The pictures are incredible. You are such a creative cook.
I'm just curious as to where you get your IP products. Do you have IP in Finland?

Pat

Thanks for posting, everything looks yummy!

Thanks. When I first saw the list of approved vegetables, I almost had a heart attack and thought there would be nothing for me to eat. So my journey has also been about "how can I make a limited list of choices feel like a rich gourmet menu without too much effort."

IP is launching in Finland in a few months. I am in the first trial group. I started the facebook page to share with the other members of our group to share ideas and recipes which are working for me and hopefully inspire others feel like they are eating WELL and not just "surviving."


One of my challenges has been what to put on the salad. (I default to soy sauce or a variety of sugar free mustards.) We unfortunately dont have the WF products here or (m)any zero carb, zero fat, zero sugar products like in the States. So I've been trying to be creative within the guidelines and experiment.

For example, the other day I cooked up 2 rosepepper steaks, but only ate one. The next day, I cut the other steak into strips, added 1 tsp of olive oil to a pan and added yellow pepper (paprika) and green onions. I then splashed it with strong white vinegar and a shake of Splenda (ordered from eBay). What did it make? Sweet & Sour Beef! (served over salad with a side of the "cauliflower rice"). Yes, I missed the real red sauce and pineapple and batter fried chicken/pork, but the taste really hit the mark and was so different than what I have been eating that I thought it was a success.

(Although I wanted to make it again to test out on my wife to get her reaction before sharing on the facebook page. Sometimes what we think is heavenly is really only edible because we are desperate :-) )

Keep it up you are doing great, and there are tonnes of good recipes here for you to test and try. Thanks for the pics and the recipes.

VIBRANT SPINACH:
Forget the nasty grey lump of seaweed that your school cafeteria called spinach. Real cooked spinach will make your tastebuds applaud. Jamie Oliver's simple recipe is my favourite... the addition of nutmeg is inspired.




The simplest way to cook spinach is in a pan with a little olive oil, a grating of nutmeg and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice with a lid on to let it steam. (I add a dash of sea salt & black pepper)

This will taste great, and it goes with just about anything – pasta, fish or meat. If there is any excess moisture when the spinach is cooked, just tilt the pan so it runs to the other side and pour it away. Let the spinach sit for a minute and then serve.

Note that the spinach reduces in size drastically... so don't be afraid to use a lot.

Thanks for the recipes. I was getting so bored with the diet that I started to take too many liberties resulting in a slower weight lose. Jillsyg

Hi FinnSteven,

Great pics - of course we eat iwth our eyes first, so your beautiful pics inspire me to pay more attention to the 'presentation' of food on my plate.

You talked about what salad dressing to use on your salads....I have only tried a couple of WF products and I gagged. They are just too plastic/fake for me to stomach.

My favorite dressing is fresh squeezed lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper - just wisk that up and it's fresh and clean tasting. Sometimes, I mix in some fresh basil or parsley or any other spices that look interesting.

Check out the sticky threads. They have recipes and quite a few decent homemade dressings you may also like.

great Facebook page, pictures and recipes!

wow! Are you a chef? The Facebook page has been added to mine....I absolutely love the pictures and the recipes. Been on my IP journey since 5/23 and am down 31 lbs. I am going to be transitioning to the athlete protocol in a few weeks and am looking for more options when it comes to dinner...these recipes are going to be good for the final phases and beyond into maintenance! I can't wait to try the cauliflower mashed recipe!

I am Italian, and am on the lookout for IP friendly recipes. Have you heard of the new pasta brand called Jerusalem pasta? It is made of artichoke flour and is supposed to be low carb and very good for you. I am saving this until I reach my goal in about 9 pounds.....and even then, will consume in moderation!

I love this thread and you have done a great job with the photos. I hope you have a lot of success helping the people in Finland.

For a salad dressing, there is a recipe in the the recipe 2 thread here that uses the IP raspberry jelly to make a raspberry vinigarette. I think you could do that with the peach mango drink too.

Many of us just use our own season types. I have made dressings using:

-olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, pepper, italian seasoning, and finely chopped red pepper

-olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, thyme, and mustard

-walnut oil, orange stevia, lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar was good too), white pepper, sea salt, and cinnamon

- olive oil, lemon juice, lemon pepper seasoning, sea salt, and fresh chopped basil

there are so many possible combinations!

