Organising packets
 

Hey everyone,

I've been lurking around for a few months and have had great success with the program so I wanted to say thank you to this forum for all of the great ideas, recipes and support.

One thing that has been driving me nuts since day one is the packets and how to keep them organized. I have a mess of silver packets In my pantry, lol

How do you keep them organised?

I kept them in their boxes and at first had 7 ziploc bags Labeled for each day of the week & put my 3 IP foods for the day in each bag. I also added a sheet in each ziploc with the plan for the day (veggies/meat)
I probably did this for the first 8 weeks. I put all of my full ziplocs in a box in one of my kitchen drawers.

I keep them in their boxes. Organise them not by flavour but product. On the side of each box, I use a felt marker to write what's in, eg, pudding, drinks, soups, chili, etc

The boxes then occupy one upper shelf in my cupboard. I can reach for whichever box I then need. Next shelf below that = the spices, evoo, apple cider vinegar, stevia,etc.

Shelf in down below cupboard has hamilton beach grill, cuisinart egg cooker, nutri billet, kettle ad thermos!

In between = cutlery drawer.

If This makes me sound organized, I am not! I could use an executive assistant at home!

If you don't buy full boxes I recommend a basket or one of those two drawer plastic storage boxes. That what I use! It tucks neatly into my pantry under the shelves. One drawer is unrestricted and EAS drinks (stored before they go to fridge to chill) the other restricteds. \

My Rtd goes in the fridge in the garage
I get individualpackets so I seperate them In 7 -gallon ziplock bags for the week and then pick one a day. I keep them in a box. When I start buying alternatives- I plan to organize the boxes in a spare room bookshelf. (Being empty nesters-i have a spare room to hide things in)

Wow. I always kept them in 3 boxes: breakfast, lunch, and snack items. RTDs go in the fridge. Everything else is on a shelf in my cupboard. All canned goods, etc. got moved to top shelves for the year I was on IP. Sometimes I had more than one box for breakfasts, but generally that's how I did it.:):)

I have 4 boxes on my counter.. 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 snack and "extras".. all IP/WF sauces are in the spice cabinet next to the IP salt and EVOO bottle (boxes are directly below the spice cabinet). Veggies are cut up once a week and put into small baggies, then the small baggies are put into a BIG gallon sized baggie that we can grab 2 cups of various veggies from for lunch as well as the 2 for dinner when we get home. Romaine is always on bottom shelf of fridge.

I throw out all the boxes and and sort them in 3 clear shoe boxes with no cover. (If I have overflow I do keep them in a box downstairs in a food closet)

1 Box has all the unrestricted items (Breakfast in back, soups and lunch stuff in the front)

1 Box has all restricted items in it (Breakfast in the back and snacks, bars in the front)

1 Box has all my vitamins and other pills I need to take during the day (I am going to write in black marker on top of the vitamin caps when I need to take them-saw this on TV report-great idea)

All 3 boxes sit on my dining room table with my food journal, P1 list, and my blood sugar testing stuff. The P1 list is also on my refrigerator

To me the writing is so small to see what the packets are I take a black permanent marker and write big what they are and if they are restricted I put that on there as well. So it is like a grab and go. Or My husband can get something for me etc.

It is a good quick system once it is set up. I just happened to have the shoe boxes already and need to figure out something fast. I really dont know day to day what I will have so I like to see the visual of my options.

Hope this helps someone.

I have a Container Store addiction so I store mine in their stackable clear kitchen organizers. I have one for shakes/ puddings, one for bars, and one for soups

I bought 4 plastic baskets from the dollar store. One basket is for breakfast packets, one is for lunch packets, one is for unrestricted snacks (puddings, drinks, etc.) and the last one is for the restricted bars/snacks. They are all on a shelf in the pantry.

It also helps me to have an idea of what I might be running low on.

