So I'm going to attempt IP on my own based on all of the information I've gathered here and elsewhere.

Here's one question about the lunch vegetables...

I'll be honest, I'm not a very big fan of raw veggies or veggies that aren't mixed with something else. Am I allowed to cook the veggies, add seasoning, etc for the lunch portion?

I'm just struggling to figure out how to make it interesting and something I can live with every day so any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi, ghoney, I found rhubarb which I've taken for lunch a few times. I buy it raw or frozen. Add SF syrup, cinnamon, and the maple or apple oatmeal with a bit of water. Either cook the night before and take to work the next day and re-heat or take to work and microwave for a couple of minutes and yum. If you are using alternative products (other than IP brand) then I'm not sure what maple or apple oatmeal you would use.

Hi qhoney - welcome, lots of people have tried this on their own, using alternate products.

Yes, you can have your veggies cooked, no need to just have them raw. It makes no difference whether lunch or dinner, rules are the same.

If you like soup, one thing I did to get veggies in for lunch was to cook them, then puree and add chicken or veg stock (make sure it's compliant, no fat, no sugar), add seasonings, heat and enjoy

One other tip, lots of us have done this - make a spinach smoothie with a protein packet - puree 2 c of spinach with about 1 c of water, add protein powder and 1 c of ice, and blend it really well. You can't really taste the spinach. Also if you look at the P1 sheet, you'll see that spinach can count as either an unlimited vegetable (if raw) or a limited vegetable ( either raw or cooked), so the smoothie could count as your 2 c of veggies or you could add another 2 c for lunch if you want

For the smoothie, you can also use cold coffee instead of water, this is really good with chocolate protein powder (I liked the Quest chocolate)

Good luck, and check out the other threads, lots of people here happy to help!

Just make sure no cooked onions!

For me the best lunch is ANY of the shakes/smoothies (not premade - more expensive) and I throw 2 cups of spinach or kale in it, blend it up, take it to work and a way we go! Easy, got my 2 cups of veggies and didn't need to worry about fancy lunches.

I used Alternatives from Nashua Nutrition. My lunches were almost always a soup with the veggies from the night before. When cooking dinner I cooked 4 cups of veggies and ate half for dinner and used the other half for lunch. Make the soup and pour over the veggies and you get the sensation of chewing real food or you could puree them as suggested above. It was an in my head thing about the chewing. Add in a salad with Walden Farms dressing and that kept me full until snack time.

I always liked leftover stirfry of veggies with soy sauce and Frank's hot sauce (and/or some Asian type Walden Farms sauce if you like them) from the night before. It's even good cold (my opinion anyway). If you have meat in it, then just switch out your dinner protein for a packet, doesn't make any difference.
You can also hide veggies in an omelette.
Liana

Daily lunch through P1 and now is radishes, cauliflower, broccoli & celery sticks w/homemade vinaigrette. I just cut up a weeks worth of veggies Sundays and bring a Med Ziploc freezer bag full (roughly 2 cups).