OMG! Have I mentioned yet today how much I love IP? I do!

I just took a packet of IP vanilla pudding and put it in the blender with ice and about 6 ounces of water. I added a heaping tblsp of WF caramel, two spoons of splenda and a shot of vanilla. It was like eating a bowl of creamy ice cream. If I was patient enough I could of put it in the freezer for a while. Sorry, I had to eat it right away! Too good to wait

Perfect for the sweets junky like me.

Thanks so much, Carla, and the kelp noodles look really interesting. I wrapped strips of my omelette in little nori sheets (available everywhere in Hawai'i and dirt cheap) and ended up with little sushis for breakfast. I remember how expensive nori was on the mainland. But if you all have an inexpensive source and you like sushi, this might be fun and nori is really healthy. And thanks, too, Jordanna. I just found shirataki noodles in the Korean market. Lovely.

I'm glad to find you all. 2 weeks, 12 pounds lost - one day of "way off program" but still better choices than before. The recipes have been a
BIG help. Here's something I tried tonight that was great. The idea came from the Asian Lettuce Wraps recipe.
Took 5 ounces of lean ground beef - browned it with salt, garlic powder, and onion powder in a non stick pan. Once it has browned, poured off any fat and added shredded cauliflower, a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce and stevia (splenda would work) and cooked until most of the liquid was absorbed.
In another pan I cooked celery, green onions, asparagus, and mushrooms with some olive oil, salt and garlic and onion powder. As the vegetables were about cooked - I like them crunch - I added the meat/cauliflower mixture and some bean sprouts. Cooked a few minutes until bean sprouts were heated and ate.
It was great. Was like having rice in the meat. Next time I'll add some fresh garlic and ginger root

My family's new favorite grilled chicken...go and buy the big Curry Powder from Costco this recipe is from the back.

Mix 4 TBSP Olive Oil, 2 TBSP Curry Powder, 2 tsp garlic salt, 2 tsp paprika. Rub onto 4 chicken breasts and refrigerate for the afternoon. Then grill!!!! My son loves to dip this in WF Ranch!

Something new I tried the other night and my DH loved it too!!

1 tbsp of dried garlic
1tsp of coconut oil
1tbsp of lemon juice
1 lb of fresh asparagus
sea salt and Mrs Dash garlic and herb seasoning
1 pkg of frozen shrimp (the one with 35 shrimp in it)
1 1/2 tsp of low sodium soy sauce

In a large fry pan put the coconut oil and garlic and heat until the garlic for 4 minutes, add the lemon juice,asparagus and seasonings and cook until the asparagus is still on the crunchy side
Add the shrimp ( I rinse them with some warm water first), add about 1 1/2 tsp of low sodium soy sauce and cook until tender.
It was delicious!!!

This sounds wonderful. Let me share a recipe I used before I started I P and even more now. It comes from the 101 Cookbooks blog which references Pam Corbin's River Cottage Preserves Handbook.

Here it is. If you don't want to use 9 oz of sodium (!!!) delete and the add whatever amount of sea salt you want when you make this either as a boulion drink or as a broth or seasoning.

Another "mix" you might be interested in is Tempero---mostly just onions, garlic, and basil blended in the food processor and then stirred with salt. (http://mamasminutia.blogspot.com/200...row-about.html )

Homemade Bouillon Recipe

This is a thank-you note to Pam Corbin. Pam wrote the lovely River Cottage Preserves Handbook.* And in the very back of this exquisite little book, long past the rhubarb relish, and well beyond the piccalilli and winter fruit compote, she proposes a simple idea: make your own bouillon blend. I'm not sure why this never occurred to me, but until I reached page 207, it hadn't. She outlines a list of ingredients that are pureed into a concentrated paste of vegetables and herbs, preserved with salt. I've been cooking with a version of it all week, and it is infinitely better than any canned vegetable stock I've tasted. And the best part about it? I can build on the general idea and tweak it based on what is in season and my own personal preferences - which is what I did.

Technically a bouillon cube is a dehydrated cube or powder used to create an instant vegetable stock. Pam calls her version "souper mix"....but you use it in a way similar to bouillon cubes. To make quick, flavorful broth, for example when cooking soups, risottos, curries, whatever really. Just keep in mind it is quite salty and concentrated - I mention in the recipe I've been using 1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water/liquid to start. This first batch was made primarily with ingredients from my refrigerator, but I'm really excited to try other versions using different herbs and ratios of the base ingredients. In fact, if you have any suggestions or ideas give a shout in the comments - I'd love to hear them .

