So I thought that it might be worthwhile to have a thread for people who have decided to actually try the new foods and would like to share their experiences. I don't want to talk about the price or politics behind the products.

I decided to place a fairly large order. I did this for a few reasons. 1) My wife isn't all the way on board with eating lean meats, vegetables, and fruits at every meal. She is very healthy, remains very slim and eats very conscientiously (when compared to the typical american diet). She does, however, like her grains. This has been a source of tension between us because depending on how i'm feeling i often refuse to eat many of the things she likes to cook. The zone pasta was the first product that really alleviated the situation and these new products offer new ways for us to compromise. I still plan on eating plenty of lean protein/veggies/fruits but i won't refuse a meal that is balanced and has ingredients meant to control insulin. 2) I myself get tired of eating only lean protein/veggies/fruits. I'm not complaining and there is no doubt that i feel wonderful eating this way but there is an element of monotony for me in spite of the fact that i consume pretty much every available item from the produce department and eat varied sources of protein. So, if these new products offer a way to control insulin and taste as good as claimed, i'm all for them in moderation. 3) convenience. previous to these products, i carried a few bars in my bag for times when i would get hungry. the bars never worked as well for me as say an apple with 2% cheese but i could carry them anywhere and not have to worry about refrigeration. if these new products work better than the bars as dr sears has claimed, i'm all for making the switch.

So far I've sampled the cinnamon buns, cinnamon bread, granola, chocolate chip cookies, bagel, pretzel, and bagel chips. I have been extremely impressed with the taste of each product. In fact, I would say at this point the taste is my biggest complaint. Its kind of like...oh crap....i didn't need to know i could eat food that tastes like this. I worry that I may start eating more than i need simply because i have a ridiculous weakness to sugar/salt/fat. I can eat ungodly amounts of food at times. So far though, I haven't had any troubles just having a snack. The hunger control has been excellent so far. I say 'so far' because with the zone bars that was my impression for quite a while but i came to realize that was more a placebo affect (for me). I just wanted to believe those bars worked no matter what. They did do a fine job and were far better than other 'health bars' but they didn't work as well as fruit + cheese. So far these new products have worked better. They have kept me fully satisfied for several hours but I will readily admit some of that may be psychological. Time will tell.

Tonight, I plan on making some pizza with the pizza crusts instead of ordering out for pizza as we often do on friday's. I'm very much looking forward to it and by doing this, will be having a healthier meal than i would otherwise be having.

I guess on the downside, I don't feel great about missing out on all the polyphenols and other goods i get with veggies + fruits but I figure I'm eating that stuff 90% of the time and i take a freeze dried fruit and veggies supplement each day with an ORAC value of 5000 (five thousand) so I don't feel like i'm sacrificing too much.

So far I'm very impressed. I think more of you should at least try them and see if they help you be more consistent.

Thanks for starting this thread, Chris. I decided to place my order of SuperZone foods for many of the same reasons you mentioned, namely convenience and variety. I received my order today. I ordered the multigrain flatbread, multigrain pizza crusts, cinnamon buns, granola, chocolate chip cookies, and M&M cookies (my DH LOVES M&Ms). So far, I've tried the flatbread, one chocolate chip cookie, and a bite of DH's M&M cookie. I agree with you that they taste good! The flatbread was especially good. I made it into a 3-block meal by smearing it with 2 Tbsp. of hummus and topping with 1 oz. of chicken breast, 1 sliced Roma tomato, a few pieces of chopped green pepper, and a drizzle of plain nonfat yogurt. It was delicious and totally satisfying.

I have to admit, the cookies were a bit smaller than expected, but I think they will do the trick for when I really want a "treat." The texture is obviously different from a regular cookie, but the taste is good, and the chewiness makes up for the size, so that even just one cookie is satisfying. However, DH, who is not a Zoner, was not overly impressed with the cookie he tried.

I'm looking forward to trying the other products over the weekend, and I'll post more reviews when I have tried them.

