The fine herbs and cheese omelete is pretty good. Add seasonings and frozen spinach. Top with veggies (mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli).

The potato puree is good if you make it into a potato pancake with grated zucchini or into a crepe and use it to wrap veggies. I think it is horrible as a puree though.

I agree with the comment about putting purees in the soups making them inedible (I was gagging trying to eat it one day and only hot 1/2 way through!)

The chocolate drink mix has 9g of carbs (boarderline). Pure protein makes a comparable drink powder, chocolate frosty, which only has 3g per scoop. It's great if you make it the night before and put in the fridge!

The pina colada drink mix was surprisingly good! Nice frozen too :)

Hope this helps!!! If you decide to get a few restricted items the caramel nut bar is good and the apple cinnamon puffs. I have some cookies coming in the mail but I've heard they are great.

Not sure where you buy your stuff from but www.plainprotein.com sells genuine items $1 cheaper per box that idealtogo and free shipping within the US.

I have also found that my taste and preferences while on IP have varied...maybe as my taste buds are awakening and sharpening. In weeks past, I've loved some packets but then grew out of love with them, then went back to them. I've also had some that I didn't like but then would have another later on just to get rid of them and was pleasantly surprised at how much more I liked it.

As for veggies, prior to IP, I never enjoyed bell peppers and now I bring a red pepper with me every now and then to eat like an apple. I just bite into it and enjoy :) I don't think I would have ever given roasted veggies, rutabagas and rhubarb a chance if I never did IP but now I love them.

So you may want to give the soups another try or use them in recipes and packet hacks as have been suggested. I hear you on the not wanting to waste any more money...I'm right there with you. Fortunately, there are recipes, ideas and trades you can make. This site is awesome!

I don't really care for much of the soups either except for Chicken Noodle which I can eat by itself, the mushroom soup, and brocolli cheese.

For the brocolli cheese, I sautee celery and then add that with chopped brocolli and then pour the IP brocolli cheese over it.

For the mushroom soup, I sautee celery and baby portabella mushrooms, garlic and then pour the IP mushroom soup over that and sprinkle with green onions. So very tasty. Here's my recipe for the mushroom soup: http://www.lamberjules.com/body/clea...-like-gourmet/

My favorite drink is the cranberry and pomegrante drink. Very tasty.

You can search for recipes on here as well where people have made flat breads out of the soup as well. I did that with the tomato basil soup (yuck), but in a flat bread it's good. Then I mixed up salad with WP ranch dressing and some other veggies to make a veggie wrap with the tomato basil flat bread.

The soups...bleck! You need to doctor them up. Check the recipe threads for ideas.

My tastes have changed over time. When I started, I liked wild berry yogurt, now I gag down the remainder packets. I still like the capp drink, the jello, the vanilla pudding can be used a variety of ways (last night I had a vanilla pudding, ice, splash of orange MIO...blend it up for a creamcicle).

Until you get your head wrapped around this and find recipes that work for you, just keep thinking "It's ONLY one meal". It got me through a few really rough moments. Hang in there. It's worth it.

Thank you all so much for your input I really appreciate it! :)

I only used the soups as gravy - like in chicken pot pie with cauliflower mash. You can eat regular chicken broth and put your veggies in that.

since you like the cereal so much - have you turned it into pancakes, waffles or pizza crust yet?

The soups are pretty nasty, as well as the omelets. My IP go-tos are the wildberry yogurt drink and RTD chocolate. I pack a big lunch bag with a week's worth of IP foods that I bring into work each Monday. Lunch is usually a big salad from the cafe, followed by the chocolate drink.

I've started to use some alternative products, which you might want to consider since you're ordering all your food online anyway. On the weekends, I make a pudding mix into a shake (weight loss systems chocolate chip w/marshmallow pudding mix, 1C water, 1C ice, and 1C spinach) for breakfast. I also like the proti-thin cream of vegetable soup; so much better than the IP soups. You can get the alt products from nashuanutrition.com

I mix the orange drink with the vanilla drink mix and have half one day and half the other. it taste really good to me.
I have a lot of alternative products that I like and use to save $$

Likes Vs Dislikes and then some...
 

