I have read through many threads of recipes. While I CAN do it, is it really all that necessary?

I've already made the lifestyle change for my family. We eat whole foods. We don't eat processed foods. I made fish and veggies 3-4x a week even before IP. I had a protein shake for breakfast before IP. So is it all that terrible to just eat the food that is presented?

Stress is a problem for me and I just want the least stressful option.

Nope. When I did ip in 2011 I just used puddings and soups as is. Worked fine. In fact, you could do ip on your own using plain whey power. Boring, but definitely would work.

If you are doing this for a while, or you feel like you are missing something, than being more creative can be motivating.

Of course it's OK! A lot of the "packet hacks" come about as a result of cravings that can be answered by tooling around with the packets a bit - they are insurance against cheating, if nothing else. They certainly aren't "required" or even necessary for the diet to work. If you find your success using the packets as is, go with it!

I don't know if I'd call myself a purest so much as lazy LOL. I do the packets as is too - no muss no fuss. I'm not much into cooking, never was, so the appeal to me for this program was not having to think. ESP for those of us that work outside the home - I just want to be able to throw a couple of packets and the shaker in my bag on the way out the door in the morning and be done with it.

The dinners have been the hardest for me because then I have to cook. Bought a George Foreman grill and that helped a lot.

I did try the infamous Big Mac in a Bowl last night though - super easy and super yummy!!

ustamom, you do what works for you!!! The less stress in your life, the better for you and your family. All I know is that this program works! Stick with it and you will never regret your decision to join the IP way of life!

I don't know if I'd call myself a purist, but I'm not really all that creative in the kitchen. So I add pureed veggies to my soups every day, and I'll try new veggies, but that's about it. I usually end up having chicken breast or meat from the crockpot or ground beef or turkey with some kind of veggie mix-in. Simple and fast.

I think most people try the recipes with packages when they buy some things they don't like and don't want to waste the price of the pkg. Other people just enjoy cooking. For some being on the program for a while can get boring.
But the undoctored pkg is how the plan was designed.

I don't think that it is necessary, but mixing things up a bit keeps it interesting. I find that I use the same recipes over and over again. When I grow really tired of the same dinners, I look for something new to make. Whatever works for you. BTW, congrats on making the switch for yur family. My two oldest boys get pretty angry when I try to take away their Gatorade or Wheat Thins. No processed food is a major goal I have for my family.

Me! Me! Me! I am a total package purist. I absolutely hate cooking so I try to minimize it. I stick to shakes and bars for my packets- and (2) of the shakes I drink each day are RTD! :O

I throw a bunch of meat on the grill over the weekend, put them in baggies and stick it in the freezer. I grab one out each day, pack it in my lunch (I eat my protein at lunch time), make salad from the salad bar at work and I am set. Breakfast is a shake, afternoon snack is a shake, dinner is a big salad and my restricted (bar). Done and done. No cooking necessary.

That is part of the reason I love IP, no thinking needed. And you also don't need to do more more than consume the packets.

I pretty much stick to the packets without dressing them up. The only thing I've really experimented with was the vanilla drink packet. I didn't really care for the taste of it on it's own, so I started mixing it with coffee and pumpkin pie spice.

The only recipes I have made are because I don't like that particular packet and don't want to waste $4! I too like simple

Most days it's 2 drink packets as is and a bar. A couple times a week I mix the chocolate drink mix with coffee instead of water, that's about as wild as I get. I do make the pancakes with the cereal packet sometimes. They're very good. I've tried a few other recipes, usually disappointed, so I go back to plain and simple. Do what works for you, as long as you get them all in, it doesn't matter much how..in my opinion anyway.