Well my ZoneFast 123 food came, today.  (Ordered Thr, 2nd day (?) Fed-Ex arrived today - Tue.)
I had my normal breakfast smoothie at about 9:30 AM, which holds me best and lasted (would have lasted) until after 1 PM. 
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ZoneFast 123 food arrived at just before 1 PM.  So, for lunch at 1 PM: I had two slices of multi-grain bread (2P, 3C, 2F) with some Humus, 1 small sliced tomato, a touch of Crystal Himalyan Sea salt, a little EEVO (1F), and 1oz lean deli turkey (1P) plus my usual water. 
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Going to work out at about 2:30 PM.  We'll see how I hold up until dinner time.  I'll let ya all know.

Hi John, the time of day a Zone food order is placed determines which day it will be baked, plus, in your case, there was also weekend involved.


____________________________________________

sue
Consultant of Zone Labs
Certified Zone Affiliate

Lost 100 lbs 15 yrs ago, off BP meds, thanks to the Zone diet and Zone fish oil.   ZoneFast 1-2-3 is the best!

View my Zone Fast 1-2-3 meal photos here:
http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...3%20Meals/

View my classic Zone meal photos here:
http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...4/?start=0

Update:  I actually went to the YMCA at 3:30 instead of 2:30.  At around 2:45 felt pekish, but not hungry.  Back home at 5:00 PM, and now feeling like I would normally starting to get hungry.  So I guess it held up; but one meal does not a trial make.  Plus I didn't like feeling peckish only 2-1/2 hours later, but not enough to say I was hungry.  I was probably paying more attention since I was trying the ZoneFast 123 foods.  Drank some additional water and started my workout stretching, weight resistance, and cardio (peak 8). And didn'tnotice anything until I got back home.
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I will probably mix real food with either one bread slice.  Though I am dying to try a cookie or a brownie, I am not sure I want two full blocks of sweet for dinner.  So, I'll hold off until this evening and split one with my wife when she gets home (late night for her on Tue.).

So, I went with ALL classic Zone for dinner, and as usual it held me for 4 hours or more - or more because I ate my late evening snack before I got hungry and before it got too close to retiring for the night.
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 I shared one of the new brownies with my wife for the late evening snack. I don't know how folks can say that they are too sweet.  Possibly Zone Labs might have changed them.  And since I saw info that brownies are "back", maybe they did change them in bringing them back?
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 Not sweet at all. In fact no taste at all really. I do not, never have, liked chocolate cake nor chocolate ice cream (though an occasional fudge brownie is a nice cheat treat) - so I do not mind that they have nearly no taste - at least they do NOT taste bad.  However, they have a feeling similar to almost not fully cooked bread, just ever so slightly almost doughy feel, BUT very, very dry - requiring drinking additional water.
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 No danger of setting off a sweet binge for my wife. She did say it has a slight chocolate taste.
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 I've only had two new ZoneFast 123 foods today, not enough to judge overall their lasting effects. BUT, so far, I think they will work at the very least for me - as supplemental, and because of their high cost - minimally - but an option when necessary, noe-the-less.
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Especially for a business trip like the one I have coming up in late FEB - which is the reason I am trying these foods now.

Interesting about the brownies, that is encouraging. The cookies turned me off because of how sweet they were, but maybe the brownies would go over better for us here...Maybe will have to consider an order of them.

This morning I thought about it.  I recall folks, even tech, stating how the brownies would come frozen.  Mine did not come frozen, but they came in the Fed-Ex shipping box - packaged same as the bread and the cookies - loose with no separate packaging or ice packs, and no special instructions about keeping them refrigerated.  So they must have re-formulated them.
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I have not yet opened the cookies, but even though I would not eat them regularly for breakfast, I might just open a pkg and have for breakfast, today.  Just because I am curious as to how sweet they taste for me.

I've been ordering Zone brownies since they first became available and they've always been shipped fresh baked, not frozen.    I have mentioned here that I like to keep them in the freezer and eat them frozen.


____________________________________________

sue
Consultant of Zone Labs
Certified Zone Affiliate

Lost 100 lbs 15 yrs ago, off BP meds, thanks to the Zone diet and Zone fish oil.   ZoneFast 1-2-3 is the best!

View my Zone Fast 1-2-3 meal photos here:
http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...3%20Meals/

View my classic Zone meal photos here:
http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...4/?start=0

The brownies are fresh baked not frozen. I freeze them when I get them.

Thanks for the clarification. 
So do they need to be frozen? 
I am leaving them out at room temp?

You should refrigerate everything excluding the pasta, cookies, bagel chips and cookies. If there's room in the refrigerator I will put everyting in there. If you aren't going to consume the "refrigerated" items in 5-7 days we recommend that your freeze them.

