I have a question about making dishes for people who eat different amounts of blocks per day.

If I make a meal, lest's say Zone Chili, do I have to cook two seperate dishes? I eat 3 block meals and my husband eats a 4 block meal. Does he just eat more than me?

I hope this makes sense!

Thanks,
Amanda (I am Clayton's wife, posting under his name.)

No need to cook separate dishes.
If you know total number of blocks (approximately) in dish (like Chili),
then just divvy up as you say, about 3 blocks for yourself and about 4 blocks for your husband.

Another way to do it is to make equal portion sizes, but then give hubby a glass of milk, for the extra block of protein and carb (and toss in a little extra fat, too).

This is my precise frustration too. It is why i fell out of the zone 10+yrs ago when I got married. Now I am adding children too the mix. Both replies make it sound so easy but in reality it does seem to be. Besides with that quanitity of vegetables (for 4 people). Who has a pan big enough to cook it all. (not chili of course but more veg rich dishes ) heck it can be a lot of prep time for all the veggies. I am just trying to get started again and am feeling overwhelmed.

Cleo.

Cleo, I just posted this reply to your same question in the Kids forum here. Maybe it will help. :-)





Hi Robyn!

You're welcome!

Using the plate method makes it easy for a regular meal of lean protein and veggies. If you're really invested in using blocks there are easy ways to get around that, too. When I cook things like chili, stew soup, etc, I'll keep track of how many blocks of P, C and F I add to the entire pot. Then I divide by 3 to see how many 3 block meals I have (round off, it will be close enough, and distribute the finished product among that many plates or bowls. The 3 blocker gets 1, the 4 blocker gets 1 plus a glass of 2% milk (2% for the right amount of fat; no need to think about adding more fat for the 4th block). Depending on the ages of your kids, they can each get a bowl, or you can split a couple bowls between 3 kids (resulting in 2 blocks per child), etc. I store the leftovers in the 3 block amounts for an easy meal later. Since we've been following the ZoneFast plan, I've been storing leftovers in 1 block portions, so we can easily add them to the Zone baked goods and pastas for a quick and easy meal.

I make "block portions" for myself and my DH, but as for the kids, I don't make it mandatory for them to eat a pre-determined volume of food. Basically, I set out a protein, and then surround it with a few zone-favorable dishes. They determine how much they want. They pick and choose what they want from the healthy choices that I have put out. Cooking for the family does not have to be that hard.

Serve up your protein, whatever your family likes. You can open up a few bags of frozen veggies and steam them up. You can incorporate some beans or legumes, or a tomato-based sauce, and a fruit for dessert, and you have your 3 block meal without much effort. THe fat can come from what you cook with, or you can add some nuts to share at the table.

Thank you both much. It's just a new way of thinking. I can do this. I will keeping reading the forum for new ideas.
Cheers
cleo

Glad to help Cleo! Have fun with it. :-)

Cleo, you're welcome!