I am a big guy. The zone calculator says 19 blocks. Try to get some better ideas on meal plans. Just general question any answeres advice welcome.
1) what protien soruces do you use?
2) I know the view on grains. It says about 25% of meal okay from breads/grains. Does that mean no sandwiches? I need 3 5 block meals a day for lunch I was eating a sandwhich 2 slices of bread (4 blocks) 1 oz turkey deli meat (1 pro) with light miracle whip (5 fat) and 1 cup of cottage cheese (4 pro). Should I figure out another way to get my carbs? or is this acceptable?

What about "light" yogurt? Is that okay I know it has a lot of sugar. Is it only zone approved as plain? I guess you could make your own (plain yogurt blended with blueberries)

On Yogurt: We buy lo-fat, plain, organic yogurt and add our own fresh (in season) or frozen berries, with either almonds or olive oil.
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Yogurt is very easy to make. Wife and I did so over 20 years ago. Looking at doing it again - esp. now that there is more access to organic and raw milk available. Looking at cost of yogurt starter and milk vs. purchasing the StonyField organic yogurt we purchase now. Probably similar in cost.

Yes, making your own is much cheaper, and very easy. Actually, you don't even need a starter. I used to make all our yogurt. Simply add a spoonful of your current batch/ container of yogurt (makign sure it's a yogurt that contains live active cultures; it will say on the container) to the warmed milk and keep in insulated so it stays warm for (overnight or a day...I forget exactly how long). It's that easy and it's delicious!

Thanks, John for the yogurt tip. I have always thought about doing that, but never got around to it. Maybe that should be something new for 2010!

YES, you do not need much, just some yogurt with active cultures.
However, I found a web site with some really good (and variety) of yogurt starter, which is probably better than using a starter from a commercial yogurt.
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http://www.culturesforhealth.com/splash.php
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We had an electric oven, and were able to keep it at a constant temp of 110 def F (?) - all that is needed.
And a good thermometer. Now, some 24 years later, we have a gas oven, and I also found our old Yogurme',
which plugs in and keeps milk at the constant correct temp. Dead simple.

You can also use crumbled newspaper for insulation in an insulated bag, a thermos, etc; any way that you can hold in the heat will work. It's not even necessary to use gas or electrcity to keep it warm after the initial heating. Easiest is to use the insulated canisters for yogurt making, usually come in the 1 quart size. I don't know if they still sell /make them, but you could easily google to find out.

Sounds interesting, I am not going to purchase any special equipment for this, but I found a few "recipes" online. Will give it a shot.

Then, after I figure that out, I would like to figure out how to do greek yogurt. Commercial greek yogurts have lower carb content, and so I would like to be able to replicate that. Any experience with homemade greek yogurt?

Check out the web site I pointed to you, earlier. even if you don't use any of their starters, there is a lot of good info.
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I just heated some organic, 2% milk (1 quart) up to 160 deg F in microwave (YES, I know Dr. Mercola would have a cow - pun intended - for using a microwave!). Let cool to about 110 deg F (108-112). Added in some of my Stonyfield, lo-fat, organic yogurt. Keeping warm and will know in about 4 to 4-1/2 hours.
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Probably won't be as thick by using 2% milk. However, if you use Active culture Greek, plain yogurt from store - that should be a good start to making Greek yogurt.
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And you can always make it Greek style like my wife occasionally does. Puts a cheese cloth (coffee filter) in a sieve, puts regular plain yogurt in the sieve, sits that on top of a bowl to collect the liquid, puts in refrigerator, and after about 24 hours, has a Greek like tasting and thicker yogurt.
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dead simple.

OK will check that site out.

Maybe this isn't exactly a good question to ask, but when one makes greek yogurt via the cheesecloth or coffee filter, does that reduce the carb content? Just wondering, perhaps the carbs are attached to the liquidy part of the yogurt, while the proteins are attached to the solid part of the yogurt. LOL!

Well, this will give me something to do while I work on my facebook zoo!

BADD, I just noticed no one addressed your first two questions. Here goes.

1. I eat the lean proteins shown on the best list in the Zone Food Blocks tab in Quick Start Guide (link at right). I also eat the SuperZone foods. They're an excellent source of high quality protien.

2. 4 blocks of bread is not a good Zone choice for obvious reasons (you're already aware you need to limit high density carb to no more than 25% of the carb in any meal). Yes, find another source of carb, a more Zone friendly one. If you want a sandwich you can make it with SuperZone bread (learn more about this in the SuperZone foods tab above).

RE with regards to:
I just heated some organic, 2% milk (1 quart) up to 160 deg F in microwave (YES, I know Dr. Mercola would have a cow - pun intended - for using a microwave!). Let cool to about 110 deg F (108-112). Added in some of my Stonyfield, lo-fat, organic yogurt. Keeping warm and will know in about 4 to 4-1/2 hours.
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UPDATE: Placed in refrigerator at 10 PM and had some this morning. As expected, because of the 2% milk used and the fact that the milk used was Ultra High Pastuerized - it came out not as thick - but tasted good none-the-less.

I liked your pun!

I have a few things going on this week, so I probably won't be getting around to it until Thursday or Friday.