Okay, this week I tried the new “raved” about unrestricted chips. Honestly, I was fully expecting tasteless cardboard pieces of crap. Little did I know, that IP had just created something fierce! I paired these chips with my salsa on hand ( sugar-free, tomato free) red pepper and leek salsa ( recipe forthcoming). Hit.the.spot! BOOM! Try it out and let me know your thoughts!
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I know, I know a SECOND beef recipe in less than a week! I’m turning into a beef-eating machine! Hey, I’m approaching IP month 3, people! Time for new recipes to stay the course!
This was a labor intensive dinner, however it was well worth it as it has a lot of flavor to offer! Here’s the recipe: (Serves 2) Prep Time: 45 min + marinade time 5-24 hours Cook Time: 30 min Ingredients: Steak - 20 oz Flank steak( if you can, buy the organic grass-fed type: it tastes delicious and you know exactly what you are eating) 1/2 cup tamari 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup lime juice 1 teaspoon fresh parsley flakes 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 garlic clove, minced S+P generous amount (rub onto steak) Curried Cauliflower Tortillas (recipe borrowed from Directions: Marinade steak accordingly:
Note: For curried cauliflower tortillas, check out http://empoweredsustenance.com/cauliflower-wraps/. Enjoy! The other night, I was in the mood for something other than chicken, turkey and pork, so I decided to spice up my dinner with some seafood! Since it was just me, I was looking for a simple recipe to make in under 30 minutes. This recipe takes about 15 minutes and is SUPER easy to throw together. I love shrimp and with the 8 oz of meat protein needed on IP, its a versatile food to add to any meal, or have as a meal itself. I already had 4 oz of protein earlier in the day ( I know some clinics state this is fine, and other state you must have all at dinner: do what YOU want-- I have lost weight just fine by splitting my protein throughout the day) so I decided shrimp would be the perfect protein to have in a hurry and satisfy my hunger pains! Recipe: 1 T. minced garlic 2 leeks sliced (meat only; save greens for stock another day) 4 oz. peeled uncooked shrimp Squeeze 1/2 of sliced fresh lemon 1/2 t. IP sea salt (or hawaiian sea-salt if you have it) 1/4 t. fresh cracked black peppercorn 1 T. EVOO Directions: Heat skillet on stove at “medium” temperature. Let warm for 1-2 minutes. Add EVOO, garlic and leeks. Sauté garlic and leeks in oil until they become golden brown in color. Next, add shrimp with sea salt and pepper. Cover for 1-2 minutes. Shake pan vigorously for 20 seconds. Remove lid, and flip shrimp. Cover for 1-2 minutes. Shake pan vigorously. Squeeze fresh lemon. Turn heat to low. Continue to saute, until shrimp is lightly pink, and firm to the touch. Serve with fresh veggies for a complete IP dinner ( I used local organic string beans, delicious) and enjoy! The husband was away tonight, so it was the perfect excuse to portion my: vitamins, snacks, and meals to ensure a successful week! Oh, and let’s not forget I also was able to season my cast-iron skillets. A girl has gotta do what a girl’s gotta do! Priorities, ladies.
In between my prepping, I managed to do some “faux-baking” as I call it, (i.e. instead of using heavy hitters loaded with saturated fats and calories such as: granulated sugar, butter, and cream- choose lighter options), and it always satisfies the sweet cravings. Ingredients: 2 Ideal Protein chocolate drink mix 2 T. EVOO 2 eggs, lightly whisked 1 T. pure vanilla extract, 2 t. baking soda, 2 T. Walden Farms caramel syrup 2 T. Walden Farms Chocolate syrup pinch of pink hawaiian sea salt. Serves (2): Each serving includes 8 mini muffins or 6 mini muffins and 1 ramekin ( I was lazy and did not want to dirty a second muffin pan for a couple extra muffins) Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all items together, with exception of sea salt in large mixing bowl. Spray mini muffin pans with oil. Spoon mixture of muffin items into 3/4 of of each mini muffin mold top with a pinch of hawaiian sea salt, Bake for 8-10 minutes. Delicious! Enjoy! This morning started with my daily frappe! While the mix-ins may change, I always start my M-F days (weekends are filled with the REALLY good stuff) with the IP Cappuccino packet. It's a quick way for me to have an unrestricted breakfast item in between the hustle and bustle of the morning routine. Lately, I have been having my Cappuccino blended as a Raspberry Mocha. Boy, does it hit the spot-- so delicious! Here's the ingredients: 1. 1 IP Cappuccino packet 2. 5 oz. very cold water 3. (1) T. of Walden Farms No calorie Chocolate Syrup 4. 1 t. Raspberry Extract 5. 6-8 large ice cubes Directions: Place all ingredients in blender, blend on low for 20-40 seconds. Perfecto! A delicious breakfast to take on the road or enjoy at home! Tonight was only my 3rd time cooking beef, ever.
