That's awesome, jelliehel!!! Good to hear from you and glad to hear that worked for you. I find that I am at risk of staying OP if I don't have this pre-made (breakfast and snack) and have a plan for dinner. Lunch is fine because it is always soup, but I never have doubts or contemplate having something off plan when I am prepared.

It's so true! I usually prepare things on a Sunday so I can just grab throughout the week. Same for me - lunch is always fine but I need to plan my breakfast and dinner. Have a great day and weekend!

This is the most recent. Lots of good discussion re products and packet hacks!

You too!

On the topic of trying new things, I am excited today to do the following:
1 - For lunch, I am having Beef with Pasta soup from Healthsmart today for lunch. I am making that with Beef broth per the reviews on Nashua. They say it is like french onion soup so we'll see. Unfortunately, I have not found my reviews of products to be consistent with the reviews on the website so I am skeptical that I will like this, but I'll give it a shot (for example, they rave about the chicken soup, but I don't like it and was so happy that I found a way to use it up by putting it over shredded, cooked, drained zucchini; otherwise, I would have thrown it out.

2 - I am making blueberry muffins for my breakfast item for the next 7 days out of the Healthsmart blueberry pancake mix. I'll make it the same as I do the bread with olive oil, baking powder, baking soda, salt and a little sweetener and an egg white. I will include a little blueberry extract too.

3 - I am making my chocolate cake (which I usually make from the IP chocolate drink mix) from Weight Loss Systems Dark Chocolate pudding. I hope it is as good or better than IP as this would give me one less item to be dependent upon needing to go to the clinic to get. I won't have it until tomorrow so I'll report back my results tomorrow on all 3.

Hello all. I am new and this is my first post. I stared HRT Monday and the doc suggested I start the Ideal Protein Diet. I have been seeing there is an alternative. Can anyone tell me where I might find this alternative diet so i will know how to get started? I am not sure I can fork out the money for the IP. Thanks in advance for your assistance!!

Let's be sure what you are asking for - there is the standard IP program using alternative products but there is an alternative program for like diabetics/athletes (those that need more carbs). Which are you referring to?

The blueberry muffins sound great! I cannot find blueberry extract in my stores. I guess I will have to order online. I know we discussed the Proti-thin chocolate drink and freezing it. I just received today the Proti-thin vanilla drink. I have it in the freezer and will be trying that tonight. I hope it's good and not chalky. Oh well gotta try new things, right?

Do you have any Walden Farms Blueberry Pancake Syrup? Maybe you can try a little dash of that instead of extract...

That is a great idea! Thanks so much for the tip!

With the smell and quantity of blueberries in the pancake mix, you actually do not need either. I would say use the extract or syrup if you are using a vanilla or plain protein powder, but with it being blueberry pancake mix, I realized I didn't need the extract. Thy look great, btw. I won't have them until tomorrow though so I won't know how they'll taste until then.

I think using pudding for my cake was probably not the best idea. I won't eat it until tomorrow but these sunk in pretty quickly so they don't have the volume the drink mix produces, and I don't think these are more dense. I won't know for sure how it all worked out until I eat one, but from the looks of things, this may not be the best substitute. Stay tuned...

The Healthsmart Beef with Pasta was like French Onion soup. It was ok. There is just nothing that compares to the IP chicken soup with 2 cups of cooked cauliflower rice added to it though!

Roo: I got an email from Nashua today about new ProtiDiet products. I know you didn't like the chicken noodle soup and I have no idea how it compares to the IP one (never tried the soups) but they just came out with this new one:

http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store...eek-7-box.html

Thank you so much for thinking of me!

Update...well my chocolate cakes with the Weight Loss Systems pudding was a fail. They are nothing like the ones I make with the IP chocolate drink mix. I am debating whether I finish the other 6 and pitch them and go get IP's. We get so few calories that they really should be maximized but at the same time, it kills me to have ordered them, baked them and just throw them out. Decisions...decisions...

The blueberry muffins with the Healthsmart pancake mix came out drier than I was expecting. There were 7 packets so it made 7 but by muffin pan only holds 6 so I made the 7th in my mini loaf pan. I'm not sure if that potentially dried it out more (it didn't with the Quest Peanut Butter powder). I will have a muffin tomorrow and then I"ll know. But, the net result is disappointing. I think the moral of the story is to stick to what works well.

I have the Weight Loss systems dark cocoa cream, and I am tempted to just pitch it after the dark chocolate pudding experience. Once again, the reviews on the Nashua site do not match my own experience. I can't believe the pudding would have been any better as a pudding vs cake - it is tasteless.

Ro: maybe throw a bunch of cinnamon, or salt & chili powder into the pudding to change it to Mexican or Aztec style.... Might get you through those packets so you don't have to throw them away, even if you don't buy any more.
Liana

I apologize if this has already been asked, but for those who are doing only alternative products, what do you use for alternative supplements? I plan on phasing away from strict IP and my coach in the next couple of months purely for cost reasons, but I am nervous about which supplements to take. Thanks in advance!