Holiday Drinks/Treats

Leslie sent out an email today with a bunch of different IP food mods to get into the “Holiday Spirit!” Here’s a copy for posterity (but not to enlarge our posteriors)! I am going to change the color of all the drinks/desserts I personally plan on trying! What do you want to try?

Holiday Drink Ingredients:
1 Packet IP Drink or Pudding
Water (to taste – up to 16oz)
Optional: 1 packet Truvia, Splenda, or other sugar substitute
Spices as listed

Directions:
1. Mix IP Drink or Pudding with up to 16 oz cold water. Blend until no lumps. (Blender works great)
2. Add in Spices (see below) and mix
3. Pour a portion into a microwave safe mug (3/4 full) and heat.
NOTE! Heating may cause the liquid to overflow, so watch carefully, or use a different larger container to heat the liquid and then pour it into your mug.

1. PULLA (Finnish Sweet Buns)
IP Vanilla Pudding
1 tsp or more Cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract OR Vanilla seeds from Pod (I use Vanilla seeds and stir the drink with the pod to infuse with more vanilla flavor)
1/2 – 1 tsp cardamom

2. BUTTERED RUM
IP Butterscotch Pudding
1 packet Truvia or other sweetener
1/2-1 tsp Rum extract
Optional: Dash of cinnamon

3. GINGERBREAD
IP Chocolate Drink/ IP Chocolate Pudding/ or IP Vanilla Pudding
1 packet Truvia or other sweetener
1/2 – 1 tsp Gingerbread Spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice. Optional: orange peel)

4. PUMPKIN PIE
IP Vanilla Pudding (can also use IP Chocolate Drink/ IP Chocolate Pudding)
1/2 TB or more Da Vinci/ Torani Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pie Syrup (The Torani version also has a hint of pumpkin flavor in it which is great)
You can also use Pumpkin Pie spice, but its almost identical to Gingerbread spice above.
Optional: 1 packet Truvia or other sweetener (The syrup doesn’t need it. The spice alone does.)

5. CANDY CANE
IP Chocolate Drink/ IP Chocolate Pudding / or IP Vanilla Pudding
1/2 – 1 tsp Peppermint extract

6. MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE
IP Chocolate Drink/ IP Chocolate Pudding
1 tsp or more cinnamon
1/4 – 1/2 tsp hot chili (I use Indian chili powder)
Optional: Nutmeg or cardamom
(I don’t use sweetener on this to keep the chocolate a bit bitter.)

7. NUTELLA
IP Chocolate Drink / IP Chocolate Pudding
1 tsp or more Da Vinci / Torani Sugar-Free Hazelnut Syrup
or
1 tsp Almond or Hazelnut extract

8. BOUNTY (Chocolate Coconut)
IP Chocolate Drink/ IP Chocolate Pudding
1 tsp or more Sugar-Free Coconut Syrup

9. CHRISTMAS ORANGE
IP Chocolate Drink / IP Chocolate Pudding
1 tsp Orange extract (or 1-2 drops Valencia Orange Stevia liquid)

10. LEMON POPPY SEED
IP Lemon Pudding
1 tsp Poppy Seeds
1 packet Truvia or other sweetener
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cinnamon

Dinner Tonight!

There are definitely some things that I miss about my pre-IP lifestyle. Some of them are obvious (uh, hello chocolate), but some are not so blaring. I really miss cornstarch. I am the queen of making quasi-Asian meals, and cornstarch makes those beautiful, low-fat, glazy sauces that we have come to associate with stir fries, fried meats, and the like. Actually, I used to make an inordinate amount of homemade egg drop soup, and cornstarch gives that soup it’s nice, thick body. It can also give you a nice thick body, at 30 calories and 7 GRAMS OF CARBS per TABLESPOON! Yikes!

That being said, I think it’s still worth trying to achieve “Asian flair” with my IP approved stir fries and I’ve found a decent enough method for getting that flavor I savor.

