Hello everyone!

I apologize if I've missed this topic elsewhere. I got some great tips from the thread stickied at the top of the forum. I did the Zone Eating Plan for about 3-4 months at the beginning of the year and loved it. I felt great, and combined with time with a personal trainer, I was getting fit and losing weight.

However, what was my undoing was that I couldn't put enough variety into my diet. Seemed like every day was steel cut oatmeal for breakfast, doing the best I could at lunch (we have a go out for lunch culture where I work), and then a chicken salad, veggie omelette, or chicken/pork with veggies/fruit. Eventually I just got sick of the grind, and fell off the wagon.

I'm jumping back on now, but the problem is just that I loathe cooking. I get home pretty late at night, and the last thing I want to do is spend too much time in the kitchen. I hate grocery shopping even more. I'm overwhelmed thinking about having to measure foods and plan menus and recipes and such, but I'm repulsed by thinking about falling back into the same meal rotation I had before.

I suppose what I'm asking is that it seems like everyone on the forums has such a wide palette of foods in their menus and almost effortlessly partitions things into proper blocks. I'm a bit overwhelmed with it all, and looking for some pointed tips about how to experiment a little more, and some easy ways to cut corners on food buying/preparation to stay in the Zone but avoid tons of time in the kitchen/store.

I want to eat right, I just hate I have to make the food. If someone opened a Zone fast food restaurant, I'd make you a millionaire, haha.

Hi Rob,

You can do the Zone very successfully without ever cooking or counting a block. Use the plate method (dividing the plate into thirds, see the EATING tab above) to solve the block counting problem. As for not cooking, that’s easier to do than today than it's ever been with all the convenience foods that are available. Use the pre-made bagged salads, deli-style meat, pre-cooked carved chicken adn turkey (like Perdue shortcuts; also Hormel in the brown paper bag colored boxes; I think Tyson makes a similar items) pre washed and cut veggies, and pre-cut apples in single serving sizes. More no cooking ideas are shakes, smoothies, cottage cheese and fruit, yogurt, deli- turkey and hummus rollups, canned chili (just zap in a microwave to heat it), guacamole, salsa...endless choices. Also take advantage of the excellent Dr. Sears Zone functional foods offered here on this site, like shake mixes, bars, protein powder and cereal. Think out of the box and get creative. If you have a Whole Foods nearby, they have a great variety of prepared foods that changes daily, even soups, chili and cooked entrees warmed and ready to eat. And then there's there's the Whole Foods Antipasto Bar where you can put together an entire meal of antipasto items and salads. Trader Joe's has lots of convenient ready to eat Zone favorable foods that don't require cooking (vacuum packed steamed lentils, egg white salad, hummus, a large variety of pre-cooked chicken sausages, cheeses, tofu...). They also have entrees, some of which fit the Zone very well, and frozen cooked steel cut oats (just read the ingredients and nutrition labels). You can check out tips about Trader Joe's convenience foods in the following thread in the Cooking Tips forum: http://www.zonediet.com/Community/F...fault.aspx

There's been a lot previously written in these forums about how to do the Zone without cooking. Keep searching and reading the archives and you're bound to find more. For more easy ideas, you can also take a look at both my recipe thread (many are very quick and easy, some requiring no cooking at all) and my Zone foods photobucket album (link in my signature). Some require cooking, an others, no cooking at all.

Good luck!

Hey, I will be happy to open up a Zoned restaurant. I love cooking, just don't have the time, either. But, if that were my job, I would have plenty of time!

So, as far as quick meals, you could do steel cut oats as you have, or you could crack open a container of cottage cheese, a bag of frozen blueberries, and a bag of sliced almonds. 1.5 cups of blueberries, microwave for 45 seconds to thaw, then top with 3/4 cup cottage cheese and the almonds. Delicious breakfast, I think this is my hubby's favorite thing to eat! And, if blueberries are not your thing, then try another fruit. I usually eat a block's worth of this as a snack every day. One of my favorites, too.

For your lunch, I suppose you will continue to go out for lunch.

For other snacks, you can spread hummus into rolls of deli meat, or you could even make this into a meal pretty easily. I have discovered the Hormel Natural slices of turkey and ham in the maroon colored box, no nitrites or nitrates.

For dinner, don't forget frozen veggies. Yes, maybe some cooking involved, but pretty easy to do out of the bag. And, some of those steamer bags make it even better.

I made an antipasto salad earlier this week, makes several servings, and it keeps nicely in the fridge. Again, it did take some prep, but it relieved me of the trouble of finding an appropriate carb for my lunches this week. I don't have the recipe off the top of my head, but I can get it later if you are interested.

Actually, there are lots of veggies that are sold prepped these days, they are more expensive, but saves a lot of time. And time is money!

Just a few ideas, off the top of my head!

Thanks for the great ideas, I'll let you know how it works out! You two truly are the MVP's of this forum, haha. So fast to reply! Thanks!

LOL, thanks!

Happy to share info Rob! MVP, ha ha, good one. (and much appreciated!)

you sound like my twin. i hate to cook so i found kashi. and some organic pre made meals just heat and eat. they are perfect ratios look on the back. going out i have to use the eye method. i have to have quick and easy and the fruit yogurt and nuts i use greek it has liitle carbs . have protien powder to make any thing balance out. my fav is a apple chicken and almond butter or peanutbutter. it dont get no easier

Who can tell me of any prepared frozen meals that fit into the zone plan

I do not know if they fit into the Zone plan, yet - because I have not had time to look for them, thereby been able to read the label. The recent newsletter from CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) recommended Organic Bistro as a "Good Bite" frozen entree. They suggested that they are available from Whole Foods (USA). Though there are no Whole Foods near us, I have not yet had time to look in Trader Joe's or local supermarkets for them.

I have several Whole Foods around me ... but no Trader Joe's. I'll trade you one Whole Foods for one Trader Joe's, John!!

Deal!