It is no secret that I have voiced a negative stance on the Superzone.

However, after some discussions this past week, I was thinking that perhaps my opinion would mean much more if I tested the product. Perhaps my opinion would even change--who knows?

So, I am looking for a recommendation from product users as far as what product would be the best one to order, which one offers the most flexibility, recipe ideas, etc. I am only going to order ONE product, so it should be something that would give me multiple meal options.

Any ideas on which product I should order?

I can't give recommendations because I am just starting with them. I am conducting a test of these foods myself. I ordered quite a variety to figure out what works for me. I am super carb sensitive and was always hungry trying to balance out my foods. So far, I have been eating the bagels for breakfast and they hold me for 4 hours. I rarely am in the zone for 4 hours. That is why I am doing my own test and if they work which they seem to be, I will order more even though they are a little pricey. For me, it will be well worth it to not be craving foods all the time and hopefully, feel better! Good Luck. I look forward to hearing your experience with it.

I just don't want to order a ton of this stuff, would like to trial something that would give me some flexibility with a variety of meals. So, if you are using the bagels for breakfast, do you add anything to them? This might be a good start for me, breakfast is usually quick, and a toasted bagel might be a good option. Bagels also make good snacks in between meals.

That is what I would do. I figured that they are good snacks and I can also make a sandwich with them. I have been putting a tablespoon of peanut butter on them and that is it. I did add egg whites but found today that I don't really need them. I stay in the zone without them.

When you get your order, it comes with a meal plan which shows you what you can add to the superfoods. The bagel chips are great with hummus and the granola with yogurt is really good! But, so are the cookies! So far, I ate the chips with hummus for lunch two hours ago and I am still in the zone. As I mentioned before, I struggled everyday to stay in the zone so for me this is a big deal. So, my test is going well so far but only time will tell. I am still skeptical at times but we will see!

I am skeptical of how this will work. I have never had the experience of the sustaining hunger as promised by any other products (obviously not zone products, though). In the Zone, I have never really gotten to that point where I could go 6 hours on a meal, I usually go about 4 hours, and that is it.

I don't want to become dependent on the products, either. I am hopeful that they work well, but I would not want to feel dependent upon them as the only way to stay in the Zone. And, I am not thrilled with the idea of the artificial ingredients, but I guess it won't be the first or the last time that I eat something that isn't a whole food.

Thanks for the suggestions, I was leaning towards the bagels. Or, maybe the multigrain bread. I sure could go for a sandwich!

Wonder if Sue has any ideas on one good single product to try out?

I like them all! :-)

I don't think I could choose one. They all offer flexibility when it comes to meals. You've posted that previously that you tried a cinnamon bun and it kept you in the Zone, which is great. Since you now want to give the SuperZone a longer try, I'd recommend not to limit yourself to one particular food, but rather to try a variety instead. Eating the same thing much of the time, morning, noon and night, can become boring very quickly. It's nice to have both meal choices and some snack foods too.

If I had to pick a favorite among the bagels, since you mentioned you're considering that, it would be the multi grain.

Thanks for the recommendation, Sue.

I don't think I can afford the food, anyway. That's why I just want to try one thing. Cinnamon rolls really don't offer meal versatility, so I was thinking along the line of breads/bagels/rolls as they are more versatile. I don't think I would be eating the same thing with these products, there are lots of good options (like the picadillo recipe that you posted). That would be an excellent choice for my family, they enjoy sloppy joe night (dad's night to cook).

If my response to these products is as impressive as promised, then maybe I will try more things. But, I just can't do more than one product right now.

Would be nice to see more "free" samples available! Can you put out a good word on that one?

As mentioned in another post, I did place an order. I ordered the multigrain bagels, chocolate chunk cookies, and the cinnamon rolls for my trial. As posted, will let everyone know how they work.

I am hoping that everything went through alright because I never received a confirmation e-mail. It appeared as if it did, and if so, I should receive the items tomorrow. I never got a fed-ex tracking number, either. I may have to contact them tomorrow if I don't hear anything by then since the link to check on an order is down.

Anyway, I was looking at the section "Grocery Additions" to accompany the Superzone foods. It is different that the regular Zone diet. For instance, they only allow 1 serving of fruit per day for women. Also, most vegetables are unlimited, and carrots are amazingly on the list for being unlimited. Strange that carrots were unfavorable, but fruit was favorable on regular Zone, but on Superzone that has changed. Again, I would like explanations as to why it would be different on either diet, but no explanation available.

Something else interesting is that no other protein is allowed. This is taken from the Grocery Addition section:
"Protein: Don't add any extra protein as the SuperZone™ products will supply all your daily protein requirements."

So, after reading this statement, how would you make a sandwich, and why does it show meat in their sandwich pics? Confusing!!!

