Hi Everyone,

What did you eat for breakfast today? My husband and I had Zone Original Granola topped with a big handful of fresh blueberries and WestSoy Unsweetened Chocolate Soy Milk.

If we can keep this thread going for a little while we'll have lots of new breakfast ideas. No need to post formal recipes. Any breakfasts will do. And please, no critiques here, to each his own. Thanks! :)

I just read an interesting recipe, quick:
2 Tbl milk (I used Almond milk) C&F
2 eggs P.
Salt / Pepper to taste.
A little diced veggies of choice, if desired.
I also added a little shredded cheese (P&F).
Scramble in large mug.
Microwave 45 seconds.
Stir thoroughly.
Microwave 30 seconds.
Enjoy quick hot, no mess P&F portion of breakfast.
Then for C, I had bowl of both wild defrosted blueberries and mixed berries (blackberries, rasberries, etc.).
A quick, simple 2 block breakfast.
.
Notes: Eggs - pastured whole, we only eat & do not shy away from egg yolks,
but only when from pastured, local, hormone free, etc.

Strawberry Smoothie!

I have my recipe in the Classic Zone Recipes thread, if anyone is interested.

I also saw a neat idea for quick breakfast on the go...

Dice up veggies of choice, protein of choice (cooked), and distribute into a lightly greased muffin pan. Mix up a number of egg whites and olive oil and pour egg mixture into muffin tins. Bake in oven until cooked through. Pop out of muffin tins, and voila! An easy protein for your breakfast! Just add enough carbs to cover the carb portion of the meal, such as a bowl of oatmeal or strawberries.

I don't have an exact recipe, but you can easily work this out so that each muffin comes out to 1 block of protein, using the diced protein and depending on the number of egg whites you use.

Takes a little prep ahead of time, but then when it is time for breakfast, just grab and go.

Had an omelet this morning. Egg, cheese, spinach, mushrooms and black olives. Topped with salsa. Tends to be my macaw's favorite meal as well.

I also need quick ideas for the morning that I can prepare a head of time and grab and go for during the work week without need for heating up at the time of eating. My husband and I drive to work together because our jobs are so far from home. I don't have much time here at the house in the morning but I do have a good 45 minutes after dropping him off before I need to be at my work. I have in the past grabbed fast food - and still sometimes cheat with a breakfast burrito or adding protein powder to the McD fruit & oatmeal. I started making baked oatmeal bars (zone recipe) to grab and take - but I'm just sick of them now and find myself swinging past McD's again.

This morning I had a toasted Zone cinnamon bun spread with some almond butter, the whites of 2 eggs, and a handful of fresh red raspberries. and about 16 oz of water. The eggs were previously hard cooked and peeled (Trader Joe's), so I could just grab them quick. We had to be out of the house early this morning and ended up in a big hurry.

A week ago, I made some cottage cheese pancakes, and I made enough to freeze a few extra portions. When it came time to eat, I only had to zap the pancakes in the microwave for 1:30 and they were fabulous. One could probably spread a small amount of jam in between and make pancake sandwiches.

I have a few different recipe variations, but basically I just grind up oats into a flour, and blend the flour in with some cottage cheese, eggs, and milk (depending on the recipe, sometimes I also use protein powder). I also added some olive oil to the batter.

I do a flourless, grainless pancake as well.
A sweet potato, microwaved until just beyond firm.
Some Protein powder, some eggs or egg whites,
a little milk, and a little ground flax meal.
I've got the mix written down and balanced somewhere.
Griddled on a low heat, though.

Hi,
I finally found out what Granola is; it has been made also here in Italy. I purchased it yesterday, real Granola for Zone Diet. Three tbls =1blk. I can use it for breakfast, too.
Happy to have new possibilities.

Today I had a toasted Zone multigrain bagel topped with light cream cheese and nova wild salmon, plus a bowl of fresh raspberries.

I made what I call my microwave fritatta. I had 1/2 cup of egg substitute with a sprinkling of frozen spinach, S&P, garlic powder and a teeny, tiny pinch of parm cheese. I put it together the night before in a microwaveable container that I spray with nonstick spray first and then I pop it in the microwave at work in the morning (a couple minutes at 50% power, stirring every minute or so). I had a half a grape fruit and 3 dried apricots for carb and then 12 almonds for fat (since no fat in the eggs). I *think* that should have been a 2 block breakfast. Hope so anyway because it is one of my favorites!