Tonight I stir fried:

• broccoli
• mushrooms
• red cabbage
• a little onion (watch it on the cooked onion carbs, not approved)
• celery
• … and chicken breast tenders

While all of these things are delish on their own with a little salt and pepper, they are even more amazing with a sauce. To make an Asian stir fry “sauce,” I combine:

• 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger
• a dash of dried basil (Thai influence)
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of jarred minced garlic
• 1 – 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar
• hot chili sauce to taste (I love Sambal Oelek)
• soy sauce to taste
• Splenda to taste

Make sure the ingredients are combined very well; be careful of the ginger, especially. Ginger powder can have a tendency to clump up. Make your stirfry, and when your vegetables and are nearly to their “serving” stage, dump this into the middle of the hot pan. It should almost immediately begin to boil, and steam. This will help the flavors absorb right into your veggies, particularly any porous ones like broccoli.

Jazz things up even more by topping with sliced green onion or cilantro!

Experiment with different spices! Leave out the Splenda and go totally savory, or reduce the soy sauce and increase the vinegar for more of a “sweet and sour” flair. You’ll be amazed at how much more “fun” your dinners can be with a bit more flavor.

Bon appetit!

Shake Things Up!

Hey guys! I make it no secret that I believe the pre-mixed shakes/drinks kick the pants off of the packet shakes/drinks. I have a couple of reasons for feeling this way:

1. Convenience – they are always ready to go!
2. Temperature – no matter how cold the water is that you are using to mix with your powder, cold water + room temperature protein powder is always going to result in a quasi-cold drink. Personally, I want my protein shakes COLD. In order to facilitate this with a packet, I would have to mix my drink ahead of time and then leave it in the fridge to chill. Why not get a drink I can just pull out and consume?
3. Flavor – I personally prefer the flavor of the Chocolate pre-made shake to the powdered one. Vanilla is a flavor I sometimes crave – it tastes amazing with shots of espresso to make a “Frappuccino” like beverage, with a fraction of the calories and carbs, of course. The new Mango shakes are AMAZING – more like a smoothie than anything else.

Sometimes, though, I get a bit bored and need a little something… extra. I was pondering this the other day, when I got to experimenting and came up with this gem of a “recipe.”

“Ice Cream Parlor” Chocolate Shake

Ingredients

• 1 premade Chocolate Ideal Protein Shake
• 1/2 cup of Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Almondmilk (click here to find out why I use this particular brand; 17.5 calories, 1.25 grams fat, .5 grams carbs, .5 grams fiber)
• 1 TBSP of unsweetened baking cocoa powder (such as Hershey’s Natural Unsweetened Cocoa; 10 calories, .5 grams fat, 3 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber)
• Splenda to taste
• 4-6 ice cubes (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to blender pitcher, except for ice. Using a low setting, blend for about 30 seconds. This is an important step if you want to make sure your cocoa is well incorporated, and it also prevents your shake from getting too frothy/full of air bubbles. I personally find this unpleasant.
2. When all “wet” ingredients are well incorporated, stop your blender, and add your ice cubes. Depending on the size of your cubes, you may need more or less ice than I have recommended. I use ice cubes from an automatic ice cube maker feature of my freezer, so they are fairly small. “Tray” cubes are larger. Unfortunately, this is something you will have to experiment with 1-2 times before you get it “just right.”
3. Blend until ice is well incorporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
4. Pour into a LARGE glass and enjoy! (I have 32 oz. plastic tumblers from Fred Meyers that I got during the summer when huge drink ware is easy to come by. That tumbler is 2/3 – 3/4 of the way full of this shake, so beware!)

The extra chocolate kick is what really sets this shake apart from just poking your straw through the top and drinking. It makes it taste really rich and like you’re getting an honest to goodness treat.

Let me know what you think!

And now I’m back… from outer space!

I’m not sure how many of you are reading, but if you were wondering, I did not post last week, not even once! I was moving my little family of three into our first house! We are very thrilled and loving home ownership thus far. From an Ideal Protein standpoint, I’ve already found some positives:

• We have stairs for the first time in a long time – carrying boxes up and down made my muscle percentage shoot up at my last weigh in! Hooray for “effortless” exercise!
• I have a kitchen to cook in again! As much as I love my Taco Time salads, I am thrilled to be able to chop, stir-fry, and season once again.
• It’s so much easier to get dressed/put on makeup/do my hair now that I can have all my stuff out of boxes. I don’t know about you, but when I put effort into looking my best, I tend to eat better and be more careful about what I’m doing.
• It’s very peaceful in my new home town. Tranquility is a good state of mind for a weight loss journey!

