I started on the zone way about a week or so ago and am very happy with the results. I am diabetic, type 2 and need to lose 100 pounds. So far, I have lost 5 pounds and my sugars are almost normal . I used a smoothie for breakfast one day and used 2 t. fructose for sweetner. The result was that my sugars shot up over 200! :evil: and I learned a good lesson. My question is can I use fructose in other cooking? I understand that the smoothy was digested very rapidly but thought that since it was balanced and the the glycemic index is low for fructose that it would be ok. I converted a favorite recipe and think I did it correctly. I am not sure where to post it so will post it here. This is from "Sundays at Moosewood" which has fantastic vegetarian recipes in it. West African Peanut Stew - serves 6 2 cups chopped onions - 2 1/2 carbs. 3 cups chopped cabbage - 1 carb. 1 1/2 to 2 cups butternut squash or sweet potatoes, cubed. - 3 carbs. 3 cups of tomato juice - 3 carbs. 1 cup apple juice - 2 carbs. 3 cups diced zucchin or okra - 1 carb. 1/2 cup peanut butter . 16 fat . mashed garlic to your taste. 1 t. salt 2 chopped tomatoes - 1 carb. 3 T. chopped fresh ginger root...sometimes you can use less but we like ginger. 1 T. chopped cilantro ( can omit) pinch of cayenne l cup apple juice 2 carbs -( can use apricot juice) 2 t. olive oil 1 1/2 fat. Saute onions in oil for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cayenne and garlic and saute for two more minutes Add cabbage and sweet potatoes and saute, covered, for a few minutes. Mix in the juices, salt, ginger, cilantro, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender. Add zucchini and simmer for 5 minutes more. Stir in the peanut butter, place the pan on a heat diffuser and simmer very gently until ready to serve. Add more water if stew is too thick. This freezes very well. I got a total of 12 blocks of carbohyhdrates, 17 1/2 fat blocks. I think one could substitute almond butter but have not tried this yet. I figure 6 servings plus 4 blocks of protein and 2 more carbohydrates. Hope I did it right and would appreciate knowing if this is the right place to post recipes. I did send two emails to Sue but never got an answer but am new to all forums. Thanks Mary Coral