This weekend I tried the cinnamon buns and the granola. I ate the granola with a cup of 1% milk, like cereal, to make it a 3-block meal. It was very tasty, with a nice cereal-like, crunchy texture, and it did satiate my appetite for 3.5 to 4 hours. The cinnamon buns are good too, and I think they'll make a good weekday breakfast (I usually eat a Zone bar, and these are the equivalent at two blocks apiece). The first one I ate, I zapped in the microwave for about 40 seconds, and it seemed to have a strong sucralose flavor, which I didn't mind too much but wasn't crazy about. The second one I ate right out of the fridge, and the sucralose didn't jump out at me as much.

Chris, out of curiosity, does the cinnamon bread taste pretty much the same as the cinnamon buns, or is it different?

i would say the bread seems a little more substantial but the taste is very similar. i'll be ordering the bread again but i'm not sure i'll go with the buns.

I ordered bagels,whole wheat rolls, cinnamon buns, granola, pasta, orzo, cookies. As for my opinion...they are all good. I especially liked the granola. I will not eat them every day or every meal--but the way I can see them helping me is for special occasions. I have trained myself to eat lean protein, veggies and berries,and good fats. But there are several times they come in handy..for instance, every Mon morning, there is some sort of freshly baked banana, applesauce,zuchinni,bread..On Fri there are donuts for customers..in the past I would have one,but now I have a zone cinnamon roll or bagel and it kills the craving. I have found it is not good to feel deprived b/c sooner or later it will bite you...so I will buy again for the quick meal and easy counting of blocks.

I've tried the bagels, cin rolls, cin bgel chips and choc chip cookies. All the products are good, but with these price points, they have to be really good. My favorite products was the bagels by a landslide. The cin rolls wheren't really that good and the bgel chips were very dry. The cookies were good, but I can actually make a pretty good 40-30-30 choc chip cookie, and I can make them much cheaper.

I will be ordering the bagels again!!

Thanks for the review.
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So, obviously it won't be ZONED,though balanced, and they won't be Molecular Baking; however, I'll bet you get requests for your 40-30-30 balanced cookie recipe . . .
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so you might consider posting it...

Glad to see the reviews on the Super Zone products. I would love to try them, but alas I can't tolerate sucralose. I used to use it frequently, but guess I developed a sort of "allergy" to it. It would be nice if they would use another sweetener, but not asparatame or stevia YUK! Why not real raw sugar? But I doubt that will occur.

Hey Matt;

I rarely eat sweets; however, with a fund raiser bake sale coming up,
I'd be interested in your recipe, i.e.:
.
"The cookies were good, but I can actually make a pretty good 40-30-30 choc chip cookie, and I can make them much cheaper."

I had the superzone foods for past 2 weeks and loved them. I eat them all 3 meals and add a little additional protein and veggies. For me the whole concept works great. I was doing Jenny Craig for over a year. Always hungry shortly after the meal. Not so with the Zone food. I get appetite control for 4-6 hours. The bagels and pizza crusts were good, the cinnamon bread awsome. I toast it a llttle and put 1 slice of low fat provolone between 2 slices of bread. It tastes really good. The pasta is great.
This week I ordered different things to try. I did find that I didn't like the cookies. I tried chocolate chip cookies and toffie cookies. Just did not like the taste, but that's OK. I get great appetite control with the food, I have more energy, better mood control, and better concentration. So I am willing to forgo cookies for all the other benefits. Besides, today I visited a friend who didn't see me for 3 weeks and she complemented me with visible weight loss. Something I haven't been able to do on Jenny Creig food for 7 months. As long as I loose weight and have all the other benefits I mentioned before, I will stick with the Superzone foods. I just wish they would make better tasting cookies.

I ordered the Medwell 123 sampler and was overwhelmed with the ease, simplicity, and taste of the superzone products. Yes, there is a very slight taste difference, but to be able to eat breads, granola, pizza, and "rice" without guilt is tremendous. I am a very busy teacher and mother of 4, so being able to "grab and go" is a convenience I am willing to pay for to lose weight and get off BP meds. I have been yo-yo dieting for 17 years - since I began my family - and nothing has kept the extra 50 pounds of weight off. I've known about the Zone since 1995 when my dad introduced me to it, but I have never been very good about preparing my meals in advance. I've been using Zone shakes and bars for about a year, but they are not meals, which I tend to skip when busy. Having school parents bring in sweet treats for teachers doesn't help much either when I'm crashing because I worked through lunch in my classroom!