Homemade Bouillon

This recipe requires a food processor. I have a 8-cup / 2 liter / 2 quart model, and needed every cubic inch of it. I found the best approach if you are tight for space in your food processor is to add a few of the ingredients, then pulse a few times. The ingredients collapse and free up more space for the next few ingredients. If you don't find yourself using much bouillon, I will suggest making a half batch of this. And for those of you wanting to do a version with no salt, freeze the pureed vegetables in small amounts - say, ice cube trays, just after pureeing them. Introduce salt in whatever amount you like later in the cooking process.
5 ounces / 150 g leeks, sliced and well-washed
7 ounces / 200g fennel bulb, chopped
7 ounces / 200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped
3.5 ounces / 100 g celery
3.5 ounces / 100g celery root (celeriac), peeled and chopped
1 ounce / 30g sun-dried tomatoes
3.5 ounces / 100g shallots, peeled
3 medium garlic cloves
9 ounces / 250g fine grain sea salt
1.5 ounces / 40 g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped
2 ounces / 60g cilantro (coriander), loosely chopped
Place the first four ingredients in your food processor and pulse about twenty times. Add the next four ingredients, and pulse again. Add the salt, pulse some more. Then add the parsley and cilantro. You may need to scoop some of the chopped vegetables on top of the herbs, so they get chopped. Mine tended to want to stay on top of everything else, initially escaping the blades.
You should end up with a moist, loose paste of sorts. Keep 1/4th of it in a jar in the refrigerator for easy access in the coming days, and freeze the remaining 3/4 for use in the next month. Because of all the salt it barely solidifies making it easy to spoon directly from the freezer into the pot before boiling.
Start by using 1 teaspoon of bouillon per 1 cup (250 ml), and adjust from there based on your personal preference.
Makes roughly 3 1/2 cups.
Inspired by The River Cottage Preserves Handbook.

...

Sounds VERY TASTY! This might be something to use with caution for some people and not over do the tsps used if you are closely tracking your carbs. (Keep in mind that even 1 tsp of garlic, in condensed forms, can be 1 carb. This recipe includes:fennel, carrots, tomatoes, and garlic which will all pulse down very tightly and add small amounts of carbs and sugars to a recipe.)

Based on the information at www.nutritiondata.com the above recipe has the following nutritional breakdown.

Total nutrition break down for 3.5 cups:
calories: 463
carb: 109.5g
fiber: 28.5g
sugar: 26.5g
protein: 9g
fat: 1g

if yield is 3.5 cups. there would be 168 tsp
per tsp is:
calories: 2.76
carb: .65g
fiber: .17g
sugar: .16g
protein: .05g
fat:.005g

Thank you SO much for the nutritional breakdown. And I want to reinforce what you say. One teaspoon max. Even a scant teaspoon in a cup of hot water, plus a little sea salt, is great. I use Hawai'ian pink sea salt (one of the world's best) and a grinder.

I found mine at whole foods market. There were about 3 servings 1/2 cup each in size in a bag. I paid 4.99 plus tax (USD) for the packet.

I haven't seen them at other stores yet.

What's the consensus on using chicken broth/stock? The cubes have msg, but typically the stock or broth does not. It's not particularly high in calories, has some protein, and usually only trace sugars. Has anyone had a coach say no to using chicken stock in soup, sauces, etc.?

I ask because I made some spaghetti using shiritaki noodles, with fresh veggies and some ground turkey. Since the noodles are guilt free, I was just looking for something to bring it all together and the broth seemed to do that.

I got this recipe off another 3FC forum thread. I tried it this weekend and it is yummy as a guilt-free snack! I cut it into 12 squares, individually wrapped them and put them in the freezer so that I can pull them out whenever.

LOW CARB BREAD RECIPE

This is called "focaccia" because it is baked in that style -- flat on a sheet pan, and then cut up into whatever sized pieces you want. It works for toast, sandwiches, and other bready uses. It is "rough" in texture like heavy whole grain breads. Since it isn't made with wheat, it doesn't have the same kind of grain as wheat breads, but the carb in flax is almost all fiber. Flax is very useful on a low carb diet, as well as being amazingly good for you.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

· 2 cups flax seed meal
· 1 Tablespoon baking powder
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1-2 Tablespoons artificial sweetener (stevia, splenda)
· 5 beaten eggs
· 1/2 cup water
· 1/3 cup oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare pan (a 10X15 pan with sides works best) with oiled parchment paper.

1) Mix dry ingredients well -- a whisk works well.

2) Add wet to dry, and combine well. Make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg white hanging out in the batter.

3) Let batter set for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken up some (leave it too long and it gets past the point where it's easy to spread.)

4) Pour batter onto pan. Because it's going to tend to mound in the middle, you'll get a more even thickness if you spread it away from the center somewhat, in roughly a rectangle an inch or two from the sides of the pan (you can go all the way to the edge, but it will be thinner).

5) Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly browning even more than flax already is.

6) Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want. You don't need a sharp knife; I usually just cut it with a spatula.

Nutritional Information:

Each of 12 servings has less than a gram of effective carbs (0.7 grams to be exact) plus 5 grams fiber, 6 grams protein, and 185 calories.

I did and it was just fine..... You can definately make it ahead of time....

Weeeeeeeell. The frozen Vanilla premixed drink idea was so-so. Maybe if I would have stirred it more frequently, but I kept forgetting and only got to it twice. But it had a sort of creamcicle thing going on and I may try again. This time I'll pay more attention and stir it more.

The frozen, ice cream effect thing just hasn't worked for me. I've tried smooties with the pineapple banana, peach mango, and chocolate powdered drink, and I've tried freezing the puddings. Maybe you guys have some ideas about smoothies and puddings that make it work. The IP recipes I've found fail miserably.

I'm kind of with you. The recipe I found that worked best was to make either the vanilla pudding or cappuccino drink in the shaker, pour out as much of it as you can into a LARGE mug; pour at least 6 ounces of water into the shaker; shake and pour that into the mug; do it again (depending on your preference, and the size of your mug); and add one heaping teaspoon of instant expresso coffee. Mix it up; add gobs of Splenda (1 1/2 - 2 packets); and heat in a microwave.

Dream you're in Florence. Or walking along the Tiber.