Using Quest Chips as Breading
 

So I tried using Quest Sea Salt chips as breading last night and OMG it was amazing! I ground the chips in my food processor, pounded two chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper, dipped in one egg and sautéed in some evoo on the stovetop, six minutes per side. They turned golden and crispy - reminded my husband and I of chicken katsu, one of our favorite meals.

I know there is some debate about using a fourth packet (my coach used to say it was fine when used in recipes - but I never put too much stock in anything he said because he was just there to sell me food). FWIW, the chicken breasts I use are usually around 4 oz, and one pack of chips is split between the two of us, so I feel it helps make up for the undersize chicken breast. I never see any stalls or gains after I've used an IP or ALT pack as breading (basically the only "frankenfood" I make), and I only do it once a week, but everyone is different and you have to do what's best for you! :)

Syntrax Nectars are designed for patients of Bariatric surgery, and the portion sizes on the containers reflect that. There is no issue with using a full serving for 23g protein while on P1 of IP - particularly if you are using alternative products (which clock in around 12-15g protein where IP products fall closer to 15-18g). If you get the individual packets, the whole packet would be one serving. I used them as an "extra" packet on days when my activity level was a lot higher than normal, and towards the end of my last P1 when I added some light exercise and needed the extra packet after working out.

scorbett1103: Thanks!

This was sent in an IP tv message recently and thought it would add to the sugar alcohol clarification.

"What about sugar alcohols?

In addition to artificial sweeteners, there’s the issue of sugar alcohols (SA). The idea behind using these items is that the SA has to be converted into the sugar form in order to impact insulin, blood sugar and metabolism. Some SAs convert to the metabolically active form more readily and more completely than others.

Without going into great detail, here’s what you should know. Erythritol and mannitol are minimally converted into metabolically active forms, so they can be used with little concern about their ‘carb impact’. At the other end of the scale, maltitol is much more convertible, thus should be seen as being nearly the same as sugar. (So, like ‘plain sugar’, keep the total amount minimized.) Other SAs like xylitol, sorbitol and lactitol have intermediate level effects."

Catlady, I bought a bunch of Syntrax Nectars samples off Nashua's site too (and some samples of Optimum Nutrition flavors too). I used them all of in a week, using the full sample as my 1 serving. At my next WI, I'd lost 7.6lbs! I'm not sure if it was because I was doing a 4th packet regularly that week or because I'd switched to using mostly shakes as my packets. But regardless, it certainly didn't stall me or cause a gain to use the whole sample packet in one sitting. :)

I have one more protein powder sample to try from my Nashua purchase the other week. I have to say that all of the Syntrax Nectars were a hit except for one that was a flavor issue. The Optimum Nutrition drinks on the other hand, didn't do as well for me. I typically make my shakes with 12oz of water because I want a creamy texture, but not thick. However, 12 oz of water with the Optimum Nutrition powders were a bad idea (SUPER thin, very watered-down taste), so after the first sample I started using 8oz of water with them....but I found that using only 8oz made me hungry quicker than when able to use the 12oz.

Optimum Nutrition (ON) Extreme Milk Chocolate - Thin, but super tasty.
ON Delicious Strawberry - Thin, but tastes very close to a strawberry milkshake from a diner.
ON Rocky Road - Thin, but freaking delicious. Will definitely get more sample packs of this for variety.
ON Double Rich Chocolate - Used to be my favorite back in the day, but now I see how thin it is and there's a Syntrax option that tastes SO much better than this (and now my new chocolate fave), so it got knocked off of its pedestal.
ON Vanilla Ice Cream - Thin and weak flavor. Won't buy again.
ON Tropical Punch - Haven't tried this one yet.
Syntrax Nectar (SN) Vanilla Bean Torte - Creamy and tastes like a vanilla ice cream shake. One issue I had though is that it didn't mix well in the shaker and I had clumps that I had to smash down with a spoon...eventually I heated the drink up in the microwave to dissolve the powder.
SN Latte Cappucino - Delicious! Like a coffee and cream with a dash of cinnamon.
SN Strawberry Mousse - Not like strawberry ice cream, but def like strawberry milk.
SN Fuzzy Navel - Very good. It will replace my Peach Mango drinks from IP and Proti-Thin.
SN Chocolate Truffle - So good and creamy (even enough with 12oz of water) that it's my new go-to for a chocolate drink.
SN Caribbean Cooler - Consistency was on par with the rest of SN drinks, but I didn't like this flavor. By the name, I was expecting something more like Pineapple/Mango/etc and it was more of a Pina Colada (not my kinda flavor).
SN Apple Ecstasy - Reminded me of Kool-Aid. Green Apple, slightly tart. Will get again for variety.
SN Wild Grape - Tastes just like Grape Kool-Aid to me. Will get again and try with a little carbonated water added after mixed to see if it also tastes like Grape soda.
SN Double Stuffed Cookie - Winner winner, chicken dinner! Little bits of whatever it was that tasted like cookie--so good! I can only imagine how good this would be left to sit in the freezer for a good 30 minute chill.


