So what do your menus look like?

[Hooligan]

For those of you in your VLCD's what do your menus look like? I'm starting my first loading day tomorrow and am planning on hitting the grocery store. So far my list for the things I need include: apples, oranges, cucumbers, asparagus, spinach, tomatoes, shrimp, scallops, and chicken. Now I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to make meals out of this. I already have onion and some frozen strawberries, vinegars, and ground turkey. A lot of the recipes I've seen online include things that we're not supposed to have. I consider myself a reasonably good cook but this seems so hard to me. Am I just making this more difficult than it has to be?

Also, can we have clementines? Would you still have one or would 2 be ok since they are so small?

[Arctic_Mama]

No clementines. They have more sugar and calories per ounce than oranges.

Honestly I have had a heck of a time finding recipes online, at least, as most use items not in the original protocol. I picked through the hCG recipe thread on this site and found about a dozen recipes that conform to P2 cleanly and sounded good, I use those a lot.

Most days, though, I don't really make recipes, I just prepare my food and season it, if that makes sense.

For example:

Lunch might look like this -
- Apple (eaten straight)
- 2 cups chopped asparagus, steamed and then salted and seasoned with paprika
- Chicken breast pan fried dry with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Deglaze pan with a little water to make a 'sauce'.
- grissini (eaten straight)

Dinner might look like this:
- half grapefruit rubbed with three drops of stevia, for sweetness
- grissini (eaten straight)
- 2 handfuls spinach blended with three egg whites and a whole egg, salt, pepper, paprika. Baked in pyrex until cooked through. Add a little Tabasco and voila! Frittata


Rarely do I use actual recipes that require prep, with the exception of chili or the occasional confetti salad. Too many have things that aren't in the original protocol and I'm just not cool with that (I figure if I'm going to eat something as specific and strict as the P2 diet, I might as well not shoot myself in the foot trying to get overly 'creative' with it. It's only six weeks!).

I rotate among chicken, shrimp, Mahi Mahi (white fish), ground moose (so much leaner than ground beef, leaner than most veal), and the occasional egg and cottage cheese day. Once I have picked my protein I plan the rest of the meal around what I might cook that protein with. But I'm more likely to just throw it in a pan with some spices, steam the veggie, munch the fruit and bread, that concoct anything particularly complex. I do that for the rest of my family, I don't really want to make two complete meals every single mealtime if I don't have to. Thus, I keep it simple.

[Arctic_Mama]

More meals I do -

- strawberries straight
- cucumbers quick pickled with a little salt rubbed in, a tbsp vinegar, some dill, and some stevia to sweeten
- shrimp sautéed in a tbsp lemon juice (approx 1/3 your daily allowance of lemon), salt, and Tony Chacheres
- grissini straight

- moose (extra lean hamburger, veal, whatever) pan fried with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
- orange straight
- radish marinated in sugar free rice vinegar and some stevia
- grissini straight

- Mahi Mahi steamed in a lidded pan with a little water, 1 tbsp lemon juice, dill, chives, salt, cayenne pepper
- apples chopped and rubbed with cinnamon, a little water and stevia, then microwaved until soft
- celery straight
- grissini straight




Do you see a pattern here? The best way I found to comply well with P2 and not make it too complex was to eat most of my foods simply seasoned and not combined. Other than the oft-mentioned strawberry cocoa shake (and cocoa is off protocol, but it doesn't seem to stall anyone out) I very, VERY rarely do more than the bare minimum to make simple, tasty meals of each food item.

The other benefit is that I often have three bowls of food in front of me when I eat, as nothing is combined, so it looks like quite the feast to my brain. I am usually stuffed to the point that I don't always finish my vegetable

[Hooligan]

Thanks for the reply! I think keeping it simple is what I'm going to have to do. You're right...it's only 6 weeks! I'm looking at this is dietary boot camp!

[Arctic_Mama]

Yup, that's what I do. If I'm going to all this trouble, I'm doing it as precisely correct as I can

[Hooligan]

I also see that you have 2 cups of asparagus...so you don't need to have just a single serving of a veggie as long as it's the same veggie? In my book it lists asparagus as 1 Cup for a singer serving (27 calories). Do you just keep it so your veggie fits into your caloric limits and then only allow yourself 1 serving of fruit per meal or for a snack. I've been doing low carb for so long whenever I try to lose weight that this whole calorie and serving size thing is throwing me for a loop! I haven't counted calories in over 15 years!

