Quote:
Originally Posted by smithaa
Day 2 and feeling great@! Was considering jumping on the elliptical, then I read a post that said most are discouraged from exercise on IP. Really?! If you do/did exercise while on IP -- what did you do?
I'm so glad I bought some options because eating "crunchy" (NOT) cereal and mushroom soup for 7 days may make me crazy!
|
regarding "crunchy", boy, do I hear that! It drove me nuts for the first 2 weeks, I've always been a salty crunchy fiend! Last night as we had dinner my stepdaughter and boyfriend were crunching on their croutons as we had our crouton-less salad and while I was not craving it for the bread or flavor, the crunch was killing me. It HAS gotten better in the last 2 weeks especially as we are re-thinking our recipes/cooking
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Dalai Mama
That recipe for the drinks sounds lovely, but my coach tells me that we cannot drink sparkling water. Shucks!
|
No sparkling water? that seems odd. Especially if you are getting real spring water...it's loaded with same trace minerals they want us to get in the sea salt. Has anyone else heard this? I've been using sparkling water with a twist of lime as my "fallback" when what I really want is a gin and tonic. Having that sense of bubbles just feels festive somehow. Has anyone else been told this, or know why it would be on the "no" list? I don't want to sabotage myself!
Quote:
Originally Posted by yelliemom
my husband has decided to take the plunge with me! I'm so happy he is doing this. I know he will feel so much better and I'm excited to see his reaction when he starts to see the results. I don't know when he is going to start, but he seems pretty anxious to get going on the diet.
|
I have to say there is no way I could do this without my husband and you folks who are going it alone amaze me. It's hard enough that we are still making things like rice and beans and pasta for his daughter (who does dance about 4 hours a day at a performing arts school and needs to keep the weight ON) but if I were the only one eating a 3rd helping of salad while they were having a nice crusty bread, I would never be able to do this. So hats off to YOU for forging alone for so long and good luck to him on his new journey!
Quote:
Originally Posted by neeseebaby22
[B]Please share some recipes.
|
Hey neeseebaby22 this can be really hard if you are not much into cooking to begin with, but here is a ray of sunshine: you can use this as a reason/way to start cooking and you don't have to UNLEARN all the bad cooking habits some of us have. A lot of cooking is about having a few good ingredients, not a lot of complicated things.
The first thing I would recommend is to get some good basic ingredients in the house both for your IP meals and to begin some cooking:
--2-3 different olive oils (I have regular, kalamata, garlic infused and blood orange infused right now). The oil will impart different flavors to your foods which will give you some variety, you can use them in salad dressings and in saute veggies and for your IP omelette.
--3-4 different "extracts" like vanilla, almond, rum, peppermint, etc. These are great for jazzing up your IP drinks, but it only takes a DROP (very strong stuff, and be sure you read the label and don't get sweetened ones)
--some basic spices (and if yours are more than a year old, treat yourself to new ones, they will taste different) I would start with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger (for mixing and matching with the IP puddings and shakes); and then curry powder, rosemary, thyme and a pepper mill with peppercorns (it will taste better than pre-ground); fresh or powdered garlic; and try adding these in different combinations to the soups.
--And get 2-3 vinegars to play with too. I have apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, and a no-carb fig vinegar along with regular white vinegar.
--And lastly, if you can find them and they are not too dear, you can buy some specialized sea salts, many of which have a variety of flavors (smoky, sweet, etc) depending on what water they came from and how they were dried. I get mine at a place in Portland called At The Meadow. They come in different grain sizes and if you wait and sprinkle them on at the last minute at the table they add some crunch and zing! in your mouth.
Once you have some basics on hand, it's kind of like playing around with a chemistry set... you can branch out with these basics and use them to prepare your veggies (saute zucchini with the garlic olive oil and a sprinkle of rosemary; steam your broccoli with ginger in the water, then top with tamari; grill asparagus with a little blood orange oil and garlic; cut thick slices of cucumbers, lay them on a plates and sprinkle with rice vinegar and kalamata oil and big chunky sea salt; toss a salad with a mixture of rice vinegar and tamari; steam cauliflower and mash or food process to a chunky texture and add some curry powder and a bit of garlic infused oil; )
Just start mixing and matching to see what you like. This is all very simple but a good way to start.
Here is my favorite simple bbq chicken:
Chicken thighs or legs
smoky paprika
sweet paprika (be sure they are salt free and no sugar, just pure paprika)
olive oil
Lay the chicken on a cookie sheet or plate. sprinkle heavily with a combo of the 2 paprikas--enough so the surface is at least half red or a bit more. Flip them over and do the other side. Let them warm to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
Get your grill really hot and use a paper towel or pastry brush to brush a little oil on the grill (be careful!) Put the chicken on for about 2-3 minutes and let it "sear". Flip it over and sear the other side. Turn the grill down (or move the chicken off to the side) to a medium low and cook for about 30-40 minutes until done (slice into a thick part and see if it's white or pink). Turn the chicken over about every 7-10 minutes, the heat should be low enough that it is very slowly getting browner. About half way through brush a little olive oil (just once!) on the chicken.
Sprinkle with smoky sea salt at the table and serve with red cabbage cole slaw (chopped real small tossed with rice vinegar and a small amount of oil, fresh ground pepper on top). your own bbq picnic!
You're gonna love it. I'm on my 3rd week and I've lost 15 lbs!