Jo

I keep all my packets in their boxes in the cupboard that used to be the snack cupboard. I buy extra boxes/packets some weeks so I have a good variety of about 10 different items so I don't get sick of any particular item. I can't believe some of these people who eat the same 3 packets all day long. I would have quit weeks ago.

I also split them into plastic boxes. I have the shake box, retricted box, and other box. When I first started, I would plan out my days, and store them in bags, but now I just keep them in the boxes. You'll find a system that works for you!

I sort my packets into three plastic boxes: breakfast, lunch, snack.

Good idea. I tried separating them in various ways. Now I just have a spreadsheet as inventory so I know what I have and just hunt up the three I need each day.

I was unable to use "restricteds" because they all contain gluten so it's a given my sorting was easier. :dizzy:

Also used the larger 2 gallon plastic zip bags and put anything I'd mix with coffee in one ... (and tucked in in cabinet near the coffee makers)but I also used rubber bands to sort by flavor within a bag. Puddings the same way. Stashed those in the pantry on a shelf with some non-IP RTDs.

(Hated the soups after the first 10 days...they all had too much sodium for my body and blew me up like a Macy's balloon in the Thanksgiving parade...) Instead, made my own chicken stock and froze it in indiv portions. Defrost in microwave at home (or on it's own in the lunch bag if you work) and add sliced mushrooms, chopped celery and beaten egg white (like egg drop soup) to those and stir during the reheat until veggies are cooked and then add the egg and do the same only more gently stirring several times.. Also can add leftover cooked vegetables from the day before and put in the blender...then reheat. {Note...not a substitute for protein with out egg white}. There is no reason not to make a whole pot of this either and serve to your family actually. My husband was OK with this. If I had leftover soup with the egg white beaten it reheated fine the next day..key...NOT the highest setting and stir-stir-stir!! You may be OK with the veggies frozen in the broth...I prefer the texture when they have only simmered a short time. {Note 3 egg whites = between 15-18 g protein...which makes this IP compliant. (Cheaper too...) Another member blogged about adding a scoop of one of the plain powdered proteins to her soups made similarly...but I never bothered. Expense and another problem storing a single product when I was happy enough with my egg drop soup! You definitely need a salad and your veggies with this meal as well....I considered this a 100% compliant meal...and it broke the monotony because I used the herbs and spices my tastes enjoy...which is minimal. Actually, I like the taste of real food...(and a gourmet cooking instructor told me a long time ago..."less is more...REALLY GOOD food stands on it's own....you only enhance good food. You do not create it.) A tsp of soysauce /cup might suit some other tastes better, and bring it closer to an Asian restaurant taste and color!!

This is my first week and so this is how I've started:
1. Label 3 1 gallon baggies Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack
2. Breakfasts are all drink mixes.
3. Lunches are soups.
4. Snacks are bars or crisps. I eat restricted IP items only as snacks.

I put seven of each in the appropriate bag and store them in a bowl in a cabinet that I usually don't need to go into except when it is time to pull out a packet. That's my IP food for the week.

I started out with 10 boxes of IP foods. I store the remainder of the packets in their boxes in a pantry unit in my garage. I don't need to see them again until it's time to refill the bags. I can see what I will need to shop for at that time.

I chose to do it this way so I would have to think to much about what I was doing and wouldn't start obsessing about what to choose.

I really like this system so far but I am just finishing my first week.

I found some containers at Target that hold the packets perfectly. I'll try to get a picture uploaded tonight.

Thanks everyone! I filled my pantry with three decorative clear shoe boxes. So far I have them labelled for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Seems to be working, I'm sure I will tweak as a go on.

This was super helpful! Thanks for all the great ideas!

I use these stacking trays from a Dollar Tree...

http://www.dollartree.com/Stack-Nest...7331/index.pro

I separate the restricted because I don't always choose one.

Drinks are separate and then the 'food' (pudding - chicken patty - etc)


I think that is why I lose a little over 3 lbs a week. If I could just live without that restricted EVERY single day...