Remember how I blogged recently about falling off the bandwagon and climbing back on? I fell off again once more before I was officially moved in to our new house. I was stressed out, not cooking, and everything in my life was a mish-mash and a cluttery mess. I do not operate well under those conditions. I am so happy to be back on IP 100%. Let me tell you something:

Cheating made me hungry. And cranky. And stupid.

Like… eating a cheeseburger out of the bag in the car hungry. (And cranky. And stupid.) (I know, I know.) Combining these elements: not getting enough protein, eating crap, and pulling all-nighters for the move; I had a recipe for some really crummy eating choices.

There’s something interesting that I learned about eating a SAD (Standard American Diet) selection of foods, after eating in a healthful and nourishing way for so long.

1. I ate with my mouth only. I was not listening to what my body needed or wanted. (Or DIDN’T WANT as the case may be.)
2. I was never really satisfied; I would eat until full, but then a few hours later I’d feel hunger again (carb crash).
3. It took a lot more calories (a LOT MORE) of crap food to satiate me than it did when I was eating correctly (Phase 1). What’s funny about this is that Ideal Protein gets a lot of flack for “not having enough nourishment,” when I found just the opposite. Lost of calories does not necessarily mean sustenance.

I am so happy to not feel enslaved to food again. I was lucky and hit ketosis within 2-3 days of getting back on track, and now I truly know that often when I’m feeling “hungry,” I’m really just bored.

Hope you guys have a great week!

Leslie’s Article of the Week

Many don’t believe their obesity poses health risks

“Many overweight and obese patients seen in hospital emergency departments don’t believe their weight poses a risk to their health, and many say doctors have never told them otherwise, a new study finds.”

Leslie writes:

Please take the time to read [the article above] that details the health affects of overweight and obesity. I have attached a BMI chart for you to check where you are.

Also, check out the AMAZING picture I have attached of what visceral fat really looks like. Note that when you are losing weight around the trunk area, those inches are coming off the fat surrounding your organs and heart and pressing up on your lungs, as well as coming off outside of your muscles.

Image source coming soon.

Climbing Back on the Horse

WARNING: This is going to be a very long entry.

Alright folks. In interest of full disclosure, I tumbled off the horse on Saturday and hit the ground running towards gastronomical debauchery. Yes; I was running pell-mell, arms flailing about, into the embrace of my old friend, Mr. Junk Food. I have climbed back on the horse today, not entirely willingly, but knowing it’s what’s best. I (and my diet) have survived this foray into fattening foods, so I figured I would share some insights that I gained through the experience.

Reaction vs. Response
Whether or not you believe it right this moment, you will probably mess up big time with something in your life, at some point. Well maybe you won’t. You’re probably perfect and incapable of such gross oversights. Well… I’m not. I am perfectly imperfect and I’ve screwed up so many things in my short 27 years, there’s probably a trophy for me out there somewhere. But you know what I hate screwing up? Diets. I hate falling off the band wagon because it’s so hard to get back on.

Why is this? Two reasons: food and failure.

As far as food goes, it’s fun to be bad, and that’s why most of us are here, right? Too much of a good thing. If you have issues with food obsession like I do, you are very concerned with experiencing flavors, textures, sweet, salty, rich, creamy and fluffy. Fluffy soft breads and pastries are what got me here in the first place.

And failure? Failure is realizing what you’ve done and burying yourself with the shame of it. Failure is a lack of willingness to pick yourself up and dust yourself off and go back down the path to health and wellness. Failure is accepting your mistake as your reality. Failure is embracing the behaviors that destroy as a lifestyle, and not a temporary state. And boy, oh boy, have I been there.

One of the first things that Leslie shared with me at our many meetings was a list of things that “naturally thin” people do or believe. One of them was this: No freaking out over diet mistakes. Start over tomorrow, and get really strict to make up for a day (or three… eep!) of bad eating. Keep an eye on the scale, and let it tell you how your body is reacting to your food decisions. Don’t get upset. Just respond accordingly.

See… there’s a huge difference between reacting, and responding. My awesome Aunt Janet,a life coach, taught me that long a go. The definitions really lay it out for you:

re·act
1. To act in response to or under the influence of a stimulus or prompting: reacted strongly to the sarcastic tone of the memorandum.
2. To act in opposition to a former condition or act: composers who reacted against romanticism.
3. To act reciprocally or in return.

