I am in the Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus area. We are now in the midst of a blizzard-not as bad as the Blizzard of '78, thank goodness!

Any Ohio Zoners out there--let's chit chat

I am not from that area, but I have relatives in the area. Snow is a bit rare at this time of year for you! Even up here in WI, we generally begin to melt away in March, but we have been having some cold weather lately!

I used to drive down from Indianapolis to Cinci, and along the River on 52 towards Aberdeen, and then we cut across to Maysville KY on that nice bridge. And, it is in Cinci that I fell in love with Cincinnati-style chili and spaghetti!

Incidently, I have a zoned recipe for that, if anyone is interested. Will have to dig it out of my file and post it.

I'm just north of Dayton, in the little town of Tipp City. We got about 13" here which is a lot of shoveling. I had plans to go down to Athens on Friday to see my kid (Senior year--OU). That'll have to wait until Monday.

Tom

Ps. Retirement is a good thing.

Cranberry Cat, Yes, rare for all this snow at this time of year! I am sooo ready for spring. I am not famiiliar with the route you used to take to to Cinci, but I love Cincinnati-style Chili! The restaurant called Skyline Chili is the BEST-it originated in Cincy many years ago. I love how they pile on the shredded cheddar cheese. My favorite style of chili is the four-way.

Tom, I used to live in Tipp City!! I now live southeast of Dayton, in Wilmington. When I was married, my husband and I would take our 1953 Hudson Hornet to the Mum Festival Car Show-it was one of the best around! We also would go to the Troy Strawberry Festival Car Show-it was a great one, too.

Speaking of college, I graduated from Wright State University in 1988. Since then, I made some major changes in my life, and went back to school to begin a new career. I will graduate in the Spring with an Associate's degree in Business Management and begin the Fall 2008 pursuing my MBA, doing it entirely online.

With this being Tuesday, my guess your trip to Athens was smooth sailing-no snowy roads around here!

Bridget,
It is a small world after all. We live by Broadway School, near the Springhill Nursery. Tipp has changed a lot since we moved here. It's a bedroom community now and has lost some of it's small town feel.

I look forward to both those festivals...more for the century bike rides than the actual events.

And the trip to Athens was uneventful. Just a long darned drive. My other son is a bank examiner and recently worked in Wilmington. Again, a small world.

Tom

Oh, I love skyline chili! YUM!

I can't remember, but I think my favorite is 5-way: with the shredded cheddar, beans and the onions on top.

My zoned recipe is basically the chili base, and I use spaghetti squash in place of the noodles. I generally use a fat free shredded cheddar cheese, and black beans.

Are you still Zoning? If so how is your progress? I started in October and did very well. I got off track and getting back on and looking forward to it and all the energy.

I live in Washington Court House just down the road.

CC, thought I'd share your Cincinnati chili recipe with everyone since I had it at my fingertips.

This is Cranberrycat's recipe - enjoy!

Here is my recipe for "Cinci Chili and Spaghetti"

Just a few notes: I add fat according to the fat content of my ground meat. So, if I use a really lean meat, I may have to saute in some oil. Or, if my meat has ample fat, then I use just a splash of oil for sauteeing.

The base recipe is 4 servings, each serving is 3P and 2C (and depends on your fat adjustment). If you add the toppings listed below, you will round out the carb to 3 C. I only use a sprinkling of cheese, or sometimes I cut back on the ground meat, so that I can add more cheese. I don't use enough onion topping to make a difference. I DO count the beans for my 3rd block of carb, though.

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Cincinnati Chili Recipe
1 large onion chopped (1 C)
18 oz extra-lean ground beef (12 P)
olive oil for sauteing the onion and ground beef-amount is dependent on the fat content of the ground meat
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa or 1/2 ounce grated unsweetened chocolate
1 (15-ounce) can tomato puree (3 C)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
4 cups cooked spaghetti squash (4 C)
Toppings (see below)

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, saute onion, ground beef, garlic, and chili powder until ground beef is slightly cooked. Add allspice, cinnamon, cumin, cayene pepper, salt, unsweetened cocoa or chocolate, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, and water. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours. Remove from heat.
Cook spaghetti squash and transfer onto individual serving plates (small oval plates are traditional).
Ladle chili over spaghetti squash and serve with toppings of your choice.

Cincinnati chili lovers order their chili by number. Two, Three, Four, or Five Way. Let your guest create their own final product.
Two-Way Chili: Chili served on spaghetti
Three-Way Chili: Additionally topped with shredded Cheddar cheese
Four-Way Chili: Additionally topped with chopped onions
Five-Way Chili: Additionally topped with kidney beans
Makes 4 servings.

Thanks Karen! And, I think that I had based this recipe directly from the Skyline chili recipe.

You are welcome, CC! I had it bookmarked.

Happy Zoning!
Karen

Hello, I am in the Cleveland area. I just moved here in April from Virginia. My hubby is military. I am a vegetarian getting ready to try out the soy zone, I am excited!

Hi! Welcome to the forums! I've been eating in the Zone for about 15 years and many of my meals and snacks are vegetarian. The Zone's a great diet and lifestyle to follow. Have fun with it!

Thank you for welcoming me. I am really looking forward to this lifestyle. With all of the choices and possibilities, I don't think I could feel deprived on this diet.

Amanda, I think you'll really like the Zone. One thing I never feel is deprived. Everyone at my house eats in the Zone and we eat very well. This weekend we has chili with guacamole, chicken BLT meal salads, omelets, grilled sausage (low fat garlic chicken sausage) and peppers, frozen yogurt (my home made recipe for chocolate frozen yogurt with peanut butter swirl and chunks of fudge Zone bars in it, al la Ben and Jerry's style), deviled eggs, potato salad (homemade), a warm veggie slaw with cheese sauce, and tons of fresh tomatoes and local fresh berries (in season). Stock your house with only Zone friendly foods that are your favorites, make your meals and snacks fun, and you won't have any problem staying in the Zone. Believe it or not that will help you stay in the Zone when you're away from home, too. When you're on vacation, at work, at parties or eating out you'll automatically seek out the most Zone friendly foods available, since that's what you're used to eating every day.

Hello, I'm new to the zone diet. In fact I decided to start today. I'm not sure exactly where to start out but if there is anyone in the vicinity of Antwerp, Oh. I'd really appreciate the help! I have a bunch of recipies on a wordpad and the Zone Food Blocks printed out.

Hi everyone! I'm pretty new to The Zone. I'd lost about 20 lbs on my own, working out and trying to eat healthier (watching my sugar, eating more fruits and veggies, getting healthy fats - little did I know I was already on my way to following the Zone diet).

I started Crossfit on Aug. 14th and my trainer told me about The Zone, so I started it Aug. 18th. It's been a tough adjustment for me, but I'm enjoying the flexibility and food choices. I think I've lost 2-3 lbs in the last two weeks and I plan to keep going.

I thought I'd post here b/c I'm in Toledo, OH. I'm a 2007 graduate of Ohio University (Athens, OH) and now I'm at the University of Toledo preparing for grad school.

Hi Rachel! That's great! It's a lot like how I started the Zone, not even knowing I was doing the Zone. That was almost 15 years ago and I've stuck with it ever since. Love it!

Good for you, Sue. 15 yrs is a huge accomplishment! If I eventually reach my goal weight, I'll have lost 80 lbs, so I'm inspired by you in a big way.

Thanks Rachel. You can do it too!

Are there any Ohio Zoners left?