What a great thread. Thank you so much.

You're welcome Sheryl. Glad to hear you like it! :-)

Yesterday I was trying to come up with a Zone friendly version of an old standby that we haven't eaten in years, the well known casserole that's made with chicken pieces, rice, canned soup and dry soup mix. Here's what I came up wih. We love it! It turned out to be a very Zone friendly comfort food. Be generous with the sauce seasonings, especially the onion powder and the garlic powder, or you'll end up with a bland tasting casserole, but be careful not make it too salty.


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CHICKEN, GREEN BEAN AND STEEL CUT OAT RISOTTO CASSEROLE
10.10.09

Makes 4 servings, 4P, 2C and 4F per serving.



Ingredients

2 ½ cups fresh green beans, snapped into 1 inch pieces
4 medium to larger sized chicken tenders (frozen is fine; no need to thaw)
Sauce mixture(see ingredients below)
4 medium to larger sized chicken tenders
Poultry seasoning


Sauce Mixture ingredients:
3 cups WestSoy Organic Unsweetened Soy Milk (plain, not a flavored variety)
2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 ½ tablespoons flour
A generous ¼ cup uncooked steel cut oats
Generous amounts of the following seasonings (but don’t overdo it with the salt and pepper):
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Chives (freeze dried)
Parsley freeze dried)
Red onion (freeze dried)
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper



Directions

1. Place green beans in an 8 x 12” baking dish.
2. Place the chicken tenders on top of the green beans
3. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients.
4. Pour the sauce mixture over the green beans and chicken.
5. Give the chicken a small sprinkle of poultry seasoning (the chicken only, not the entire dish).
6. Cover with foil, and vent so the steam can escape.
7. Bake on 350 for 1 -1 ½ hours until chicken is done and oats are fully cooked, and sauce is thickened (baking time will also depends on whether you used fresh or frozen chicken).

Serve with another block or two of veggies or fruit to complete your desired Zone balance.

Enjoy!


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Hi, Sue & everyone!
If anyone has a great zone-friendly receipe for pumpkin, please let me know! Pumpkin Pie (especially!), Pumpkin cookies, Pumpkin muffins....and any new twists on roasted Pumpkin seeds?

re: HALLOWEEN ~ For several years I've refused to hand out candy to "trick-or-treaters": I've given out little toys instead. Does anyone have a better idea? A result of my stubborn candy-resistance is that my house is now ignored by my young family's friends (which I'm not sure may not be an advantage?!). However, I promised I'd try to find a compromise this year.....although I think there's nothing wrong in setting a "healthy example"....I just wish others would jump on the same bandwagon with me!

THANKS!
Lynne

Hi Lynne,

Sorry, I don't have any pumpkin recipes. For Halloween you could pass out soy nuts and Zone bars.

Very Yummy!

Thanks Frank! Looks like I'll be making it a lot more, or did you mean the Zone bars and soy nuts? Lol! I've got plenty of those here too.

Thanks for sending me to this thread and for sharing your meals.

As far as the brownie shake - would it be ok to add the fish oil instead of olive oil since we put that in our shakes each day?

How much fish oil do you take and what supplements do you use?

Thanks,
Ruth

Thanks for sending me to this thread and for sharing your meals.

As far as the brownie shake - would it be ok to add the fish oil instead of olive oil since we put that in our shakes each day?

How much fish oil do you take and what supplements do you use?

Thanks,
Ruth

Sue: I also see that you do 3 snacks each day rather than 2 . I have often wondered about adding another snack.

How much cereal and milk do you use for a snack?

Does OG stand for organic?

Thanks,
Ruth

Hi Sue: Just curious as to why you do not eat much dairy. Is it because of the thyroid issues or something else?

Thanks,
Ruth

Hi Sue:

Do you have a good turkey meatball recipe for a meal that tomato sauce can be added over them?

Thanks,
Ruth

No, not related to thyroid. My endocrinologist accidentally discovered (when screening me for a bone density issue) that I am a hyper-absorber of calcium (hypercalciurea , if I'm remember the word correctly; it results in higher amount so calcium in the urine). While the average person absorbs only a fraction of the calcium they ingest in their diet, I absorb almost all of the calcium I ingest. It's not a problem in regard to health, but it can put a person at a much higher than average risk for forming a certain type of kidney stone. He advises me to avoid dairy because it contains phosphorous along with higher amounts of calcium, and both in combination are components of one type of kidney stone. He said that since at my age I've never had kidney stones, most likely I never will, but it would be better for me to play it safe and avoid dairy as much as possible. He also screens my urine calcium levels several times a year(with a 24 hour urine collection lab test) to be sure my current dietary plan is not resulting in too much excess calcium appropriate.

Sue: That is interesting about calcium absorption. I read a book a few years ago called, "The China Study." The book was against eating all dairy. I taught how dairy causes inflammation. It was a very interesting book. We try not to eat much dairy at all, but we do use it sometimes.

