Hi, I'm new on here and new to ideal Protien. I've seen the results of the diet through my brother and sister in law.

My problem, and I knew it would be from the start, is I don't like a lot of vegetables. And the ones I do like aren't allowed. :-( I'm a single working mom of 3 boys; one is 7 mths old. I was in the best shape of my life before the baby and now am trying to get the 30+ Pds back off. I don't really have the time to cook a lot and I really enjoy the grab and eat option. Oh and it would probably help to tell you I'm doing it on my own with alternative choices. Today was my first day and I ended up eating approximately 65 carbs which is significantly less than I have been eating but I feel it's still too much. I just don't know what to grab and eat throughout the day & find myself grabbing the bars.....

I would appreciate any help with veggie ideas or anything else you feel may help.

Thank you!

Hi Busy Momma-
Congratulations o your decision to take the bull by the horns with IP!!

As many have found...they have developed new and healthier tastes after sticking to the plan. The decision was to make this change to only the restricted vegetables be one of mind over matter until I saw if it was worth it...(at three months I'd lost over 25 lbs...that was worth it to me!) Sticking to the plan to the letter and recognizing that eating did not have to be "fun" or the highlight of my day until I got this weight off. In spite of liking most veggies esp things like asparagus and green peppers and mushrooms...initially there were things I still missed..but now I miss ... my crunchy celery and cucumbers if I run out! By starting now, the summer the veggies are at their peak and the best they will be unless you live where the grow well all year..and if you are to be successful you'll need to make some new favorites. My guess is you actually will. All of on this journey are making different choices and acquiring new habits that will be with us for the rest of our lives if we want to remain thinner....

If you simply can't adjust...then you will be better off counting calories or doing another type of diet. The fiber is important here for your overall health...but keeping the Glycemic Index low is really important for the way the diet controls insulin and it's effect on metabolism.
Good luck on your journey!.

I find to be successful, I needed to change habits...esp my attitude toward food and simple options. I had to spend more time in the kitchen and these new habits will help me greatly in maintenance.

I found several recipes that helped me "hide" veggies at first: raw spinach is tasteless in smoothies. Zucchini cooks into muffins made from pudding mixes. Cauliflower becomes mashed potatoes and rice. I ALWAYS make big quantities when I cook. It is a timesaver and provides grab-and - go options.

There are many existing threads that would have helped you with this question. Look for the recipe links in the first post of the daily thread. All the info is there. Making long lasting changes requires work on our part.

I second Lisa's suggestion... I have problems getting in my 4 cups of veggies, so I take 3 cups of spinach, blend it into a smoothie with the IP shake, and if you add cinnamon, you do not taste the spinach at all.

My husband also makes stuffed peppers- one red pepper stuffed with ground turkey sauteed in some olive oil w spices, then baked inside the pepper, will give another serving or 2 of veggies, depending on the size of the pepper, and eating it with the turkey makes it easier than just eating raw veggies.

Thank you for ur suggestions. I know I can do it. I just need to get organized and manage my time.

I don't mind raw spinach and could put it in a salad with chicken but I do need to work on some of the other veggie options. I'll look through the recipe threads today.

Is it ok to use a low calorie, fat dressing? Maybe one of the spray kind to enforce minimal use?

Only dressings with 0 fat, 0 carb, and 0 sugar are allowed. Walden Farms makes condiments, salad dressings, sauces, and dips that are acceptable. If your grocery store doesn't carry the line, you can order directly from the Walden Farms website.

Good luck!

Or spray on some olive oil and apple cider vinegar ( added herbs are fine)
Or oil & lemon juice
I sometimes just use a veggie purée like the mockamole

Don't forget...you can make your own dressing...!!{not a fan of the WF stuff for the most part.}

You are allowed two tsp oil/day...and can mix it with other 0/0/0 ingredients. There are some tasty mustards (esp spicy ones and a few hot varieties inxtead of plain yellow mustard...look for GOLDs (not goulds) or Bookbinders with horseradish )that meet that criteria...and vinegar...cider or white...plus some (read labels) asian rice vinegars..) Also...try squeezing 1/2 lemon on your salad then tossing with the oil and adding fresh ground pepper. Just another new flavor combination.

I find adding chopped hot peppers and dill pickle and pickles sweetened with splenda that are 0/0/0 a good addition to a salad. The peppers and pickles count as part of your veggies...but really add flavor to a salad.

Use egg whites to make an omlette...but first chop zuchinni, muchrooms and toss in a 1/4 C frozen spinach and saute with garlic powder salt and pepper or tobasco sauce for the filling. Finding the spicy tastes appeal more to my palate than ever before since so many other things are off limits.

Thank you everyone. I'm going to go to the store tonight and buy some of the condiments and veggies I CAN use.

I cut and clean all my veggies on grocery day, put them in containers so that I can just grab when I need them. It's lots of work on the day I shop but saves me so much time during the week. It also doesn't allow for the excuse of not eating the veggies because they aren't cleaned.

I do this as well... although I take it a step further because I don't like veggies I make my purees all on the same day and then have them for the entire week. That way in the am I just grab two cups, grab my soup packet and I have lunch, then come supper time I grab 1, since I have 1 cup of spinach in my breakfast smoothie.

This weekend I have to take it a step even further!!! I finally got a food weight scale and well, apparantly all my great meats, they're only about 6oz... so I'm constantly down 2oz, plus I have a hard time eating all 6oz... never been a real big fan of meat. So starting this weekend once I get all my meats for the week, before freezing I'm going to cut them to 4oz and then have 4oz at lunch and 4oz at dinner time, it's the only way I can think of getting those 8oz ins.

I definitely intend to get better prepared this weekend. I figured why not start, but it's been hard not having the foods cause I'm using alternative foods too.

I made the best chicken for dinner. Baked in salsa and Honey Dijon plus some of my own spices. Had a salad mixed with spinach and added some radishes. I definitely need to to find some alternative sweet stuff like the pudding!

I like to see what others are doing but we all have different tastes so I never know if ill like them too. I don't like the gritty, unnatural texture of many of the bars so far :-(

I appreciate the comments/feedback!

Thanks!

So by breakfast smoothie do you mean you mix it in your morning shake? I'm hoping to find some soup I can use. I did find some broths. I suppose I could just add my meat and veggies to that. I suppose some of these questions are better directed to the alternative thread.

Its nice to feel full right now :-)

Yes. I usually put 1 cup to 1.5 cups of spinach and then add either the chocolate drink or the milk chocolate pudding. Since they're both chocolate, my drink never turns to an unsightly shade, which works for me.

For the soup I use the chicken flavored soup and just add purees to thicken it up. Purees i've used so far is pureed cauliflower, turnip, rutabaga, broccoli and red peppers. They're pretty easy to eat when mixed in with the soup.

The veggies I used to pure in soups have always been the super low carb ones. I've cooked up celery, mushrooms, leeks, bok choy & purée. I took the soup with purée to work in a thermos almost daily for about 5 months, before I excluded soy, which restricted true soup packets for me.