Cutia cu mancare

Cutia cu mancare

Timp de o luna de zile am avut si eu si Radu mancare de la Lifebox. Ah, ce bine ne-a fost!

 

EN: For one month, Radu and I had food from Lifebox. Ah, we had it good!

Prima oara am comandat mancare de la LifeBox prin toamna anului trecut. Tocmai depasisem o vara de excese alimentare, cand am citit la Chinezu despre LifeBox, ca ce buna e mancarea lor si ca ce usor a slabit el cu ajutorul ei. El nu stie asta, dar chiar m-a influentat opinia lui. Asa ca i-am propus lui Radu sa incercam si noi. Treceam printr-o perioada ultra-aglomerata, oricum, asa ca mi s-a parut genial ca altcineva sa se ocupe de meniurile noastre timp de 2 saptamani. Caci prima oara asta a fost durata aleasa. Eu mi-am comandat de 1500 calorii, el de 2000. O sa ziceti ca e putin 1500. Da, e destul de putin pentru o persoana activa, dar recunosc ca in multe zile mai “scapam” si la un pahar de vin, un desert in oras… mai ales ca nu imi propusesem sa slabesc, ci doar sa mananc sanatos si variat. Asa ca imi alesesem de 1500 (cat sa mai am loc – la nevoie – de cateva calorii), meniul Optim (pe site mai exista variante pentru vegetarieni, dar si pentru sportivi), si macam 5 mese pe zi (mic dejun, pranz, cina si 2 gustari). Mancam mai bine ca niciodata! Era un meniu sanatos si foarte variat. Ca asta, de fapt, mi se pare unul dintre marile avantaje: varietatea alimentelor. Ei iti garanteaza ca la interval de 20 de zile nu o sa gasesti de 2 ori acelasi fel de mancare. Ori acasa cand gatesti, gatesti pentru o zi – doua – trei aceeasi ciorba. Si chiar daca ai face o portie mica, doar pentru o singura masa, nu ai putea sa pregatesti 5 feluri complet diferite intr-o singura zi. In fiecare zi timp de o saptamana sau o luna… ar trebui sa nu mai iesi din bucatarie. Si ai cheltui si foarte multi bani. Zic asta si pentru ca acest serviciu, nu e unul neaparat ieftin. Dar de fapt, sa mananci ieftin acasa o faci doar daca stii sa gatesti bine (nu experimentezi ca mine…) si daca o faci pentru mai multe persoane si pentru mai multe zile. Altfel, cumperi o cutie de lapte pentru cei 100 ml din reteta si restul expira in frigider. Plus ca la stilul meu de viata, mesele in oras sunt o necesitate. Iar daca vrei sa mananci bine si nu un sandvis de la tonomat, atunci costa mult mai mult.

Asa ca, date fiind toate avantajele de mai sus, la intoarcerea din Vietnam, eu si Radu am hotarat sa trecem din nou pe LifeBox. Imaginati-va, ne intorsesem acasa dupa toate mancarurile acelea asiatice minunate si voiam sa ne si revenim la greutatea noastra, dar sa aiba si gust mancarea si sa fie si variata. Altfel, daca e dupa mine, sfarsesc prin a manca tot… paste. La restaurantul de langa casa, la care apelez de fiecare data cand realizez ca s-a facut 8 seara si ca eu nu am mancat nimic altceva in afara de un croissant si 3 cafele cu lapte, imi comand mereu aceleasi 3 feluri de mancare. Ma stiu si ospatarii. Pentru ca sunt lihnita si lipsita de inspiratie.

Drept urmare, toata luna februarie, cutiile de la LifeBox ne soseau la usa casei la 8 dimineata. Tu alegi unde sa livreze si la ce ora. Si mi-am luat cutia asta peste tot cu mine: la repetitii la teatru, la inregistrari la “Ma insoara mama”, la spectacole seara, unde imparteam mancarea cu colegele mele actrite. Am mancat chiar si in masina ori in parc, asteptand sa se faca ora cand trebuie sa il iau pe Vlad de la gradi. Si timp de o luna – foarte important pentru mine – am mancat la timp si nu am mai sarit mese aiurea.

Ce am mai constatat acum, pe o durata mai lunga, e ca in 1500 de calorii incape de fapt multa mancare si foarte gustoasa. Asta se intampla cand iti alege un nutritionst ce sa mananci. Pentru ca la LifeBox mancarea este gatita de Alex Cirtu si aleasa – din punct de vedere caloric si nutritiv – de dr. nutritionist Anamaria Iulian. Altfel, mananci paste – ca mine – si bagi mia de calorii dintr-un foc. Si nici nu te saturi. Ori in meniul lor erau si paste (dar atent preparate) si orez si branza si carne si paine si dulce!!! adica tot ce credeam eu ca nu are cum sa intre intr-un meniu format din 5 portii, care sa nu depaseasca 1500 calorii. De fapt, mancarea era aceeasi si la mine si la Radu, doar ca diferea cantitatea. El, la 2000 de calorii, avea sigur o felie de paine in plus, de exemplu, la mic dejun.

Si alt avantaj, care pentru noi valoreaza mult, este ca Vlad a vazut dintr-odata la noi in casa foarte multa diversitate culinara. Abia astepta  sa descopere ce avem noi in cutii, iar anumite portii le oprea pentru el: “Mama, sa inveti si tu sa faci mancarea asta” – mi-a spus legat de o portie de chia cu lapte si scortisoara. Stiti ca ma plangeam pe blog ca el manca, pana nu demult, doar cateva alimente. Dar cand ne-am hotarat sa comandam de la ei, ne-am gandit ca il vom ajuta si pe el sa cunoasca mai multe feluri de mancare, vazandu-ne pe noi zilnic bucurandu-ne de ele. Plus ca stia ca sunt facute de un bucatar, deci cineva care sigur se pricepe sa faca mancarea gustoasa si aratoasa.

