Some good ideas there. I just tried Miracle Noodles for the first time yesterday. While I can't say I'm overly impressed, it wasn't bad. Does satisfy that need for bulk. Putting them in a soup like you do sounds like a much better idea. I'm still waiting on my order of soups and other things to arrive from DoctorsBestWeightLoss - I called yesterday and it cleared customs on Thursday, so I should get it early next week. I also ordered some tomato & basil soups from Dr. B (which I know I like because I was on Dr. B. a few years ago) and they're due to arrive early next week too. All these new food items coming in... I'll have so many new options to choose from. And I'll definitely try using one of the cream of chicken w vegetable soups I've ordered as the base for your miracle noodles/zucchini combo.

OMG! This is great exactly what I needed! Thank you so much

jt13,
A few other things I do to keep myself full is:
1. drink Mio flavored water - drink 90-120 oz/day.
2. experimented with cucumber wedges sitting in a pool of semi-concentrated Mio in the tangerine flavor and the strawberry-watermelon flavor. This was in my quest for a fruit substitute, result was more like candy. However I am still doing this daily, it's filling as an afternoon snack and I'm using only half a cucumber/day.
3. take celery stalks and put a dab of Walden Farms whipped peanut butter in the center. I do not like the WF whipped peanut butter or peanut butter - however, once you put them with other things, the foulness is minimized or goes away. LOL!! Using these 2 products with a touch of soy sauce, some garlic, some ginger OR adding some to the WF Asian dressing is actually nice and good with fish or chicken stir fries.

Lastly, yesterday I had seared salmon with WF Honey Dijon mayo. Surprisingly good. Their regular mayo is not good, but again, once you add other things to it (golden mustard - watch out for extra sugars in your mustard of choice, smoked paprika, dill pickle juice and capers. garlic powder and a touch of hot chili sauce (tabasco)), it gets better. These WF products are good for carrying other flavors.

Have you seen the recipe for "big mac in a bowl"? It is excellent. I'll post it in the next message.

Watch your sodium content in your choice of pickles. I use Vlasic kosher dill spears: 210 mg sodium or 9% RDA.

Big Mac in a Bowl
• 1/2 pound raw ground beef, about 5 1/2 ounces cooked weight or 153 grams cooked *
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon minced dry onions
• 46 grams dill pickle slices or 2 dill spears, chopped, about 1 5/8 ounces
• 2 tablespoons WF Thousand Island Dressing
• 1 1/2 ounces iceberg lettuce, shredded
Brown the ground beef, drain off any fat, season with salt and pepper.. Meanwhile, soak the dry onions in a little water to rehydrate them. Put the meat in a large salad bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Toss and eat at once.

For the Maritimers in the group (Canada). I just bought from Superstore a citrus vanilla shake made by genuine health. It can be found in the health food department. Ingredients look comparable:
Calories 120
Fat 2.3
Carbs 4.7
Protein 18.2
Calcium 500

thanks a bunch

Just to let the Canadians know that I found MIO at the Metro supermarket while shopping today. Got strawberry watermelon and berry pomegranate flavors.

I would like to say that so far I have lost 26 lbs. by using all alternative products from Wal-Mart!

This is my typical day:

8:30am B: EAS Advantedge Strawberry RTD shake
11:00am-1:00pm L: Small salad w/ cucumber/WF bacon ranch and 1.5-2 cups broccoli/zucchini/more cucumbers, EAS Advantedge Vanilla RTD shake
3:00pm - 4:00pm S: Pure Protein chocolate peanut butter protein bar
6:00pm -7:00pm D: Small salad w/ cucumber/WF bacon ranch, 5-8oz protein, 1.5-2 cups broccoli or zucchini
8:30pm - 9:30pm S: EAS Advantedge chocolate fudge RTD shake

I get my olive oil for the day by cooking it into my veggies.
I drink over about 100oz of water or more a day and take a multi vitamin.

I have never used IP products or supplements. I fully agree with the IP program and read a lot about it on this forum before I got started. I am a college student with a part time job and in no way can I afford to go to a coach and buy the IP food. I would like to say that I have followed the plan 100% with the alternative supplements too, but I have not because I did not want to order any supplements or go search for them in stores. I think the best thing to do would be to take at least a multi vitamin.

This is what works for me! Some use the Pure Protein bars as a restricted item only. I don't, as you see... I drink 3 shakes and eat 1 protein bar a day and I have consistently lost weight. I am on week 8 right now and have lost 26 lbs! Another factor is that I do boot camp M-F. Again, this is what works for me. I wanted to let everyone who was worried about using alternative IP products know that it does work as long as YOU DO NOT CHEAT and find what is best for you.

Do you have 3 shakes and a bar everyday - even the days you don't workout? on IP it would only be 2 shakes and 1 bar? Great loss - so it seems to work for you.

Just FYI... at least some of us are on 4 products/day. I started with IP, but switched quite quickly after I realized I could do pretty much the same program with alternative products. So I only had 1 week of being on the actual IP products, and I had just two sessions with my coach - the original signup session and my first WI session. I told her I was leaving due to the cost factor after my first WI. It was useful if only for that 1 week, as I had the results from the original sign-up body composition testing and also had the written copy of my protocol and other IP literature. And of course that 1 week on 'IP Proper' put me into ketosis, so it was easier to keep going from that point on. The program that she'd set me up with has me on 4 IP (or now alternative) products/day. Breakfast/Lunch/3pm/Before Bed. And she'd said this would be my pattern until I lost approximately 80% of the weight. So I've been sticking to this 4/day pattern. And will continue to do so until I see my weight loss is stalling. My coach had been on IP products herself (35 lbs lost in about 3 months... she was around my same age - late 50/early 60s)... she's now in the phase out stages.

On another topic... I found 50% less sodium Bick's baby dill pickles at 120g sodium each this weekend. So they're out there as another lower sodium dill pickle alternative.

Yes I eat the equivalent of 4 IP packs a day! Thinking about this... I must've just continued eating the extra pack a day after my first week. I still do it on the days I don't work out. I mainly do it because I don't like feeling dizzy during the work out and it keeps me from being hungry between lunch and dinner.

I have the spreadsheet with all of the bars, but I am curious what is everyone favorite tasting alternate bar??

My favorite alternative bar is the Proti-Diet Peanut Butter and Smooth Caramel Crisp. Click here for link
This morning I tried the Proti-Thin Chocolate Decadence bar that came in my recent Nashua grab bag. It was delicous! Here is the other

So, I tried the protidiet bluberry pancakes... yummmmmmmmmy, also the protithin choc puffs taste the same as the IP choc puffs for so much cheaper. The protidiet maple & brown sugar oatmeal is ok and is unrestricted. I spent a little over $100 for 3 weeks worth of food, where 3 weeks of IP food would cost over $250. I am loving the savings. I will however continue to buy 1 box of IP choc shakes each week so I can continue to wi with my coach and besides I love having the choc mug cake everynight. Thanks to everyone for all the info on this thread.

I love the Pure Protein S'Mores bar, refrigerated it tastes like a Milky Way to me.