Sounds delicious! And, yes, that's a 2 block meal. Your fat calculation is correct. :)

Hi Monia,

I'm also living in Italy- do you have any advice on where to find zone friendly items? For example, granola, fish oil, zone products? Thanks!

In Italy, we have a Dr. Sears approved product called Enerzona. Their website is www.enerzona.it .

You can also call our Internationial Sales Agent. Her name is Patty... Just call 800-404-8171 and ask for her, she may be able to help you.

Plain yogurt topped with raspberries and almond slices.

Egg white omelet with sauteed peppers, onion, mushroom and tomato. Topped witth an italian cheese blend

Great to be back to real food! Although I did eat lots of apples to make up for the lack of fiber available in the Zone foods.
And I did manage to eat out and (carefully) enjoy some local foods a couple of times.
.
So, had lo-fat Cabot cottage cheese, 1 block Protein, 6 almonds, 1 block fat, and 3/4 cup mixed berries, 1 block Carbohydrates.
To start the day, before enjoying a full meal, later.
.

Smoothie made of 1 cup of frozen and fresh blueberries, 1/3 of banana, 1/2 T peanut butter, cocoa/turmetic/cinnamon, 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese, 1 cup of yagurt - all blended. My favourite breakfast, keeps me full for well over 5 hrs

1/2 cup ZONE Cereal, 1/4 cup 2% milk.
A few mixed berries.

Strawberry smoothie: frozen strawberries, cottage cheese, yogurt, olive oil, protein powder

Toasted multigrain bagel topped with light cream cheese and smoked wild caught salmon; blackberries on the side

Wow, that's what I had this morning too. I had some left over portebellos that I wanted to finish but the salsa just kicks it up a few
notches. You must be from california too, we love our salsa here. :)

I love salsa, too! But, I am not from California. I DO love southwestern cooking, though!

Steel cut oats, cooked with pears, and turkey bacon, sliced almonds. I make the oatmeal and divide it into bowls for the week, quick reheat. Can also add protien powder if you don't want the turkey bacon

Sue,
I havn't had any grains besides the steel cut oats. I'd love to try adding the zone friendly breads back into some meals, but I'm afaid I will start craving bread again. But the cinnamon rolls sound delish!:unsure:

Hello everyone,

I lost 40lbs on the Zone diet about 6 yrs ago, but stress, bad habits, and life have gotten in the way and I've managed to gain it back. I started the zone again last week, and have already lost 6 lbs. I love getting ideas from other people and would love to see this thread keep going. My go to breakfast: Chobani greek yogurt (this morning it was Strawberry) with 2 tsp. almond slices - 2 block breakfast.

Though I (we) usually avoid grains, I had some Zone cereal left over from a recent business trip.
So, I had 1/2 cup (2 blocks) and a little milk (1/2) block.
After working out this morning (Heavy Lifting) and a small intermittent fast.

Hi Tracie.

Unfortunately the Zone breads aren't available at this time I hadn't eaten grains in years either, and I've had no cravings with Zone breads. In fact, I stay in the Zone better with them than with my best Zone meals. They're amazing. You might want to try some of the Zone cookies. They're made wth the same molecular baking process as the breads were. Our favories varieties are Chocolate Chunk and Chocolate Chip.

Hi Susan,

Congrats on a good start. Hope to hear more from you!

My yummy breakfast: fat free plain Greek yogurt (with added cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg), blackberries, wild caught salmon and a very small handful on Trader Joe's Monkey Business Trek Mix (peanuts, cocoa nibs, bananas and cherries), big glass of water.

My usual YUMMY strawberry smoothie (alas, using unsweetened plain ff yogurt!!). Definitely makes a difference!

Ooh...great topic. Thanks for all the ideas. I'm struggling with what to eat for breakfast and there are some great ideas here.

I had some scrambled eggs (whites) and I was starving a couple hours later. I need some carbs and definitely some good fat.

Hali

Cranberrycat, could you put your smoothie recipe link on here? :-) Thanks!