For a sugar free terriyakki sauce I use soy sauce, splenda or stevia, and a bit of ginger ( I like it best with fresh grated). The consistency is more like that of a marinade BUT, I found that if I use just a bit of arrowroot powder or just a tiny bit (1/8 of tsp roughly) of guar gum powder I can create something a little thicker that will cling. You can also add a bit of ginger and a few sprinkles of sesame seeds to this mixture.

Thanks for the inspirational ideas and yummy looking pictures! I'll have to checkout your fb page!

Thanks for the kind words and salad dressing ideas. The Raspberry one sounds wicked good and the easy lemon/olive oil/pepper sounds fresh too.

Will have to try them out and report!

I will continue to update the FB page weekly. Yesterday, I made the non-restrictive pancakes Jordanna raved about and was sold! YUM!




"NON-RESTRICTED" PANCAKES:
Sit down to a hot, sweet, short stack of thick American Pancakes....and still be able to choose a restricted IP food later in the day!

Ideal Protein has 2 pancake packages (Choc chip & Orange), but both are considered restricted products. Meaning that if you have it, you cant have one of the bars or chili or oatmeal as well in the same day.

One clever way to "have your cake and eat it too" is to make pancakes from another non-restricted IP product... The Crispy Cereal!

IDEAL PROTEIN NON-RESTRICTED PANCAKES:
Ingredients:
1 pkg IP Crispy Cereal, crunched up (I roll with a rolling pin while still in the package)
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon & Nutmeg, to taste

Directions:
Beat together in small bowl the following:
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp vanilla

Add in to cereal pkg the following:
1/4 tsp baking powder
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Pour dry mix in to egg white mixture and combine.
Cook in pan as you would pancakes. (Non-stick pan or spray with PAM or other cooking spray)

I spray the pancakes with a squirt of the zero calorie/ zero carb / zero fat "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" (Ordered from ebay since they dont have it in my country) for that hot buttered taste of real pancakes.

Makes 3 - 4 small, but thick American-style pancakes. Sweet enough to eat without any other topping, but if you have the Ideal Protein Maple Syrup, use that.

Really good.

NEW YORK DELI - MOCK REUBEN:
I love the New York Deli Sandwiches and was wondering how I could get those same tastes on the Ideal Protein diet. Enjoy this mouth-watering non-traditional version.



1. Make or buy Roast Beef. (Recipe below)
2. Arrange a bed of lettuce and drizzle with American Mustard (sugar-free)
3. Arrange slices of Roast beef on the lettuce.
4. Heat a generous portion of sauerkraut in the microwave and spoon over the meat.
5. Serve with dill pickles

I had never made a roast beef before starting this diet and was surprised with how easy it was and how much better it tasted than typical store bought slices.

ROSEPEPPER ROAST BEEF:
1. Buy a cut of beef (in Finland, "Pahtopaisti liha")
2. Marinade in mix of olive oil (approx 4 TSP, sea salt, and "herbs de provence" of other herbs to your taste. (I buy fresh herbs, chop them up, and put them in the freezer. Makes it easy to pull out any time and sprinkle on dishes and taste much better than the dried versions.)
3. Bring meat to room temperature.
4. Generously sprinkle with crushed Rose Pepper on both sides. (Should almost coat the meat, not just a little flavor)
5. Add black pepper to taste.
6. Sear the meat in a frying pan for about 3 min each side until the meat is browned all over.
7. Transfer meat to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. You can add some additional spices at this point if you like.
8. Cook for approximate 1.5 hours at 125C (approx 255 F).

(Note that you do not need to take supplemental 2 Tsp olive oil when eating marinated meat.

Also, there are many recipes for the leftover meat. Try Sweet & Sour Beef or cut strips for your salad.)

Congrats on your success!

Just a note that ALL of the recipes I am posting are allowed on all phases of the diet.

My coach just showed me the Ideal Protein cookbooks she just got at a convention in D.C. before she came to Finland, and I was disappointed that there weren't (m)any pictures of the final dishes and that many called for ingredients I thought were not on phase 1 (ie., margarine, sour cream, walnut oil, nuts, etc) and there was no marking which phase the recipes were for.

So at least for my little project, I am just documenting recipes I actually make and eat on my phase 1.

You rock Fin!!!! As a fellow foodie this really motivates me. Thanks!