I just ordered the Zone cereal to try. Please send me the portions for a complete breakfast. I will also use the Westsoy soy milk and berries. I may do this for a quick lunch some days. I have the shake every morning. Great way to start the day. Did you see any problem with using the Fish Oil in your brownie shake rather than the olive oil?

Thanks,
Ruth

Hi! It's best to use the label info on the box. Specific amounts you use will depend on the number of blocks you want in the meal and the variety soy milk you choose.

It's fine to put fish oil in the shake if you want. I've never done it, so I can't comment on the flavor it might have.

Sue can I have your tuna salad recipe. I'm a 3 blocker meal and I love tuna. I saw your tuna stuffed tomatoes photo but it did not say how much yogurt and mayonnaise. Thank you

Lynne, I have a recipe somewhere that I made up years ago as a pumpkin pie substitution. I make the pumpkin pie filling and then I put it into custard cups and bake it in there. I balanced it out using something for protein (but now it escapes me as to what I used).

Pumpkin is an unfavorable carb, but it is also loaded with lots of vitamins, and it would be a shame to miss out on pumpkin at this time of year.

Will look into the "archives" to see if I can find my recipe.

Hi Everyone, I’ve been on vacation for the past week and haven’t had much time to reply to qns (and I will be on vacation until sometime next week). I'll try to cover some of them here. No real recipe for the tuna salad; just tuna mixed with "365 Light Mayo" (from Whole Foods) and a little yogurt if the amount of mayo to suit your fat block needs doesn't provide enough dressing (can add a little onion powder and black pepper, too). Yes, OG is organic. I eat 3 snacks, sometime 4 because my current protein requirement is 13 blocks daily (about 115 LBM and "Active" level), and I don't want 4 block meals.

Hi Everyone! Here's the pasta meal I mentioned yesterday. I served it last night at a birthday party, where the guests were both zoners and non-zoners. It was a big hit with eveyone, from babies to grandparents! It's very quick and easy to prepare.



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Easy Zone Pasta with Sausage and Sauce
(makes 11 servings, each containing 3P, 2.5C, 3F

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 packages Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage
1½ packages Zone Fusilli
2 jars Trader Joe’s Arrabiata spaghetti sauce

Optional: asmall amount of grated parmesan cheese


Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in boiling water as directed on the package (for about 9-10 min).

2. As you’re bringing the pasta water to a boil, brown the sausage in a little bit of the olive oil, reserving the rest for later (the meat’s pre-cooked, so this is mostly to reheat it). Add the spaghetti sauce and simmer with the sausage to heat it all through.

3. Drain pasta and place in a large pasta serving bowl.

4. Top with the sauce and sausage mixture.

5. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve immediately.

Optional: top with a little grated parmesan cheese.


Enjoy!

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Tonight's dinner was a quick and easy (and delicious!) 3 blocks:


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whites of 6 hard boiled eggs
365 Light Mayonnaise (low fat, canola oil mayo) for dipping the eggs in

1 block of TJ's "Mangolicious" (frozen fruit: mango, blueberry and red raspberries) plus 1 generous block of TJ's Frozen Organic Red Raspberries (3 of little Eli's favorite fruits!); I go light on the mango pieces and add the extra berries to keep it very favorable because I'm super carb sensitive

TJ's blister peanuts

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Hi Sue, thanks for sharing all of these great recipes. I tried the cold raspberry chocolate soup for a snack this evening and I really liked it!

You're welcome Sarah. Thanks for letting me know!

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FUSILLI, SAUSAGE, ZUCCHINI AND MUSHROOMS

Toss together roasted sliced onions and baby bella mushrooms (tossed with a little olive oil and salt roasted on baking sheet in the oven for 10 min), sautéed zucchini and TJ’s Roasted Garlic chicken sausage, and a block of Zone Fusilli.

Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese, fresh ground black pepper and Zone Olive Oil.

Enjoy!


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GUACAMOLE TIPS


Hi Everyone!

I love guacamole. With all our kids grown and out of the house, and my husband not being a guacamole lover, it doesn't always get eaten up quickly, even when I make a small batch with only one avocado. Having seen frozen guacamole in grocery stores, I decided to experiment with freezing my own home made version. I've found it's easy to freeze you own, and frozen guacamole really comes in handy! I mix up a big batch and then freeze it in tablespoonfuls dropped onto a cookie sheet that’s been covered with parchment paper. When frozen I bag it. This makes it easy to have as little or as much as you like, anytime. And, because it's frozen in tablespoon sized portions it thaws quickly, making it ready to enjoy in no time at all.


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THANKS!
The "big-Tday" is looming hard over my head (next week.....how time flies!): now I'll have a way to do the pumpkin pie thing!

Yes...seems to me that pumpking ought to go with other squashes, even though it's not listed as very favorable! I guess the way I comprehend the lists is that "unfavorable" foods are still ok...as long as moderation is key!??????

Lynne