I thought I had it under the classic zone recipes, but I don't see it... hmmm

My base recipe (before I tweak it):

2 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
2 tsp olive oil
7 grams vanilla or plain protein powder

Now, because I am carb sensitive, I end up tweaking it for my needs, basically cutting the strawberries to 1 cup. Since I take my fish oil at the same time as my smoothie, I don't increase the fat, but if I were not doing that, I would increase the olive oil to 2 2/3 tsp.

oops, forgot to put some instructions in there...

I usually zap the strawberries for about 30 sec in the microwave, this basically just makes the strawberries more "blender-friendly", but the strawberries are still frozen.

I add everything to the blender and run it until blended through. It is thick, you can stand a spoon up in it. I almost have to eat it with a spoon!

Merci beaucoup!

Today's breakfast was rice pudding (made with Zone Orzo) topped with blood orange flavored olive oil and blackberries. Delicious!

Breakfast this morning, 6 egg white omelet filled with sauteed zucchini and baby bella mushrooms, topped with a little of my favorite pasta sauce and some Zone Olive Oil.

Hali, you're welcome! (don't know that in French LOL)

My breakfast: strawberry smoothie (again). Really, I have this most days.

Friday, 11 May 2012:
Smoothie (9:30 am):
Ingredients:
Filtered water, 0.5 cup
.
F:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 tsp, 40cal 5gF
Chia Seeds (1 oz, 28g, ~2 Tbl), 1 tsp, 45cal 3gF
.
C:
Mixed Berries, 0.5 cup, 35cal 6gC
Maple Syrup, Organic, 1 tsp, 17cal 4gC
Blueberries, frozen (unsweetened), 0.5 cup, 40cal 7gC
.
P:
Jarrow Formulas Whey Protein - Unflavored (1scoop = 1 serving), 85cal 1gF 18gP
.
P & C:
milk, 2%, Organic, Stonyfield Farm, 0.25 cup, 33cal 1gF 3gC 2gP
Yogurt Stonyfield Farm Plain Low fat, 0.25 cup, 30cal 1gF 4gC 3gP
.
Total: 324cal 11gF 26gC 23gP = (Blocks) 4F 3C 3P

Omelet -

1/2 onion, sauteed in Pam (1C block)
Add one tomato (1/2 C block)
Add 1/4 Ezekiel sprouted tortilla ripped into small pieces (1/2 C block)
Add 2/3 cup egg whites (2P blocks)
Add 2 low fat string cheese (2P blocks)

Side Dish

2 tbsp tomato paste (1C block)
A little Kraft Parmesan

I added 2.5 tbsp of olive oil to the above dishes to get my 12F blocks

Dessert -

140g strawberries with a little unsweetened almond milk (1C block)

I have the above breakfast 3 times a week.

my usual strawberry smoothie...

I had an early meeting at work, so my schedule has been thrown off by my "earlier than usual" breakfast.

I tried soy burger crumbles for the first time. They were pretty good, just a little dry by themselves, so I add tomato paste.

Warmed in a pan ---

-2/3 cup soy crumbles
-1 egg white
-2 tbsp tomato paste
-1/2 can water chestnuts
-EVO added after cooking for fat blocks

1/2 block carrots & 1/2 block cherry tomatoes

1 block strawberries in unsweetened almond milk

4P / 4C / 8F

I put a bunch of people in the Zone the other day...

Turkey bacon slices, scrambled eggs with peppers/onion/mushroom, and oatmeal.

...we had a sleepover Friday night, one of my youngest daughters' friends came over. Guess her daddy was lonesome (LOL) and so he joined the party and slept over in the back yard in our pop-up camper. Someone asked about who cooks breakfast when we go camping, and they all pointed to me! So, I got right into the spirit and cooked up a typical camp breakfast.

i just had soda crackers and green tea sweetened with Natvia (natural sweetener)

I had my usual smoothie: blueberries, 1/3 banana, peanut butter, yogurt + cottage cheese and protein powder. Flavoured with cinnamon and cocoa.

As I am stuck in y weight I tried to drop anotheer block C from my breakfast this morining so it was 3P eggwhite 1C berries and 3F almonds. I wonder if it is correct to drop up to 2 C from a meal of 3 bolcks.
Anyway I felt great and not hungry. I had my snack of 1P 1C 1F after my workout while I was still ok.

Monia, dropping more than 1 carbohydrate block from a 3 block meal takes the P/C out if the range of the Zone (the range of ratios is is 0.6 to 1). Stick with a minimum of 2 C in a 3 block meal. Due to your previous diet plan, your body may take a while to adjust before it lets go of the excess stored fat. Give things some time.