I was a vegetarian for a few years, then dabbled in-and-out of a vegan lifestyle ( turns out i just couldn’t live without bacon, really it’s just THAT tasty). But, I’ve always had a prejudice against beef. Perhaps its the plethora of PETA video’s I've watched over the years, or maybe the Chik-Fil-A cow really did win my sympathy to “Eat Mor Chik’n". Whatever the case may be, presently I am “way over” skinless grilled chicken breast. You see there’s only so many ways one can have skinless chicken breast, and I’ve about exhausted the list of recipes I know of, if Forrest Gump could rattle off all the ways to eat skinless chicken breast-- Ive had them all. It’s time to spice things up! So this week while grocery shopping, I saw a sale on organic grass-fed London Broil. (2lbs for $4, a steal so I am told!) Perhaps it was the adventurer in me that said, “Why not? Give it a try”, or I could have strictly been tempted due to (my guilty pleasure) MasterChef marathon RIGHT before going grocery shopping. Whatever the case, the London Broil came home with me. Tonight I busted out my prized purchase, and mastered the challenge of roasting my first London Broil, here’s the recipe:
Directions: Rinse steak with cold water. Pat Dry steak(s) with paper towels. Lay flat on wax paper or clean surface. Score both sides of steak(s) lightly using a meat tenderizer. Apply dry rub ingredients and 1/2 of oil to both sides of steak. Next, mix the beef bouillon, water, remaining oil, tamari, lime juice, and fresh parsley in a glass pyrex, or Ziploc bag ( to serve as marinade holder). Whisk ingredients, so all is blended. Add dry-rub steak(s) to marinade pyrex or Ziploc bag, and seal shut. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or up to 1 day. Before cooking, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line roasting pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. place steak with marinated juices in tented aluminum foil. Top with ribbon slices of red pepper. Loosely close foil tent, to allow juices and heat to stay in. Roast in oven for 50-60 minutes. Use meat thermometer to test for doneness. Serve at desired temperature and Enjoy! ( I enjoyed mine at Medium Well served with sauteed garlicky spinach and a cauliflower mash). If you’re like me, chances are when you were first introduced to Ideal Protein, you were a bit of a skeptic (if any of you are skeptics out there, welcome! I hope we can persuade you to cross over to the light side) and had plenty of doubts. Let’s be honest, the thought “Oh, another fad diet” has more than likely crossed your mind.. Perhaps that’s because you simply lack the knowledge and insight of the methodology behind Ideal Protein and have not been a witness to the truly amazing results it can help to produce! I say “help to” because ultimately YOU are the one committing to change your lifestyle. Only YOU put in the self-discipline, and resistance to temptation in order to see the results. And in the end, only YOU can be satisfied with what YOU have accomplished through YOUR commitment to becoming a healthier, better YOU! Here’s the science/method behind the Diet ( excerpt from: www.idealprotein.com) Understanding the Cause of Weight Gain will Help You Conquer itAccording to Dr. Tran Tien, "The cause of many weight issues in a modern society is insulin dysfunction. A diet grossly disproportionate in its share of saturated fats and sugars, such as in breads, cereals, muffins, cakes, pastries, pasta, pizza, rice, corn - very much like the North American diet - causes the pancreas to produce an overabundance of insulin, which stays in the system and puts the blood sugar level in a negative balance." An overproduction of insulin may lead to hypoglycemia or low glycemia, which in turn may induce constant sugar cravings and weight gain. One of Insulin’s primary functions is to regulate blood sugar levels, however, it is also the hormone that facilitates the transport of fat (triglycerides) into the fat cells. Even worse, it "locks" the fat into the fat cell, preventing it from being used used as a source of energy. Now, because the blood sugar has dropped (and we can’t access the fat as a fuel source) it creates "sugar cravings' and the vicious cycle begins again. In other words, an over abundance of insulin can cause weight gain. Core Principles of Ideal ProteinLearning to live off of the body's own fat reserves. The body employs energy from three reserves: glycogen (carbohydrate), protein and fats. First the body depletetes its simple and complex carbohydrate reserves and then turns simultaneously to its protein and fat reserves for energy. A person not in need of weight loss typically has approximately 1-2% of their body's reserves from carbs, approximately 19% from their muscle mass and 79% of their body reserves from fat. Simple and complex carbohydrates can prevent weight loss. The body stores approximately three days worth of carbohydrates, therefore, our protocol restricts sugars (simple and complex) until 100% of your weight loss goal is achieved…why? Because, as long as sugar is being consumed, your body may not be burning fat. Remember, the first source of energy is derived from glycogen (carbohydrate) reserves. Therefore, the core principle of the Ideal Protein Protocol is to deplete the glycogen (carbohydrate) reserves completely, in order to compel the body into consuming its fat reserve to burn calories. How do we encourage the body to burn its fat reserves, but support its muscle mass reserves if both are depleted simultaneously? First, Ideal Protein foods are made with high quality protein. The quality of protein used in Ideal Protein diet products has an impact on effective protein absorption…the lower the quality, the lower the absorption. If protein absorption is low, you may not be able to protect your muscle mass and thus you will burn muscle along with fat. If you lose muscle while dieting, you may impair your ability to burn calories post-diet, as your body uses muscle mass to burn calories. Secondly, our dieters use our nutrient-rich supplements such as Natura Multi-Vita, Natura Calcium & Magnesium and Natura Potassium, key ingredients in muscle building and electrolytes. These supplements replace those normally found in foods restricted on the Ideal Protein protocol. What to Expect from Ideal Protein: ( Excerpt directly from www.idealprotein.com)
WHY start the IDEAL PROTEIN lifestyle??
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AuthorRediscovering myself through the process of healthy choices and clean eating! I enjoy all things Ideal Protein (baking, cooking, referring, talking and of course, eating). Lover of all things Fall/Autumn! Archives
January 2014
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