Medifast Food Reviews

Imagine it's your first day of eating drastically less than you normally do. You've had a shake for your first "meal", a bar for your second "meal", and you are about to prepare your third "meal" of soup. Soup, you think, that's like real food. The anticipation is killing you. You are famished. Fingers shaking as you open your packet (visualize cup of soup packets) of cream of broccoli soup mix, and....

YOU WANT TO THROW UP from the horrid scent that emenates from the small plume of dust that puffs out of the package. Are you SERIOUS? This is the crap that I am going to eat!

This is exactly what happend to me. In fact, I was preparing this meal at my parents' house, and they were both horrified by the smell. Yet, I had nothing else to eat, so I prepared my soup, whisking away to get all the lumps out. Adding a little garlic and herb seasoning, and Old Bay (Old Bay makes everything better, right?). Making it extra hot so I would burn off all taste buds, thus eliminating any chance of actually tasting this crap. And, I ate it.

Fortunately, it didn't smell as horrible once it was prepared. I muddled through the bowl of soup as my father laughed hysterically in the background, making comments such as, "No wonder you lose weight on this diet. That shit is inedible." My mother showing her support with reassuring remarks like, "It doesn't smell too bad now," and "It's probably better with those spices in it." Meanwhile, I'm so hungry I want to throw the bowl of soup in both of their faces and resort to eating the packaging the soup came in.

Overall, though, it's really not that bad. Seriously. And now, a week and a half later, I've even kind of gotten used to the cream of broccoli soup. I think the key is that I wasn't expecting it to be gourmet food or even "real" food. I looked into other programs like Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig, where you get some frozen food and some "shelf stable" food as they call it. The reviews of the food were mediocre at best. I'd rather have the meal replacements of Medifast than eat gross meals that are supposed to be real-food "entrees".

Here is all the "food" I've had and what I think of it.

Shakes

Orange Creme - MY FAV! Not just my favorite shake, but probably my favorite item overall. This is what I have for breakfast everyday. I blend it with a little ice, and I actually really like it. It tastes like a creamsicle. I ordered the Strawberry Creme in my next batch of food, so we'll see how that measures up.

Chocolate - Good. But not as good as the orange creme.

Next up: In addition to the Strawberry Creme, I also ordered the Banana Creme for Jay. (I don't like banana.)

Pudding

Chocolate - I didn't care for it in pudding form. The texture was weird, and it seemed grainy. But I got some pointers online for making it more like a frosty with ice and some water. YUMMY! This is usually what I have as my 6th meal, after my Lean & Green dinner. Very dessert like.

Soft Serve

Mango - DIS. GUST. ING. Way too artificially flavored. Super weird after taste. Odd texture. I much prefer just making the chocolate pudding into soft serve.

Soups

Cream of Broccoli - Well, you know how I feel about that. I actually don't mind it too much anymore, but definitely not my favorite.

Maryland Crab - Probably my favorite of the soups I've tried. Added Old Bay, of course.

Chili - Since you only use a half cup of water to make it, it's a very small serving. I thought it was very weird the first time I made it. I read some pointers online (this actually applies to all the soups) about mixing them up the day before so the dried veggies have a chance to soften up and the flavors get better. So now I do that (for the Maryland crab too), mix in some extra seasonings, and it's fine. I have read that some people really hate this one though.

Next up: Beef Stew, Chicken Noodle, Cream of Tomato

Bars

Smore's; Chocolate Crunch; Peanut Butter Crunch: I'd rate these all about the same. They're pretty good. Not as good as the Fiber One bars I used to eat, but they'll do.

Lemon Meringue - Not as good as the others, but I like it for a change of pace from the others. Jay hated it.

Next up: Caramel Crunch, Cinnamon Roll

Puffs & Pretzels

Chili Nacho Cheese Puffs - My other fav, along with the orange creme shake. Little round psuedo cheese curls. They satisfy my need to munch. I usually have these as my mid-afternoon meal, along with a Diet Coke. Jay also said these are one of his favorite things so far.

Honey Mustard Pretzels - Not nearly as good as the puffs, in my opinion, but good for a change of pace.

Next up: Parmesan Cheese Puffs

Brownie

The brownie is decent. A nice change from the frosties for dessert, but I definitely prefer my pudding frosty.

Oatmeal

I didn't order any because I hate oatmeal. But, I have since read recipes for making the oatmeal into muffins. So, my next order includes blueberry oatmeal.

General Comments:

• I think everything kind of has a weird after taste that you start to get used to.
• Low expectations. Keep in mind that these are meal replacements and not gourmet food. Everything (except the puffs and pretzels) is made from adding water. What do you expect? It's pretty much exactly what I was expecting based on those expectations.
• If you try something once and don't like it, don't give up on it. It may grow on you. Or, you may find a way of mixing it up (more water, less water, blending, shaking, etc) that makes it better.
• I definitely like mixing up my meals. Shake for breakfast. Bar mid-morning. Soup for lunch. Puffs or pretzels mid-afternoon. Pudding frosty late evening.
• There are some crazy creative people who have come up with recipes for making the cream soups into chips and "bread" using panini makers. I haven't tried them yet, but I plan to.
• I have pretty much kept everything simple. That's what I was going for after all. But, after reading the discussion boards and other bloggers who write about Medifast, there are a lot of ways that you can split up the Lean & Green into smaller meals, or add bits of it to the Medifast meals and create very interesting meals. I'll let you know if I try anything.

So, this was super long, but I know some of my fans have been awaiting details of the foods. And, there you have it.