I'm definitely going to get to pureeing over the weekend. Sounds like a great way to get my veggies in. Especially cause I think on some vegetables its the texture not the taste that gets me.

Thc everyone!

Ok...after months now of the same old same old for dinner...tried to modify a family fav last night...and my husband gave it a thumbs up!

Makes 4 decent sized stuffed peppers:

*4 green peppers with only the VERY tippy-top sliced off and cleaned out
Blanch for 4-8 minutes in boiling water - drain well and set aside

*1 lb ground meat browned and set aside

*Chop small & saute all together with PAM and a few drops H2O as needed then set aside:
1- small zuchinni
1- small yellow summer squash
1 - firm small fresh tomato
4-Oz of mushooms
1/2 - C frozen spinach
Add to above veg medley during the sauteing - Garlic powder-salt -pepper-minced dry onion or fresh scallion- dash of red pepper flakes

Mix the browned ground meat and the sauteed veggies ...(**gauge how many veggies you want to add rather than just adding all at once...I ended up with more than needed for this recipe and they are wonderful in egg white omlettes for today.)

Fill Peppers with the mixture and put in oven dish sprayed with PAM...cover with foil and reheat all in oven at 350-375 for 30-45 min depending on temperature of the mixture when you fill the peppers. My husband got to top his with grated romano, (could use parmesan or grated mozzarella) cheese and some homemade tomato sauce ...mine was quite tasty with out that. He never missed the rice or the tomato sauce I used to use in the filling mixture. 1 of these and a small salad was also PLENTY filling for me, which meant I could have had some animal protein on my salad at lunch...Next time!

That sounds delicious!

Thanks...next time I'm going to make extra and see how it freezes...I used to freeze my old recipe all the time...and wrap individually in foil. It was a GREAT dinner for my husband when I was off to visit the grandkids and husband was alone! He would reheat in microwave...he loves them best when the green pepper is completely soft and falling apart! Let me know how they work if you try them or modify this in any way!

I think I will definitely try it too. Not a huge fan of peppers but, hey, gotta experiment.

I tried making cauliflower mashed potatoes last night and the consistency was great but I couldn't get the vegetable/cauliflowery taste out of it :-( Maybe my eyes are overriding my taste buds and telling me "it may look like potatoes but its still cauliflower" haha

Thea posts are great, thx!

Not on IP so apologies in advance if it isn't OP but can you use chicken broth/stock? I always cook my cauliflowers in low sodium/FF stock along with some garlic salt/powder and I notice that takes away a LOT of the cauliflower taste. Some roasted garlic will help with that too. Oh and, some dried chives might help with the flavor as well.

I did use some ff, 0 carb chicken broth and se seasonings but I think I'm gonna have to experiment. It's just hard in the evenings when I'm right in the middle of dinner and my infant is grumpy and hungry and crying too and I have to rush or stop my dinner. As I mentioned in my initial post. I know I can do this. I just wish all my dinners were made and packaged for me. Lol

Gonna try doing some of that on my own this weekend (cook ahead) what's the best way to store your good for the week? Freezer ziplock bags??

Thx everyone

I'm just getting started (yesterday)!!! Can I use deli meats? If not, I'd love some input on how you guys prepare the meat.

Deli meats are discouraged b/c they often contain sugar and are also high sodium. Hot dogs and sausages will contain more fat than is recommended.

Meats can be roasted, grilled, smoked, slow-cookered, broiled.
We usually make extra when grilling so we can just re-heat (example: steaks tonite & burgers, chicken for other days)

DH is smoking chicken and a roast today.

BusyMamma-
I can relate..It's tough when you have to balance the family resp with your own needs. Remember they are a big reason you are doing this. It will help if you can take part of an evening and prepare some things ahead and freeze them for yourself when it's chaotic and you need to feed the troops something that is NOT for you....Pizza, spaghetti etc.

I package my stuffed peppers by wrapping tight in foil sheets (Costco sells big boxes that we keep handy) then seal in a qt Ziploc bag. Portion out and freeze browned seasoned ground meat that can be used in a "taco" salad for yourself and always roast an extra chicken breast or two when the oven's already on. I do the same freezer prep chicken breast chunks use tight foil wrap first then ziploc bags. Frozen precooked shrimp from Costco is also economical but importantly FAST to thaw and perfect on a salad. No extra kitchen mess if husband is having something off plan for me. (Fresh fish is probably the only thing we have never tried to fix ahead.) Pork tenderloins can be roasted in the oven or done on the grill on Sunday..and sliced and frozen ahead for another meal for me...get the idea?! Lisa says she does her chickens whole and still frozen in the crockpot overnight! BRILLIANT! I haven't tried that yet but do plan to give that a try. When making salad for dinner ALWAYS clean enough lettuce and add chopped veggies to a lunch salad for the next day. Put it in a bowl tuck in a small plastic container of dressing before covering with saran wrap. Just like a drive-through salad! Make pudding or mix-up your drink for lunch and even snack when you make your breakfast IP food. Who says you can't have fast food on this diet? It's all a matter of RE-defining fast food.
I try to keep my time in the kitchen to a minimum for different reasons than someone who is juggling a family...but none the less...saving time and mess is important to me as well.

Thank everyone. I bought some peppers today to try the stuffed peppers. And I'm going to Costo tomorrow. I think ive hit ketosis so that's exciting. :-)

Hi...I am new to this diet as well...I am having trouble with the weighing/measuring of some of my veggies...is there a way or a trick to weigh the veggies instead of trying to cram them in a 1cup measuring cup?