Making packet clones (your own homemade alternatives)
 

I not only can't afford Ideal Protein, I also can't afford most alternatives, but I'm thinking a meal replacement plan would be quite helpful, so I've been looking at Medifast, Ideal Protein, and The Simple Diet (the book and website andersonsimplediet).

I started experimenting with alternatives several months ago, when I first started having a resurgence of health-related difficulties. When things got worse I stopped making my own meals and relied on hubby (and his too-generous, man-sized portions). He lost a few pounds and I gained 35. If he hadn't been trying to lose weight himself, I would have regained a lot more than the 35 (now 29) lbs. (I'm not blaming hubby, I made the decision to finish everything he'd make for me).

At any rate, when I was making all my meals, I had been experimenting with making my own packet clones by studying the Ideal Protein and Alternative nutrition and ingredient labels, and designing recipes to mimic them (at least on macro nutrients of calories, carbs, protein, fat, and fiber). I was making most of my packet alternatives one serving at a time, so it was pretty labor intensive (especially math, but that at least only had to be done once.

I've misplaced my packet recipe notebook, so I'm trying to find it as I create new recipes and tear the house apart looking for the notebook.

Anyone else do this (I mean packet cloning, not tearing the house apart looking for something)? Also, anyone have the ingredient list for the IP potato puree?

Also, I'd like to clone the potato puree packet, but I've only found the nutrition label, but not the ingredient list. That's why I didn't post this in the alternatives thread, as I haven't seen a comparable alternative product.

Here is a pic of the ingredient list from the box. You'll have to rotate it

Message me when you figure out THAT recipe!
That and with milk chocolate pudding or dark chocolate pudding sans soy would make me a VERY happy camper.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3831/9...973061cffc.jpg

You may be interested in my home-made protein/veg soups. Most of the time I was on the IP diet (using alternatives) I bought protein soup packets from time to time from a Canadian source. Unfortunately they went kaput this spring. So I got the idea of using unflavored protein powder, which I buy in bulk from my local health food store, and blending it into a vegetable puree. Which is pretty much what I was doing before with the packets - blending my cooked veggies into them.

I really like my mushroom and cauliflower soup creations. Others have said that they taste like a gourmet restaurant soup!

Check out my blog - the link is in the signature line below - the post where I talk about making home-made protein/veg soups is the last one.

( I see I didn't include the recipe for the mushroom one in that blog post... if you're interested PM me, and I'll send you the specifics).

Thanks so much. Wowza, that's a lot of ingredients. I can eliminate some of the long-term storage stabilizers and preservatives (since I don't need my packets to outlive me), but even so, this is going to be a little more complicated than my tomato soup packet (which I haven't quite perfected because getting the tomato powder to dissolve thoroughly is rather tricky).

My "poor imitation" copy cat (not worthy of the name clone) is essentially a packet of Campbell's or Lipton's Tomato cup of soup with a scoop of un-denatured (made without high heat) whey protein from a local dairy (Synthax medical, plain is a commercial equivalent)

Pros: it's higher in protein than IP and alternative
It tastes awesome (at least if you like instant tomato soup

Cons: too high carb, esp sugar
Even bigger con, I can no longer find instant tomato soup in local groceries (Nestle no longer lists it in their cup o soup line on their website

Kaplods, I buy alot of Frontier products and my local health food does too....their products are very high quality to me.....anyway, they have tomato flakes that I'm sure you could ground and add your own spices. If you are interested, check them out here.
http://www.frontiercoop.com/gsearchp...to&br=Frontier
I'm thinking of buying them myself because i can think of alot of things they would give flavor too. Good luck!

I'm excited to see I'm not the only copycat/clone maker.

Thanks for the link, and the suggestion. Our local health food stores carry Frontier brand, and if they don't have the tomato flakes, they probably will carry it if I ask.

While I was 'soup experimenting' a few months ago, I made a tomato soup... I'll PM you. :)

Potato Puree is a go-to for me.
A "homemade" version would be SOOOO helpful!

I'll definitely be working on it, because it sounds like something I would love.
I also think that if I can master a potato packet, the rest should be a breeze.

I agree. I'm on board with the potato purée.

I don't know if anyone is interested in knowing how I make my clone recipes, but when my hand is feeling better (bone spur issue) I will be blogging my step-by-step procedure.

The good news: I don't think cloning is going to be too hard, as many of the ingredients aren't really necessary for home use. Unless you plan on storing the packets in a damp garage or basement, for months, you probably don't need the silicone dioxide (basically fine sand, used as an anti-caking agent).

More good news: I found my recipe binder (no wonder I didn't find it, I was looking for a spiral notebook), and there are a lot more recipes in there than I remembered

And the not quite as good news: A lot of them will have to be retested, because my testing notes are written in kaplodese - my own crazy short hand that even I can't decipher if I allow too much time to pass before transferring it to a more legible format.

I'll keep everyone posted

Try Evepet's soups. They are easy, tasty and she has worked out the nutrition to be the same as IP products.

Kaplods I am interested and now I"m off to check out Evepet's soups!

Today I tested a prototype recipe. I had high hopes, because the macros are virtually dead-on. I don't know whether or not I succeeded as I've never had the original, so I don't know how it's supposed to look, smell and taste, or what the texture/mouth feel is supposed to be.

What I would say is that my prototype wasn't horrible, but it definitely needs some tweaking and further testing (which I find typical for copycats and clones).


Warning: You're welcome to try the protopye , but remember that this version is still missing a few ingredients, mainly thickeners, and seasonings/salt (also this version has no added colors).


PPP: Potato Puree Protoype

90g (3 scooops) plain whey protein isolate (see notes below).
22g (1/3 cup) instant non-fat milk powder
22g (1/3 cup) instant potato flakes (I used Aldi store brand, Chef's Cupboard).
24g (1tsp) powdered inulin
Blend well and divide equally between 5 small containers or ziploc bags.

Because this recipe lacks seasoning, you'll have to season each serving individually to your preferences.

Or you can wait for My PPP 1.1

My PPP 98 cal 0g fat 18.3g protein 7.5 carb

IP PPP 100 cal 0g fat 18g protein 7g carb


I use microfiltered whey protein (processed without high heat) because it dissolves very easily and completely in water or other liquids.

Regular powdered milk, likewise will not dissolve well. Make sure to use instant.


Seasonings I used, because I didn't have nutritional yeast or Butterbuds (I believe IP uses Butterbuds because the ingredients match).

1/4 chicken soup base (powdered bouillon) or salt
1/4 tsp dried chives
Dash of pepper

Preparation:
Pour "packet" into cup, whisk in hot water to desired consistency. IP recommends 60 ml for puree or 100 for soup. I used less, but possibly because I did not add any additional thickeners.


Next phase: Adjusting seasonings and including Butter Buds. I will test with and without the nutritional yeast.


If any of you DO try this at home, I'd love to hear feedback. Is this somewhat close, or is it a horrendous travesty.

I'd also appreciate any feedback about the IP version (whether or not you try mine).

Thanks