[BaileysGirl]

My meals were the same most days but this is what they consisted of:

Breakfast & Snack - Either an apple w/ cinn/truvia mwaved OR a cold apple diced w/ lemon juice OR strawberries w/ truvia

Lunch/Dinner - chicken breast w/ hot sauce or horsey mustard or plain, shrimp w/ homemade cocktail sauce, tuna plain, tilapia grilled w/ cajun seasonings for the meats
lettuce w/ salsa, spinach or cabbage sauteed w/ garlic & chicken broth, green beans cooked in chicken broth, cucmbers marinated in vinegar or plain for the veggies

I also made a few batches of P2 Chili for lunches/dinners & I had my 4 garlic melba snacks for the day most days as well. Once a week I would have an egg dinner of 1 egg and 2 or 3 whites scrambled topped w/ salsa for dinner. I also had broccoli once or twice out at a restaurant.

I start my 2nd round of P2 next Monday!!

[Arctic_Mama]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

I also see that you have 2 cups of asparagus...so you don't need to have just a single serving of a veggie as long as it's the same veggie? In my book it lists asparagus as 1 Cup for a singer serving (27 calories). Do you just keep it so your veggie fits into your caloric limits and then only allow yourself 1 serving of fruit per meal or for a snack. I've been doing low carb for so long whenever I try to lose weight that this whole calorie and serving size thing is throwing me for a loop! I haven't counted calories in over 15 years!

Now I'm a bit worried - are you using the unaltered, original "Pounds and Inches" by Simeons? A lot of clinics amend the manuscript, add junk,nchange recommendations, etc, and that is NOT good.

The original Pounds and Inches did not specify vegetable amounts, except that combining vegetables is against protocol and using two small apples does not substitute for one large, as the calories are still greater in the smaller ones.

The way I do my tracking is weigh out my 100 grams of uncooked, thawed protein. Then grab my handful of strawberries, half grapefruit, or one apple. Add grissini.

I calculate this in my little tracker app I've been using for three years, then calculate in the seasonings and vinegar I might use. Then, depending on the fruit and protein chosen, I will usually have between 150-200 calories there. I fill the remaining calories for each meal with my vegetable, until I am full or reach 250.

In the original protocol there are NO limits of veggies, except that the daily calories do not exceed 500. Obviously cabbage has less calories per gram than onions, so I would get less onion to equal the same calories than cabbage, get it? For the particular day, I had enough calories for two cups of asparagus, so I ate it! It's really simple.

Do you need a clean copy of the manuscript? I can track down a PDF for you if the copy you have has been altered.

[wishbone]

Arctic Mama - what is this strawberry coco shake you speak of ?

[Hooligan]

Thanks Arctic Mama! The only thing I have is the IAPAM hCG Protocol Patient Guidebook and it is sparse at best with information. All the book says is "One type of vegetable, to be chosen from the following: spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumber, asparagus, or cabbage." It didn't specify an amount so I assumed I could eat more than one serving but later in the booklet, it indicated that one serving of asparagus was 27 calories so I wasn't sure if I was only able to eat 1 serving or not. The way you explained it was how I understood it. I was just clarifying the my understanding was correct.

[Sunny7]

tonight i made the hamburger/cabbage dish, i brown the hb and rinse off any excess grease with hot water, then i take some beef broth and cook up some cabbage till soft then put in the hamburger stir together----i add salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little chili powder. probably would be good with a splash of hot sauce on it----

the p2 chili is a staple for me---i always have some on hand for a quick meal

[Arctic_Mama]

Originally Posted by wishbone

Arctic Mama - what is this strawberry coco shake you speak of ?

It's one Biz created that I use as my meal on days I've been too sick to cook (shingles suck. Seriously.) or when my husband was replacing our hot water heater and I couldn't use the stove (no natural gas).

3 oz. cottage cheese
5 oz frozen strawberries
2 handfuls spinach
1 tbsp cocoa powder (no sugar added)
Sweetener of choice (I use ten drops of Sweetleaf Chocolate Stevia)

You blend the sucker up, add however much water is needed to thin it out and make it churn, and go. There's some debate on this, apparently Biz recommends two of them as a meal replacement but the quantities of fruits, veggies and protein by MY calculations are a full P2 meal, minus the grissini, so I have only had one per meal and munched the breadstick alongside. But it is a tasty, filling shake that is good for the times you don't (or can't) cook. The cocoa is NOT on the dr's food list and generally speaking, strict protocol would be to not eat anything he didn't include, but I have not personally noticed any issues with the cocoa on the scale. I wouldn't eat one every day, but they saved me when I couldn't use the kitchen or move my right arm.