John, you might want to recheck the packaging materials from your order.  There's usually an insert included that explains how to store the food, how to cook the pasta, etc.

So, yes - as everyone has said - the cookies ARE WAY TOO SWEET! 
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I started with 1/2 of one cookie, and thought, okay, a little sweet but not too bad, then after another bite into the second half of the first cookie, and it started to hit me.  By the time I ate both cookies, it was nearly sickening.  Definitely way too sweet, and much more than I ever imagined! 
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No way I would let my wife eat one of these.  I quickly ate an additional two blocks of blueberries (1 C), Protein Powder (1P), EEVO (1F) and Low-Fat Plain, Organic yogurt (1 P, 1 C, 1 F).  I'll just have to ensure I eat these cookies with my main meals and not alone as snacks.  They are still sitting not too well, because of the sweetness.  And I do not feel full.  I'll have to give it some time to see if this holds me. 
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I will go so far as to say, that they are terrible - they are so sweet tasting!  (for me)

TECH? - Is there any way to return them (cookies) for a refund? 
Or return them and get something else as a replacement?

Hey John, you can send the cookies to my house, we love them! 

I have been eating the cookies most often either before bed or before going to the gym. The Soy Protein in them is actually good for LBM growth and I appreciate the sugar, it doesn't bother me as it seems to for you

John, yes, you should be able to get a refund.  Just call Zone Labs and they will explain the procedure.  Too bad they didn't work for you.


____________________________________________

sue
Consultant of Zone Labs
Certified Zone Affiliate

Lost 100 lbs 15 yrs ago, off BP meds, thanks to the Zone diet and Zone fish oil.   ZoneFast 1-2-3 is the best!

View my Zone Fast 1-2-3 meal photos here:
http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...3%20Meals/

View my classic Zone meal photos here:
http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...4/?start=0

I called, they are giving me credit for the cookies, and told me not to return them.
(They don't want them either - lol.)
At least that was painless and simple.
The other foods do seem to hold at least the 4 hours plus.

Good moring, I had a zone 123 garlic bagel, 1very small apple, 1 cheese stick, and 1 macadamia nut for breakfast. Would this be a correct zone meal?

John, the cinamon bread and bagel chips are really good. I think the cookies are to sweet also I can barely finish one.

I did try heating up 1 cookie in microwave oven for about 10 seconds.
Eating only 1 cookie warm, was at least tolerable, until they are gone.
I think I have one cookie about every third day until gone.
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Next time I will try Bagel - not so sure about Cinnamon Buns.  Will order their bread again, and want to try the Pizza dough.
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High cost keeping me from trying a lot at one time. 
Budget a small amount each pay day, twice per month.
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Once I know what works and if I will have refrigerator in hotel room for my Feb business trip,
I can order for that trip to be delivered directly to the hotel. 

Hi Alicia,

Next time stick with 1/2 apple at a time with Zone foods.  Otherwise it was fine.  You can read more information about Zone1-2-3 meals here:  http://www.zonediet.com/GroceryAddi...fault.aspx 

John, do you find this to be more expensive than if you were eating traditional zone meals with food bought from the store? 

When I tried it, I felt that it was not too badly priced, considering that I was not purchasing protein foods; but I  still was spending more than I would if I was preparing my own food.  Just wondered what you were feeling about that. 

My wife purchases our food, about the only "bill" she is responsible for aside from the gasoline for her car (for which I make the payments for).  I pay all other bills and household needs. And since this was a trial, it was above and beyond our normal food budget, so I paid for this first trial.  Until we decide if we are going to do this regularly, then we negotiate - esp. since her pay is so much lower than mine, even though she has 1 full time and a part time, and I have a full time and a seasonal part-time.
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So I don't know, yet.  BUT, as an example, since she only has so much to budget for food, when we decided to go with natural, whole, fresh eggs and milk, non-pastuerized from a local farm, we subtracted what she would normally spend for milk and eggs at the supermarket, and I funded the additional difference in cost. 
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SO, if we do decide on any of the foods on a regular basis, we might do the same.  However, since we are not planning to go full ZoneFast 1-2-3 - only partial like maybe 2 loaves loaf of bread every two weeks, we would have to determine and see. 
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In fact she just mentioned, today, that maybe she needs to buy less luncheon meat, because she noticed most of it is still in the refrigerator.  Because I've been mostly this week using the one loaf of the ZoneFast 1-2-3 bread, I've only added 1 oz to my daily lunches on most days that I've used it, so we have a lot of luncheon meat left.
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Therefore, in reality, by determining exactly what ZoneFast 1-2-3 foods we use, and determining exactly what we will buy less of, we can exactly determine the cost differential, and whether a savings or additional.
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So, for example reducing the frequency of purchasing the Ezekiel bread she likes to get and the net 6 carbs tortilla wraps I like with two loaves of ZoneFast 1-2-3 bread every two weeks will be much more expensive, esp. with their charges for shipping.  BUT, then add the savings in reduction of 2 pounds of lean white turkey breast luncheon deli meat each week to say about 1 or 1/2 pound each week -- and it might be close.
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In fact, as I write, I am thinking put loud now, that is probably what I'll do,  --  evaluate each item that we decide we might like to mostly incorporate - one food item at a time.  While other items, like pizza dough, would be additional to our regular grocery, and stored in freezer, and used once per month or so and not really replace except maybe to replace a cheat meal where she really wants to order a pizza.  But that would then also mean purchasing the ingredients to make our own pizza sauce, like I used to do when our 4 children were young and we could not afford to order pizza, much.  (My pre-zone days.)