This is exactly why I would not consume the Superzone products for all of my meals. I think it would get old very quick. Also, if no extra protein is allowed, what's the point of a pizza crust? What in the heck do you eat on a pizza? Cheese allowed is only 1 ounce per day, and the pics only show veggie pizzas. If you want some meat on your pizza, I guess you are out of luck(?)

My pasta dinners consist of chicken sausages, Dreamfields, and some good sauce. According to Superzone, I would only be able to have the pasta and sauce because of the protein content, so again, I will stick to my regular meal for this one, and it does hold me for 4 hours along with a salad. Some things are best not messed with, especially if they work, and taste good.

Now, after all of the not necessarily rants, but more confusion, I am looking forward to trying the new products for some variety in my day. If the bagels hold me till lunch, they will be a welcome addition to my breakfasts.

Mari, there are phone representatives available to answer questions if you're unsure (the phone number at the top of this page).



"What in the heck do you eat on a pizza?"

tomato sauce, onions, roasted galic, peppers, roasted eggplant, mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, roasted zucchini, low fat chicken ssausage, mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, grated parmesan cheese...



"why does it show meat in their sandwich pics?"

When the food arrives, you'll find the plan that comes with it states 1 ounce of protein can be added to any meal.



Have fun with it!

Mari, some good points there.

There have been inconsistencies on this website for quite some time that have never been fixed. Honestly, I can't quite understand how a single ingredient like carrots can become such a debatable item. Sears changed carrots to "favorable" quite a few years ago, published in the ANTI-INFLAMMATION ZONE, and so I am assuming that this is why they are "unlimited" in the superzone. Fruits are favorable, but they are more dense than veggies, and this may be why they are limited.

I don't understand the protein dilemma, either. I have not seen an officially published meal plan, only the ones the Sue has given as an example of how she eats. Thinking back to what I remember (I don't have that thread open right now), I am not sure that she was adding much protein to her meals (I was looking at it from the perspective of fiber).

The frustrating thing is that with such a nice website, the answers should be easy to find, and we should have little need to call a representative. That may be another little bit of criticizm that often comes up, but it wouldn't come up if these things were attended to (and the carrot thing is a good example of that).

I am still debating what to add. If I could see a meal plan, I think I could make a more informed decision on what item would offer more flexibility. I can't afford to order a bunch of products.

Hey Cran -- I don't think I'm breaking any rules (if so, someone please let me know) -- but I can scan in the meal plan from my recent order and e-mail it to you.

Laurie

I don't know if that breaks any rules, either. If you would be willing to do that, I would be grateful! I think seeing the meal plan would really help me in choosing the right product to start with.

I don't know if you still have my email, it is:
cranberrycat@hotmail.com

Thanks, Laurie! : )

I am leaning towards the multigrain bread as the choice, but I was wondering how many slices are in a loaf?

Most of the other products only come in maybe 5 servings per package, it appears, but the bread might be a better bargain, depending on the number of slices...

Can anyone help me on that?

All the SuperZone foods work out to be the same price per serving; some packages simply contain more servings than others. One SuperZone bread loaf contains 7 meals.

Well, since this is a trial, it would be better to purchase something with a few more servings, rather than to limit the experience with less servings.

So, the bread only has 14 slices? They must be thick slices!

Cran; Its funny you mention that, because I was leaning towards the mult-gain bread as a trial too. The description for each product is available off of the SuperZone tab - and each food does have the number of items in the package listed, and there is also a link to see the nutrition info.

I looked there, saw specific servings per container on other products, but for some reason, I didn't see it for the bread.

LOL, great minds think alike!
I am thinking along the lines of some sandwiches, maybe a nice breakfast of french toast!

You're right, their bread is the one item that does not state how many slices, just "one loaf", like that's real helpful!

OK, so after careful consideration, I am going to order a few products. I had a hard time deciding on just one, and since there are not a lot of servings available in a package, then just one item would probably not give me adequate time to test out the products. So, I am ordering 3 products:

-multigrain bread
-multigrain bagels
-chocolate chunk cookies

A few questions, again...

When I use the cookies for a snack, do I count each package as ONE snack, or is it one cookie per snack? I would assume that each cookie is a snack, and that I would not eat the entire package for that snack, but please let me know if I am wrong on that.

If I am going to follow the sample meal plan, are there recipes that accompany the sample plan? Are they on this site? I did a quick search but did not find recipes that are on the meal plan.

I also still don't quite understand how it is possible to interchange the added foods, some are extra fats, some are extra proteins, and some are extra carbs. I don't see any examples of extra complete blocks. Doesn't make sense to me.

one package = 1 snack

So, one package is 2 blocks?

A 2 block superzone snack in place of a 1 block traditional zone snack? How is that interchangeable?

If you follow the easy the SuperZone plan in the pamphlet you won't need to count blocks.