I claim no credit for the shake, I got the recipe from this very forum

[Sunny7]

do you think you could use the lower fat ricotta cheese in this shake instead of cottage, just asking

[Sleepy]

im a soup girl!
i eat a lot of soup, burger patties and p2 chili
i have an apple at 10 am and again at 3 pm

[doxielove]

Originally Posted by Sleepy

im a soup girl!
i eat a lot of soup, burger patties and p2 chili
i have an apple at 10 am and again at 3 pm

I love soup and I will have to keep my eating VERY simple if I'm going to stay on plan. Please share your soup and chili recipes?

[Sleepy]

Originally Posted by doxielove

I love soup and I will have to keep my eating VERY simple if I'm going to stay on plan. Please share your soup and chili recipes?

soup = any kind of meat + organic broth + celery & onion & sometimes homemade stewed tomatos (i mix veggies), lots of herbs & spices

easy peasy and keeps you full!

like sunday i am making a black angus beef roast . i will cook it with onions, stewed tomatos, celery, organic beef stock. portion out the meat in containers, add ladels of the veg/stock soup and all set for the week

[doxielove]

Originally Posted by Sleepy

soup = any kind of meat + organic broth + celery & onion & sometimes homemade stewed tomatos (i mix veggies), lots of herbs & spices

easy peasy and keeps you full!

like sunday i am making a black angus beef roast . i will cook it with onions, stewed tomatos, celery, organic beef stock. portion out the meat in containers, add ladels of the veg/stock soup and all set for the week

That sounds good! About how much broth do you allow per serving? And congratulations on the fantastic weight loss!!!

[Sleepy]

Originally Posted by doxielove

That sounds good! About how much broth do you allow per serving? And congratulations on the fantastic weight loss!!!

as much as you'd like
i usually do a ladle full (which i think = 1 cup ) sometimes 2
i like to eat more at lunch than at dinner cuz thats when im hungriest

[SunnyFL]

This round I am so becoming a soup and P2 Chili girl...it's easy and filling!
I kept track of my calories on an iPhone app...I weighed everything, but for me it's easier..I also kept my grissini (I bought the thin ones so I could have 4 a day) and I kept my milk. I truly believe it helped stabilize me really well where I was able to eat wheat, dairy, and carbs, potatoes, even white flours and sugar in crazy amounts and not gain on P4. I gained a bit the last couple of days but I threw caution to the wind since I would be loading today hehehe

I also found for me, it worked better to eat my fruit in the am. I ate two fruits, always...an apple in the am, then orange as afternoon, before dinner snack. Or strawberries and apple etc. I just made sure not to eat the same fruit twice. Also I drank a TON of water!

[doxielove]

Originally Posted by SunnyFL

This round I am so becoming a soup and P2 Chili girl...it's easy and filling!
I kept track of my calories on an iPhone app...I weighed everything, but for me it's easier..I also kept my grissini (I bought the thin ones so I could have 4 a day) and I kept my milk. I truly believe it helped stabilize me really well where I was able to eat wheat, dairy, and carbs, potatoes, even white flours and sugar in crazy amounts and not gain on P4. I gained a bit the last couple of days but I threw caution to the wind since I would be loading today hehehe

I also found for me, it worked better to eat my fruit in the am. I ate two fruits, always...an apple in the am, then orange as afternoon, before dinner snack. Or strawberries and apple etc. I just made sure not to eat the same fruit twice. Also I drank a TON of water!

Soup and chili for me, too - I'm going to copy Sleepy and pray I have her success! Only because of my diabetes I'm skipping the fruit and grissini, so I guess I'll be considered a bit rogue...and I'm not going to load, either. Very excited to do this (again) - starting Monday the 2nd!

[doxielove]

PS - thanks, Sleepy!

[Arctic_Mama]

Originally Posted by Sunny7

do you think you could use the lower fat ricotta cheese in this shake instead of cottage, just asking

I don't make substitutions as I am a strict protocol follower for this round - fat free cottage cheese is what I use. Could you substitute? I suppose, it's your choice! I never recommend substitutions to protocol ingredients, though

[star a.d.]

soup was an absolute lifesaver for me on P2.

I used the ************ app on my phone to track calories.

[Sleepy]

Originally Posted by doxielove

PS - thanks, Sleepy!

you are welcome
this has certainly saved me as organic broth only has like 20 calories so you can have quite alot and get yourself full
another good idea is if you make chicken soup ~ add your apple to it, its delish

[dawnyama]

Here are some more ideas of what to eat on P2:


P2 What is on your menu? March

We used to post this regularly. I think since we have a bunch of newbies starting this new year we should start another one!! I will go do that now and post the link here:

P2 What is on your menu? January 2012

Now we can see what everyone is eating!! Happy New Year everyone!!