Oh, a comparison of the differences would be interesting... I should try that, too.  I could work off of some zone recipes and then compare the cost to a traditional zoned equivalent, like your example with the ezekiel bread and lunch meat.  Or, a zoned pasta meal vs. a zone-balanced dreamfields pasta meal (since many of us feel that Dreamfields works well for us). 

I am hiking, tomorrow (Saturday) - great Fall colors in New England.
And probably another but shorter and less intense (solo) bicycle ride on Sunday between church and NASCAR race/Pathers Football game.
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I will get prices from her and figure out the cost differential for the Bread/luncheon meat, and try to get it posted on Sunday afternoon with my wife's laptop while switching between Carolina Panthers and NASCAR Sprint CUP Chase race.

TWO WEEK approximate comparison: 
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1 loaf ZoneFast 1-2-3 bread = $14.00 (autoship) + $11.++ shipping.
= $39.00 for two loaves of bread.
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2 loaves Ezekiel bread = $8.60
30 Tortilla's = $9.30
4 lbs luncheon meat = $24.00
TOTAL = $42.00
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Difference in current food:
0 loaves Ezekiel bread = minus $8.60
30 Tortilla's every 6 weeks = minus 2/3 = minus $6.20
1 or 2 lbs luncheon meat (using 1.5 lbs) = minus $15.00 
TOTAL = minus $30.00 

New Grocery expense = $42.00 minus $30.00 + $39.00 = $$51.00
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OR about $9.00 more over two weeks.
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John, I ordered a woman's custom pack, which allowed me to pick and choose just 1 serving of something if I wanted to try it. This was really a great way to sample a little bit of everything I was interested in. It was about $75 total.

Hey John,

Some thoughts on the costs of using 123 foods...

FWIW, I've been thinking about adding 123 bagels and breads to my rotation as a way to simplify my weekday breakfasts and lunches. And the way I've been figuring, it actually seems less expensive than what I'd normally spend for proteins and veggies for those meals.

If I find I tolerate the 123 foods, I'd do monthly standing shipments, so the shipping cost would be negligible spread across the month (assuming it's around $10-15 for the larger orders).

Here's what I'm thinking for a three block meal--each 123 bagel or two slices of bread costs about $2. Since I'm carb sensitive, all I'd have to add would be one block of protein and some fat.

A super economical protein option would be my favorite albacore tuna from Whole Foods. Costs $1.50 per can, with four blocks per can. So one can would cover 4 weekday lunches, then on the fifth day I could, say, have two (free range) hard boiled egg whites + lite mayo for a zoned egg salad sammie.

(For the non carb sensitive, adding half an apple to each meal would be a totally economical option).

So, an entire work week of lunches for near/under $15 (including aprox shipping + extra carbs if you need 'em). This is far less than what I currently spend. Then factor in less time in food prep, less kitchen clean up, less groceries to carry around (I don't have a car, so I literally carry my food home from the store) less planning...

For my particular situation, seems well worth it...though, having not run my own trial yet, remains to be seen if I'd like the 123 foods, stay satiated, etc.

I think you would have to weigh in on how much you'd spend on food additions, too.  The cost of the Zonefast diet is not just what you spend on 1-2-3 products.  And, if you are doing this for breakfast and lunch, you are going to need more than $15 worth of products per week. 

I haven't had time to do my own cost comparison, enjoying the fall weather here this weekend.  But, if I have time later, maybe I will try to do some comparisons.  I am thinking of setting it up as a 1-2-3 meal vs. an equivalent zone-block meal using classic zone foods.   I know that some may argue that they aren't necessarily equivalent, but guess I will have to do my best!

I broke down the cost for weekday lunches only in my post. $15, if I were to do it really cheaply, accounting for the "additions". You can see how I added it up if you read my post.

Courtney, I read your post, but I must have missed some of it... didn't see how you added it up.