do it for me!

Dinner: Out for dinner again, I chose chicken pancake wraps and picked the poached chicken and veges out. I snuck a few pork dumplings, they were amazing!

That’s all I have diarised for now everyone. So far I have lost 2kg and am already feeling healthier – my blood sugars have been really stable as well. I have placed another order for 2 weeks worth of lunches and dinners of my fav meals. A few things to note:

* I exercised every day, alternating between running, Crossfit, power walking and Jillian Michaels DVDs

* I ate porridge with skim milk for breakfast

* For snacks I had 2 pieces of fruit every day, as well as some low fat cheese and biscuits and yoghurt

Even if you don’t want to go on a full blown diet I think it’s a great idea to have some healthy Dietlicious meals tucked up in the freezer for when you’re home late from work or just feeling too lazy to cook much!