Thanks Sue

Today's breakfast was delicious. I had a 4-eggwhite omelet cooked in a tiny bit of olive oil speinkled wit Trader Joe's Flower Pepper (pepper and flower petals in a grinder), a toasted Zone multigrain bagel with a littel butter (still enjoying my freezer stash of Zone food!), and a delicious salad of watermelon and various colored tomatoes (recipe in the Classic Recipe forum).

Hi,
I am posting this to say that, although i haven't weighted myself, I 'feel' it is working. I feel better. My blood analysis say I have no inflammation.
I am sticking to my 12 blocks, always dropping one block of carbs at main meals. Maybe I have to conform myself to my shape, but I feel good again and this couts.

sorry, I do not know why I posted it so many times...

no worries Monia.... all cleaned up.

Nice job, Monia!

I'm finally returning to the zone and signed on to get some motivation. My breakfast today is one of my favorites-- 1/2 C low fat cottage cheese with a sprinkel of stevia, a good dash of cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract and 1 C fresh blueberries with slivered almonds. When fresh blueberries are not in season, I find the wild organic frozen work very well after a quick defrost. This 2 block breakfast keeps me going for hours.

Welcome aboard!

Sounds like a real tasty and healthy winner, Cherilyn.

Thanks Cran and thanks John.

Egg sandwich with cheese and a kale/onion/pepper/garlic/sesame seed mixture I cooked the night before (and had as a side with steaks) on top and a side of sliced apple with powdered cinnamon and plain 2% cottage cheese. A glass of water and some coffee (with cream and sugar) to drink.

BTW - we are on vacation. (Actually my wife is on vacation as of Friday evening and all summer until late August...)
Great day, today. I made an egg omelette with kale, tomato, bell pepper, and a little cheese, from fresh, pastured chicken eggs.
A little lo-fat bacon.and a large bowl of mixed berries.
.
Then went strawberry and cherry picking.
Watched NASCAR.
Then took the two dogs on a 1 hour hike in the woods.
.
A good day.

I find it hard to eat breakfast. I get up in morn and drink 1 cup of 1% milk and take my supplements, then in an hour or two I will have maybe 1 apple and a couple light string cheese... works for me.

I have been a traditional breakfast eater all of my life. This week, though, I thought I would experiment and see what happens if I eat later, and "break the fast" later rather than right away in the morning.

I tried it, and found that my entire afternoon seemed more fulfulling and sustaining.

It is called an intermittent fast (IF) and certainly one type of fast advocated now and then.
Marks Daily Apple has some posts on it.
I do it once or twice a week, now.
16/8 or 14/10 = Fasting for 16 or 14 hours from last Zone snack until first meal/snack.
then eating (Zone or Paleo or Paleo Zone) within the 8 or 10 hour window.

Small plain Greek Oikos yogurt ( 12 P, 5 Carbs) added a little potion of blueberries and a small portion of Fiber1 ( the classic Fiber1)...
And it's the best 1.5 blocks breakfast!!!!!!!

My wife and I have been eating this smoothie for breakfast for 3 or 4 *years* now with little exception. It is delicious, quick, easy and keeps you in the Zone until Lunchtime!

Choco-berry smoothie! (Serves two 4-block breakfast meals):

2 Cups Vanilla Soy Milk* (or plain) (2C, 2P, 2F)
1/3 cup Greek Yogurt (Trader Joe's house brand) (2P, 1C)
1.5 scoops Protein powder** (4P)
3 heaping TBSP Baking cocoa (1C)
1 Cup washed, quartered fresh strawberries (1C)
1 Cup frozen strawberries (1C)
1 cup frozen mixed berries (1C)
Stevia to taste
1/3 cup Almonds (4F)


In a blender, combine all ingredients.
Blend until smooth.
Serve with almonds for extra fat.

* May substitute Dairy Milk
** Use your own favorite. Just make sure you get 4P.

I had my special allergy-friendly home made diet drink! :-)
I am not too sure whether it is in the Zone, perhaps somebody could tell me (not very good at the zone yet!) Would be really greatful for advice.