The underlying tone here takes the power away from the individual doing the reacting. Almost as if they’re completely impulsive with no self-censorship.

re·spond
1. To make a reply; answer.
2. To act in return or in answer.
3. To react positively or favorably.

I love that number three has the word “react” in its definition. The word respond suggests thought, much more so than react does. So my advice is this:

Respond to your mistakes, don’t react to them. Learn from them and decide what your next move will be. Don’t let your mistake, or your emotions related to that mistake, decide for you. Today is a new day, or heck, tomorrow can be the new day you need. Just remember to decide.

The Body Knows What’s Up
So you know what happens when you try to eat terrible food after eating such a clean, restricted list of foods for so long? Nothing good. Just take my word on that.

You Can Go Home Again
Maybe this is the wrong way of looking at it, but Ideal Protein feels like my “home turf” right now. IP has been very, very good to me. I’ve lost almost seventy pounds since the end of May (5/22/2011) and I only have about thirty more to go.

Ideal Protein won’t judge you. It won’t tell you you can’t come back until you’re perfect. It won’t tell you that the stuff you ate the day before is completely unforgivable. Ideal Protein will be waiting there, patiently, if you made a mistake. (Or several mistakes, as the case may be… ehem.) It will, however, make you hungry for the first few days, since you probably threw yourself out of ketosis.

You know what? Worth it.

Almond Milk Battle Royale

Okay. So I have a little secret – I include almond milk in my routine like a madwoman. No, you won’t find almond milk anywhere on the acceptable foods list, but if you’ll notice, you can have one ounce of fat free milk per day.

One. Ounce. Um… Hello? I like my coffee to be something other than tar, thank you very much, and while I can rough it through a cup with only one ounce of milk in it, I surely can’t stretch one ounce of milk out over more than one cup. But there’s good reason for the limit (nutritional information below for one serving of nonfat dairy milk):

Serving Size: 1 cup (8 oz)
Calories: 90
Total Fat: 0g
Total Carbohydrate: 12g (0g fiber)
Protein: 8g

As you can see, dividing that by 8 would mean only 11.25 calories, but you’re still getting 1.5 grams of carbs… in one ounce!!!

Coffee = my sanity, these days. Whether you think that’s right, or that’s wrong, coffee is a good percentage of my blood stream people. And my friend, who heard me complaining about the amount of carbohydrates in milk, said, “What about almond milk?”

Now my immediate response was, “Yeah… they’re all flavored and even the plain kind has like 8 grams of sugar, right?”

Well, my sweets, let me just tell you, that all almond milks are NOT created equal.

My first contender is pretty tough to beat. Let me introduce you:

Blue Diamond Unsweetened Series. There’s a Chocolate one that I have not yet tried (and I’m not sure I’m interested), but for what it’s worth, both the Unsweetened Plain and the Unsweetened Vanilla have the same stats.

Serving Size: 1 cup (8 oz)
Calories: 40
Total Fat: 3.5g
Total Carbohydrate: 2g (1g fiber)
Protein: 1g

Almond milk is not a good source of protein like real milk is, but look at the carb drop! With the gram of fiber, you only have one blood sugar affecting carb in there… so each 1 ounce “serving” is 1/8 of a gram of carbs! Sure you’re getting a little bit of fat, but fat is not our enemy on this diet. Do I think you should drink 2 or three full cups per day? No way. But wait… there’s more.

While cruising Target with my kiddo tonight (my mecca), I stopped at the new grocery section. Some locations have ‘em, and some don’t. Our local Target JUST got a “full” grocery section put in. I was looking in the refridgerated  “alternative dairy” case – and voila!

Serving Size: 1 cup (8 oz)
Calories: 35
Total Fat: 2.5g
Total Carbohydrate: 1g (1g fiber)
Protein: 1g

Not only are we losing 5 calories and a gram of fat, but look! The total carbohydrate and dietary fiber grams are the same. This means that there are 0 carbs in this beverage that will mess with your blood sugar. It’s practically a miracle.

The best part? The Silk almond milk tastes creamier and feels thicker to me! How does that work?

Double check with Leslie, or your own nutritional advisor on Ideal Protein, but she gave me the go ahead. Including unsweetened almond milk has not been adversely affecting me on this diet. Cheers, and happy coffee drinking!