I have been using the Superzone foods for one week and am loving the granola with Greek yogurt and berries, or cinnamon swirl bread for breakfast, I usually have the croutons with soup or bagel chips and hummus for lunch, one quick chocolate chip cookie after school (instead of the pastries in the teachers' lounge) and the other before bed. I eat either a pizza, sandwich, or orozo (tastes just like rice pilaf) with chicken and brocolli for dinner. Never have been a big pasta fan, though, so I haven't tried it yet.

Eating grains again makes me feel like I've died and gone to heaven. My husband and I have noticed a difference in my mood, and my clothes are not as tight-fitting. It has only been a week!

My goal is to lose 50 pounds by summer, get of BP meds, and sleeping pills for insomnia. The biggest scare came when my doctor told me she found a lump in one of my breast (fatty tissue deposit) and said I need to focus on losing weight to solve the problems I've developed. Obviously, I have Toxic Fat! I am not pre-diabetic - yet - but I know if I don't change my ways that is next.

I look forward to posting my progress and hope I can help others along the way.

That's great Diana and susan! Congrats on your progress!

Hi Eveyone!

I posted this following reply to trixie in another thread here yesterday, and I just realized it would be a good addition to this thread:


Hi trixie,

The new SuperZone foods are fantastic! Have you tried them yet? You simply eat without having to give much though to balance. It's even easier than the plate method. Not only are the foods delicious and convenient, but I'm having excellent results with them. They're keeping me in the Zone better than my usual meals. I'm continually amazed at how well I'm staying in the Zone. I don't even need my usual extra fat to maintain satiety. The result is that I've quickly become leaner.

Re recipes, both the multigrain and the white breads make great a French toast for breakfast. I've been putting the bread in the egg white and milk mixture at night, putting it into the fridge (takes only a couple minutes) and then it takes a couple more minutes to brown it on the stove top in the morning. I like topping it with raspberries. I've also made it with pumpkin pie spice added. Very good!

Hey Sue!
Sorry, haven’t been on the boards in a while. Haven’t made any purchases yet, wanted to see some reviews first. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Did you try the cinnamon buns?

Hi trixie!

Yes, I really like the cinnamon buns. I like every SuperZone food I've eaten. As to my favorite cookie, it's a tie between, well, all of them lol! If I had to choose, I like the milk chocolate chunk the best. The garlic bagel chips are sooo good, and I love to toast a bagel for lunch or a snack and put some light cream cheese and salmon on top. Our toaster has officially been put back into commission! :-) I've even made a meal of a peanut butter sandwich!

Hi Sue!
Hmm, now what to choose. I was thinking of getting the Orzo, the recipe idea with zucchini looks great! Are you posting your new SuperZone food recipes somewhere? I’d love to get some ideas!

trixie, I haven’t posted any yet, but I've been thinking about starting a thread of my SuperZone recipes here. I think your question has just convinced me to, so keep your eye out for it! :-)

Last night I experimented and came up with a beef flavored orzo. I made double what I needed so I'm adding some roasted mushrooms to it for lunch today.

This morning for breakfast I had SuperZone granola topped with raspberries and unsweetened low carb soymilk. I love the granola too. :-))))

I'm thinking of trying a bagel sandwich that includes a little turkey bacon. It's been so long since I've eaten this way, I'm like a Zone newbie when it comes to these foods, lol!

Awe, I’m so happy for you! Since you have been doing the Zone for so long this must be a much welcomed change! I’d love to see your new recipe ideas and pictures would be great!! As for the recipes they have on the site, are they balanced?

Yes, they are! :-)

Have you tired the pretzels?

Yep. I've had the sesame prezel. It's a very nice soft pretzel. One thing I was plesantly surprised by is the plain bagel chips. I expected them to be bland and probably need something added, but I was wrong. They're delicious all by themselves! It's also fine to top them with a little something if you like.

Hmm, thanks for the tip! I placed an order for a few items, can’t wait to try them. I’ll keep a look out for your “new” recipes!

trixie, I'm posting the first recipe today!

Where?

here:

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/F...fault.aspx