I've bought a box of Zone bars in the past and liked them. Over the holidays I got an email for a deal on them that I missed :-(

Can anyone tell me what sort of frequency the sales are for the Zone bars? I want to buy more, but will wait a few weeks if there might be another sale soon.

Frequency...I don't know, but you can always click on SPECIALS In the SHOP tab above, to see what other offers are available.

I get all of those offers, and I have only seen the bar offer come up a few times per year. My guess is that it won't come up again for quite some time.

I know, I was thinking that it was a good time to buy some, but I missed it, too. That's ok, I have been zoning without zone bars since last March. I can continue!

I'm kicking myself for not ordering more when the last offer came up -- it was for my favorite bar (Apple Cinnamon) at 50% off -- and turns out they've discontinued them (I suppose I was one of the few people that liked them ;-) ... ) Other than that, I haven't seen bars on sale so I think we have to suck it up and order them at full price :-( .

Laurie

Me too! I ordered them at 1/2 price, not realizing they were that price because they were discontinuing them.
Made the cost at least a little more reasonable! Why i have put off even trying one SuperZone food, way too expensive for me - even without the higher s+h they charge.
Cran's idea of a sampler, discounted with free shipping - then I would and could afford to try a superzone.

Yeah, I still don't know if it is something that I can afford.

Laurie is going to send me a meal plan, then I can look at it and decide which product would be the most versatile, according to the plan.

Let me know, or forward a copy to me, as well.
I really would like to try one superzone food, just to see...
(jaydpiii at yahoo dot com.) I have to see, like you which would be the best use of limited funds, best value.

OK, either Laurie or I will send it to you!

Are the zone bars 1 block of p/c/f or 2. Just wondering if they are for snacks or meal replacement.

They are 2 complete zone blocks. If you want to use as a 1-block snack, then you would eat 1/2. If you want a 3 block meal, some people like to eat one bar and then drink an 8-oz glass of milk. Or, a 4 block meal would be 2 bars.

I am curious, since the Zone bars are admittedly less than perfect for satiety and still so costly, then why doesn't the Zone team restructure them and make them Superzone to be a little more satisfying? Then maybe the cost would be just a little more justifiable. Just thinking out loud...

"Zone bars are admittedly less than perfect for satiety "

Not sure where you got that idea from Mari. They provide excellent satiety, and in fact they are patented in regard to providing controlled release of nutrition over time, which in turn results in excellent insulin control.

Not necessarily.

I tried the oatmeal/raisin Zone Bar a couple of hours ago with a cup of coffee. Not very filling or tasty in my opinion, but they put enough sweetener in it to make it palatable. When I first opened the package it smelled just like a "carboard" protein bar.

I know this advice isn't particular popular to Zone product loyalists, BUT I have tried other bars more accessible to me (in Canada) and affordable. It seems there are 2 camps of bars: high protein/low carb for body building and nutritionally balanced (better for Zone eating).

I've had 2 different kinds of Zone bars (chocolate fudge and the now discontinued Apple). I've also tried Zone Perfect and Think Protein. Here's my personal comparison review:

Zone Apple: taste 9/10, satiety 7/10, cost 1/10
Zone Fudge: taste 7/10 (too sweet), satiety 8/10, cost 1/10
Zone Perfect: taste 2/10, satiety 4/10, cost 9/10
Think Protein: taste 9/10, satiety 8/10, cost 10/10

Xee, so are you saying that you think the Think Protein bar is superior to the zone bars in all three categories? Interesting!

For me, personally, yes. Though the Zone apple makes a pretty close second (on taste and satiety... way far behind on cost). Important to note that the Think Protein is 3 blocks per bar. Sometimes I'll have just a third of a bar, sometimes half. Rarely a whole one, though my partner sometimes does and feels pretty satisfied.

I will have to take the time to look for this one. I "think" I have seen it before, but have never tried it!

I buy mine at Costco in Canada. About $18/box of 15 bars.

One caution about Think bars. As I remember they're loaded with sugar alcohols, which woud be a contraindication for including them in the Zone (according to Barry Sears' recommendations not to eat sugar alcohols; you can read more about his postion on sugar alcohols with a search of DrSears.com).

Thanks for the warning Sue. Think bars do have sugar alcohols, which make up most of the carbs in the bars. So, it is certainly important to consider that when making the choice of having them or not.

The way I look at unfavourables/avoid this or that... is exactly that: I don't make it a regular part of my diet, but sometimes it's still a better choice than a lot of other things in the moment. I'll use it for a sweet craving, a portable non-perishable snack, or simply because I'm still hungry after a meal and I need to top up so that I don't overeat on something else.

It may not be the ultimate best choice, but weighing all my factors, it is the best choice for me.

Good point, Xee. I agree, sometimes we have to make some choices that are not always going to be optimal. We have to make the best of it.

Putting the cost aside, I am just concerned with the amount of saturated fat in the bars - about 1/2 of the fat content is saturated..aren't we supposed to avoid that type of fat?

Hi Stacey,

Cell membranes need to be fluid, but not to fluid that is why we need some saturated fat in our diet, no more than 1/3 of your fat intake should be saturated.