Ideal Protein Diet Updated and a new Low Carb Recipe

The Ideal Protein Diet has been updated a bit. They've added an extra meal on your own, which should help. They've also seemed to include a higher carb item in the program, you can have a helping of rice or other carb, once per day. Perhaps that will help folks stick to this longer.

I've recently done a compare of the exact ingredients in the Ideal Protein bars and shakes to some over the counter products. The Pure Protein bars and shakes (available at Target and sometimes Wal Mart) have the same exact ingredients as Ideal Protein, but waaayyy cheaper. The EAS shakes also have the same ingredients, again much cheaper. So if price is an issue, there are some alternatives for you. Ideal Protein makes lots of other meal choices, haven't found any subs for those yet.

I continue to work on new recipes that are a low carb version of my favorite food items. It definitely helps me stick to this low carb lifestyle. Whether using the Ideal Protein or other supplemental products, I still feel this is a good way to diet, and just a healthy way to eat period.

So crab is one of my favorite foods, and a good low fat protein as it turns out. Blue crabs are pretty plentiful here in Louisiana, especially this time of year. I can catch them in the lake not to far from my house. I just boil them up, peel, and eat. Crab cakes are one of my favorites, but not always a low carb choice. I didn't want to give these up, so came up with this low carb option for crab cakes. Here is the Low Carb Crab Cake Recipe, if you are interested.

Healthy Crab Cakes

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
1 ½ tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
½ tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Spicy Seasoning (Such as Old Bay, or Cajun Seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound claw crabmeat drained, flaked
½ cup Crushed Whole Wheat Crackers
Olive Oil

Directions: Spray a frying pan with cooking spray, and heat on med-low, add onion and garlic to the pan and soften the vegetables for about 3 minutes.

Combine egg, mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, Spicy seasoning, softened vegetables, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; blend well. Gently fold in crabmeat and crushed crackers. Shape mixture into 8 patties.

Coat a large pan with olive oil, and heat on medium-high. Add the crab cakes, letting them brown on each side.

Drain on paper towels. I prefer using fresh crabmeat for this recipe, but canned works as well if that's all you have access to.