Hannah's chocolate diet drink:
Make the powder in the blender, add Oatmeal, rye oatmeal, flaxseed, phyllium (just fiber), plain cocoa powder, stevia, a pinch of salt
Save the powder in a jar.
To make the shake, blend the powder with rice or oat milk in the blender. It tastes a bit better with the rice milk.

Hannah

It would be helpful to have the amount of these items. Are you measuring or just going by eye?

Thanks for the quick response!
Yes, I was just going by eye - but I can give you the rough measurements (don't know Imperial, so it is in metric I am afraid...)

This makes about 5 portions or so:

2 dl oatmeal (alternatively 1 dl oatmeal and 1 dl rye flakes)
1/2 dl flaxseed
1/2 dl phyllium
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 tablespoons Stevia (this is the type that is made to look like real sugar, not the super concentrated powder).
a pinch of salt

Blend it all in the blender into dry powder
then, to make the shake, use rice milk or oat milk and blend or shake with 3 tablespoons of the powder.

One tbsp of peanut butter
1/4 cup of chobani yogurt
1/2 cup of raspberries
2 egg whites with tomatoes and spinach

I take more protein foods and fresh fruits in my breakfast.
Protein foods are more suitable for the breakfast to get energy for whole day.
My breakfast include milk, yogurt, apple, fresh fruit juice, eggs, cheese and bread.

Cedric, good choices, just watch the bread, as it is an unfavorable carb.

Do you use Zone protein powder? Or something different?

I use Zone protein powder. It's the best one I've found. Nice texture, (not gritty or chalky, mixes easily, tastes great. I had it for breakfast today in a smoothie together with yogurt, frozen cherries, frozen mixed berries, vanilla flavoring, cinnamon, turmeric and olive oil.

Jennifer

You will find Dr Sears Protein Powder to be less expensive, not gritty or chalky, mixes easily, tastes great.

A superior product.

Hi Cranberrycat!

What are your measurements? Example: 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 cup scrambled eggs?

Not sure which post you are referring to, Jennifer. If it was the post that I entered in May, I can't tell you the amounts, as I no longer remember.

Trying this in the morning :)

Cranberrycat - Turkey bacon slices, scrambled eggs with peppers/onion/mushroom, and oatmeal. I was wondering your measurements on this breakfast?

Ahh,..

I think I posted that quite awhile ago, it isn't one of my regular meals. But, I would have likely used the turkey bacon as one block of protein, the eggs as the other 2 blocks of protein. The veggies were probably at a block of carb, with the oatmeal being the other 2 blocks of carb. The fat was probably partially in the bacon and in the oil I used for sauteeing.

Hope that helps!

I found this recipe and I love it.

1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 skim milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup 1% fat cottage cheese

Blend all of this in a blender and top with 3 tsp of slivered almonds. Smoothie is thick enough to eat with a spoon.

If my calculations are right then this is a 3 block meal.

It's delish and keeps me full until lunch time.

~Sherri

Hi...New to the Zone.....I had a Breakfast Sandwich.
1/2 English Muffin
1 poached egg
1 oz cheese
1 oz ham...more like a salami..so I didn't have anymore fat

It was delicious.

Question:.....I'm finding the 3 block alot of food....can I do this ...3 1 3 2 2 ? thanks.....and do I have to eat the snack always?

You can spread the blocks how you like throughout the day as long as you stay within the Zone guidelines.

Keep in mind the following:

Eat your full block requirement daily.

Don't eat more than 4-5 blocks (5P, 5C and 5F) at once.

Don't go more than 5 waking hours without eating.

Don't skip breakfast.

Eat a bedtime snack if it's been more than a couple hours since dinner.

Snacks should prevent hunger for a couple hours, meals for 4-6 hours.

I don'n like to skip breakfast, my body is looking for ham or bacon in the morning. So I have Baked Eggs with Spinach and Ham or Hard Boiled Eggs with Bacon and Fruit.

nothing special today, i had green and some had biscuits today. but this is pretty interesting post. i enjoyed a lot.

I had granola, yogurt, berry salad, oatmeal and almond butter. Went a bit over on the carbs, however I am stuffed!!!!

It's hard to resist my faveorites, I am a kid afterall and I was at a sleepover. I'm proud I resisted the take out my friends got though!

Good for you, Daniela, you're on the right track!

I don't skip breakfast but there are some cases I miss it due to waking up late or I am in a hurry. Egg is usually the food I have for breakfast and some sandwich.