Hai ca iar am scris romane, dar am scris din experienta proprie. Mai am doar cateva lucruri pentru care vreau sa le multumesc:

1. Pentru acea budinca de ciocolata cu coniac, pentru care eu si Radu am lins caserola, la propriu

2. Pentru ca de 14 feb s-au gandit sa ofere un desert in forma de inima. Mi s-a parut ca e genul acela de detaliu care face diferenta

3. Pentru ca au gasit o solutie eco friendly si recicleaza caserolele si cutiile.

Sper sa va fie util tot ce am scris eu mai sus, asa cum mi-a fost si mie ce a scris acum ceva timp pe subiectul acesta Chinezu.

Mi s-a facut foame…

In poze port: haina si pantaloni piele H&M, tricou COS, vesta paiete Laura Lazar, botine Zara. Iar tinuta in miscare:

EN: The first time I ordered food from LifeBox was last autumn. I had just gone through a summer of excessive eating, when I read about LifeBox on Chinezu’s blog, that their food is really good and that it’s easy to lose weight with its help. He doesn’t know, but I was really influenced by his opinion. So I told Radu we have to try it out. I was going through a really busy time anyway, so the idea of someone else taking care of our menus for 2 weeks was brilliant.  That’s the period we chose the first time. I ordered 1500 calories, he ordered 2000. You’ll say 1500 is not much. Yes, it’s little for an active person, but I must admit that on some days I would indulge into a glass of wine, a desert at a restaurant…especially since I never intended to lose weight, I simply wanted to eat healthy and diversified. So I chose 1500 (so there’s still some room for a few more calories), the Optimum menu (on their site they also have a vegetarian option, but also one for athletes),and I would have 5 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks). I was eating better than ever! The menu was healthy and very diversified. Because this is one of the main advantages: the variety of the meals. They guarantee that within 20 days you won’t find the same meal twice. While at home, you cook the same soup for one-two-three days. And even if the portions were small, just for one meal, you couldn’t prepare 5 completely different meals in one day. Every day for a week or even a month…you would have to get out of the kitchen every know and then. And you would spend a lot of money.  I’m saying this because this service doesn’t come very cheap. But actually, you only cheap at home if you can really cook (and not do experiments like me…) and if you do it for more people and more days. Otherwise, you buy a carton of milk for the 100 ml from the recipe and the rest expires in the fridge. Plus with my lifestyle, eating out is a necessity. And if you want to eat well and just a cold sandwich, well that costs much more.

So, given all the advantages above, upon out return from Vietnam, Radu and I decided to go back to LifeBox again. Imagine this, we had come back after all those wonderful Asian foods and we wanted to come back to our previous weight, but also that the food tastes good and is diversified. Otherwise, if it were up to me, I end up eating pasta. At the restaurant close to our house, and which I go to every time I realize it’s already 8 pm and I haven’t eaten anything except a croissant and 3 lattes, I always order the same 3 meals. The waiters know me. Because I’m starved and I lack the inspiration.

Therefore, throughout the month of February, the LifeBox boxes would be delivered at 8 am to our front door. You decide where you want it delivered and at what time.  And I took my box everywhere with me: at the theatre rehearsals, while filming for “Ma insoara mama”, for the shows in the evening, where I would share my food with the other actresses. I even ate in the car or the park, waiting to pick up Vlad from kindergarten. And for one month- which is very important for me- I ate on time and I didn’t skip any meals.

What I also noticed now, during a longer period of time, is that 1500 calories is actually a lot of food which also tastes very good. That’s what happens when a Nutritionist picks out what you should eat. Because at LifeBox the food is cooked by Alex Cirtu and chosen- from a caloric and nutritive point of view – by Dr. Nutritionist Anamaria Iulian. Otherwise you eat pasta- like me- and you reach 1000 calories with just one meal. And you’re not even full. They did have pasta (but carefully prepared) and rice and sweet cheese and meat and bread and sweets!!! which is everything I thought would never fit into a menu made from 5 meals, which shouldn’t be over 1500 calories. Actually, the food was the same for both Radu and me, the quantities were just different. He, for 2000 calories, had an extra slice of bread for breakfast, for example.

And another advantage, which is very important to us, Vlad saw all the culinary diversity in our house. He could hardly wait to discover what was in our boxes, and he would keep some meals for himself: “Mum, you should learn how to make this” – he told me about a portion of chia with milk and cinnamon. You know I used to complain on the blog that, until recently, he used to only eat a few types of food. But when we decided to order from them, we thought we could also help him out to get to know more types of food, by seeing us enjoying them daily. Plus he knew they were prepared by a cook, so someone who knows how to make the food taste and look good.  

I wrote a novel again, but it’s from my own experience. I only have a few things I would like to thank them for:

1. For that chocolate pudding with brandy, for which Radu and I literally licked the box.

2. Because on February 14th they thought about offering a heart shaped desert. I thought it was the kind of detail which makes a difference.

3. Because they have found an eco friendly solution and they recycle their casseroles and boxes.

I hope you find everything I’ve written useful, just as I found useful what Chinezu wrote a few months ago on the subject.

I’m hungry again…

In the pictures I am wearing: H&M coat and leather pants, COS t-shirt, Laura Lazar leather vest, Zara ankle boots. And above the outfit on the move.