I thought we couldn't cook onions?

That sounds pretty much identical to the salad I eat every day that I am sick to death of LOL. I got sick to death of oil/vinegar dressings - I made those for the first few weeks - I've never liked oil/vinegar based dressings only creamy - Ranch was my favorite - so I don't mind the Ranch dressing from WF. Even the WF Italian was better than any of the recipes I made.

I think I'm just sick of IP. I know Phase 2 is going to be challenging because I already struggle with the meat portion every day and now I have to add another one. I've never been a meat and veggie person and even though I've been on this for almost 2 months my basic preferences have not changed. I still don't like raw veggies, oil/vinegar type dressings, meat that isn't dressed etc.

I'm grateful that IP got me where I wanted to be, but I am really hoping that I don't have to eat this way for Phase 4. I think being able to add carrots and cheese and croutons and real salad dressing will make a difference to salads and being able to have cooked onions will make a huge difference to my night time roasted vegies.

I just find the limitations are starting to get to me.

What about trying some kale chips or some spinach chips? They're crunchy and are more like a "snack" than a veggie - and are really tasty! I've never been a big veggie lover, and was looking for something different, and tried the kale chips and what a surprise they were..........AND kale is quite cheap. One bunch at the produce stand was $1.19.....not bad!

This salad dressing is so good. I thought it might help some people who are sick of just oil and vinegar. I put all the ingredients in a shaker bottle and use it on probably 6 or so salads.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/i...ipe/index.html

Don't they take an eternity to cook or am I thinking of something else? I'm not one for sitting around waiting 2 hours for something to cook. And it's really ideas for work I needed - I can't cook at work, which is why I was looking for an alternative to salad.

No - I looked at a couple and they looked like a lot of work! Peeling sweet peppers - too much trouble. Maybe I should take another look but I'm not even sure what to do with them and if they would work in Phase 2 where you add protein for lunch and no longer use IP soups - don't they normally go in IP soups?[/QUOTE]

I do add the purée to my soups, but I also eat them as my veggies, too. If you use less chicken broth, it won't remind you so much of baby food. I don't really mind, but I can see how it would bother some. The flavors are so bold. My favorite is cauliflower, garlic, and celery. I use a frozen bag of cauliflower, defrost in microwave about 2 min. Chop 2 stalks of celery, toss cauliflower and celery in a bowl with 2 teas EVOO. Pour onto baking pan, toss 5-6 cloves of garlic (still wrapped) onto pan, sprinkle with salt, onion powder, cumin, pepper, and roast in oven at 450 degrees for about 20 min. Allow to cool about 10 min or longer. I've even thrown it in the frig and mixed it later. Anyway, 1cup of chicken broth in a blender, throw the veggies in and give it a whirl till desired consistency. Delicious!

No, they are easy, easy to do, cool very quickly, and you can make a lot at once and put them into ziplock baggies to take to work with you. I made them in no time flat tonight, and were cooled off just a few minutes out of the oven. I got the recipe off of the forum, but I can tell you:

3 T olive oil
1 T apple cider vinegar
sea salt

Wash & tear up kale into pieces and place on parchment paper on baking sheet. Whisk the oil & vinegar together in a large bowl - add the kale and thoroughly coat. (I actually found this was a bit too much oil for one bunch of kale, so you could add a bit more kale or cut back a bit on the oil if you want.) Place the kale on a baking sheet in a single layer. (I used 2 sheets)
Sprinkle with sea salt. (I also added some cajun seasoning) Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes - until crunchy.

It's EASY, QUICK and PORTABLE! Let them fully cool and put the leftovers in ziplocks that you can bring with you in your purse - perfect for work!

This might not help, but have you tried grilled Romaine lettuce?? Spray with evoo, grill just to get some marks, (minute or two) season with salt, pepper, lemon juice. Even my husband will eat it. Just changes it up a bit and adds a slightly nutty taste.

Thank you - I will be doing this tonight!!! Anything I can take to work is perfect. YAY!!!!! I ended up making another salad for today but at least I'll have something different to bring tomorrow. YIPPIE!!

I love salads but HATED the WF dressings. I took by EVOO for the day, split it in 2 and made a vinagarette with ACV, EVOO, salt, pepper and then I loved having them again. Plus it's beneficial to have the fat straight versus cooked.

I'm the opposite - I don't like oil/vinegar dressings only creamy. I made one I found for IP with mustard but wasn't a huge fan. It was OK. When I tried the WF Ranch it was the best salad I'd had since I started IP.

I dont do salads...hence all my veggie puree recipes. They sell roasted, peeled red bell peppers jarred & ready. I also started making a "sweet slaw" with chopped red cabbage and sugar free raspberry vinaigrette & apple cider vinegar...closest i come to 'salad'. I also blended lettuce with spinach in my chocolate drink when i needed more filler. Also have a lettuce sorbet /sherbet recipe, but thats not a work recipe. I like the grilled romaine idea!

I prepare a lot of Asian foods, either stir fries or Thai soups with herbs and garlic. I also like to prepare soups Southwestern style by adding chile powder or chiles in adobo sauce. It gives them an interesting smoky flavor and a bit of heat. I am not sure whether you can use a lot of meat in phase 2, but I like to make spicy meat balls using lean lamb, bison or beef and add chiles/cilantro or mint to it with a lot of garlic. You can prepare them ahead of time, freeze them in portions and throw them into the oven for 20-30 min. The web site of Dr. Tran Tien Chanh has some videos with food suggestions:
http://www.trantiendiet.com/site/spip.php?rubrique35

I never ever cooked before IP - we ate out every single night and even lunchtime most days so I'm not much of a cook and don't enjoy spending a lot of time in the kitchen. I've come leaps and bounds from where I used to be - but I'll never be one for doing a lot of cooking and experimenting. When I do cook I still like it to be quick and easy. Grilled protein on the George Foreman grill and roasted vegies in the oven - 15 minutes and done. That's my kind of cooking.

I make up the IP basil dressing then add WF flavors to it so it tastes much more normal. One batch lasts me a month or longer and I can get the darned lettuce in! Lets just say that my system wasn't happy when I removed the lettuce and stopped "operating"!