I also previously ordered:

Proti-Thin Peach Mango Drink - An OK sub for IP, but does taste somewhat different (to me).
ProtiDiet Chili - Not good on its own, but can be doctored up to be decent.
ProtiDiet Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal - A good alternative for the IP Oatmeal (and unrestricted!). Made mock apple crisp with this (totally had me fooled for 1st half of my serving) and then a rhubarb crisp (yes, please!).

I would love to pick your brain as I am new to the IP diet. The site will not allow me to PM you (I believe unless I am doing something wrong) because I have not been a member long enough.

Right - if it hasn't changed from my last time around here, I think it's 20 days and 20 posts before you can send PM's. But feel free to ask anything here until then!

I will be making my 1st order for alt. products today! Me and my hubby spoke about this and it make more sense. If I can STILL lose weight and save money at the same time...WHY NOT!?
I'm not sure how my coach will react to this news wednesday. But who cares...it's my wallet that's suffering...lol! I will ask if about them helping me once I reach phase 2. That's a looooonnngggg time from now. If they are not supportive...I have YOU HERE for support.
I'm a little nerves about what to get:?:. I will take it one day at a time and contiune reading post here. I know I will be ordering the syntrax nectar choc. truffle for a shake. I'm placing my order with Nashua Nutrition. Hopefully it will come this week. If not I will purchase the EAS drinks from wal mart. I also have a huge jug of shake mix that I've never even opened. However, the protein is 26g. I will figure it out though.
ANY SUGGESTIONS ON THINGS TO ORDER WILL TRULY BE APRICIATED!!!!

When my mother started on IP/alternative products, we ordered all the sampler packs we could find. First I tried the WonderSlim variety pack at Diet Direct. LOTS of great stuff in there but their stats aren't as good as IP (lower protein per product in general). The WonderSlim bar variety pack is the same as the Weight Loss Systems pack from Nashua, listed below.

Nashua has a section in their left menu called "Variety Packs" - it was great to try everything before ordering whole boxes. Also, they have Syntrax samples so I tried almost all of them.

Since I was just looking at this yesterday - I noticed that the variety packs of bars mostly aren't showing up on that page. here are some others:
Proti-Thin Bars
Weight Loss Systems Bars

If you go to the Quest website you can order a variety box with 12 flavors, or a box of 6 flavors of the naturally sweetened ones. (I have heard there is a coupon code you can use to get a box of 12 with your own mix for the same price as a box of 12 of the same, but I haven't ever used that so I can't vouch for it.) Unfortunately, I think I liked ALL of the Quest flavors :)

Otherwise, I have read a lot of reviews and tried what others thought were good, with some hits and some misses. There was one chili-lime snack that I thought was just revolting but my mother loved it...

Since you used real IP products (I never did), here are the ones that are *exactly the same products*, copied long ago from a previous poster, hopefully it is all still correct:
Have fun trying things!

For personal recommendations, of course everyone is quite different, but ... two things I tried recently and loved were from Proti-Thin: sour cream and fine herbs zipper snacks and the Sea Salt & Vinegar Soy Snacks.

I have liked all the brands of pancakes that I have tried (I always add zucchini or cauliflower to them) and I like the chili mixes (also doctored up significantly with veggies) and Spaghetti Bolognese (a once a week item), also doctored with veggies (see a theme here?).

Personally I love this peanut butter cookie. It is dry, but softens if you heat it up and it goes well with coffee. It has 12 g of fiber! It is restricted, but just barely at 9g net carbs. There are lots of other cookies at Nashua but I liked the stats on this one best.

Keep notes as you try things, so you remember what you like. It gets overwhelming quickly, especially with the alternatives, for example I can never remember did I like ProtiDIET oatmeal or ProtiTHIN oatmeal?? My notes are 7 pages long and growing.:dizzy:

Thank YOU! Thank You! Thank You!
 

Thanks you for all the info. I placed my order and feel really good about it! I purchased 2 1/2 weeks of products for the price of 1 week at my clinic. I'm smiling :comp::comp::comp::comp:as well as my wallet. I'm sooooooo happy I found this site and everyone here are so helpful. I wish in the real world everyone could be this way:(.

Has anyone tried any of the Alt. breakfast cereals? I've switched over to IP Alt. products as of today and need some suggestions. And does the cereal come with the powdered milk like IP?

I adore the Proti Diet Honey Nut cereal! It doesn't have powdered milk in it but I would pour a little vanilla RTD shake in it as my "milk" or just eat it dry as a snack. And it's unrestricted!!

Also - The Proto Thin Anytime Chocolate and vanilla RTDs are exactly the same as IP rtds. Yum.