Interestingly...I noticed if I mix drinks, soups and pudding and let it sit a while...it tastes better. I'm stuck with what i can have because I have a gluten sensitivity so i am already down more than a few products on what I can actually use on this diet. Hope I don't get too bored. The soups are actually my favorite...but I discovered the potato puree makes an great soup base. I added some chopped small mushrooms sauteed with water and garlic powder. Will try it with spinach or zuchinni cooked same way next time.

Finding the evening snack hard to get down. We eat a late dinner and usually I've just cleaned up the kitchen and its already after 8....anyone else have that late snack right on top of dinner?

You can have your snack either before or after dinner. If you are a late dinner eater, try having your snack around 4 or 5 pm.

It's so funny to read the responses, and realize how different our tastes are!

Chocolate chip cookie: couldn't stand it; in fact, didn't finish it. Dry with an odd texture to me.

Omelet (herb & cheese): Choked that down. BUT... I'm not an omelet girl anyway, so maybe that's not surprising.

Orange drink: agree with Tang description. Someone said they added Mio flavoring to it to give it some zip. I tried it plain, finished it, but took it off my "go-to" list.

Strawberry/banana RTD: really had high hopes for this one, but it was just "okay". Maybe would have been better mixed with vanilla drink powder to give it more of a smoothie taste?

I used the recipe to make chocolate pudding into "bark" and that's okay, except it tends to melt in my hands as I'm eating it, so it's a messy snack.

I LOVE the Strawberry Wafers...restricted, but boy, are they good.

I thought the potato puree was okay, but it only makes a tiny bit.

It's too bad you have to buy by the box -- I guess that's one benefit of going to a coach, you can buy just one packet to try things.

Honestly, at $4/packet, I couldn't bring myself to try a lot of the foods because if I didn't like them, I either suffered through them or threw them out. So, I quickly reduced my purchases to the chocolate drink mix and my restricted snack item (limited to just a couple of them, too!).

Good luck! You'll figure out what works best for you and develop your own food plan that's manageable.

I LOVE (my fave breakfast) is the choco drink with my coffee. I sometimes add a hint of cinnamon and cayenne for Mexican choco.

I also like the orange drink.

I am going off the soups now. However, I do love the chicken noodle with pureed cauliflower.

I make the mushroom and broccoli soups thicker (less water) and add sauteed mushrooms, broccoli accordingly. I also love things spicy so I add all sorts of flavors.

I really enjoyed the breadsticks made with broccoli soup. I have searched for the recipe and can't find it.

I have been buying the drinks more than the soups. The only drink I didn't like was the tea and I haven't tried the banana one because I only like real bananas and banana yogurt makes me burp so I figure the drink will too.:dizzy:

I like a few of the soups - Broccoli & cheese, Mushroom and the Chicken.

I didn't care for the puddings or the cereal, so I make them into muffins they go GREAT with my coffee in the mornings.

I make the Herb & Cheese omelet into scrambled eggs with hot sauce, it's not bad.

My favorite is the Southwestern Cheese curls YUM. Think I will eat these even when I reach goal.

Hi there Kaylae, it's my first week too. I am finding the things I like most for the drinks are the chocolate and cappuccino. I thought the orange had a weird aftertaste. I do like the piña colada though. I have been experimenting with soup enhancement. If you add an extra cup of water and a teaspoon of chicken soup base along with any left over cooked veggies it really helps. I have also added puréed cauliflower (usually left over) and that adds a great creaminess.good luck!

IP Food
 

I had a hard time at first too, I did not think I could do it either. I don't have a lot of money but have you tried the chicken noodle soup...I really like that one. Also, there is new rotinni noodles that are awesome! I add spices to them and they tast just like real noodles! I love the chocolate drink alot but add extra water so its not so thick. Also, if you like lates I use the vanilla drink as my milk and add espresso shots and sugar free flavor! I hope this helps!