I am a new Zoner. I am not sure if I am understanding fruits and grains correctly. Is it correct that these fall under carbs and can be used for carb blocks? Thanks for your assistance all.

Hi Noa,

"Is it correct that these fall under carbs and can be used for carb blocks?"

Yes. Also, the best grains for the Zone are barley and steel cut oatmeal. All others, including rolled oats should be used very sparingly, if at all, because they cause blood sugar and insulin to spike.

Thank you Sue. I appreciate the reply. Vegetables also count as carbs correct? I am struggling with the limited list of proteins. But thats ok, if I have to eat chicken breast and tuna for the rest of my life, I will.

PS. Super cute and precious little child you have there in that picture. SO SWEET.

I'm happy to help Noa. :-)

Correct, vegetables are counted as carbohydrate. You can find lists for carbohydrates (fats and protein foods, too) in Quick Start Guide in the Tools tab. You're not limited to eating only the foods on these lists. They're simply examples of foods commonly eaten by Americans.

Thanks, he's my little grandson. :-)

Thanks again, and that's great. I have printed the list out and have had it to refer thus far. Where can a more extensive list of food blocks be found? DO you have any you could recommend?

Noa, there's the book WHAT TO EAT In THE ZONE, by Barry Sears. It's a good reference book for brand name items, and also has a fast food restaurant section. Note that the lists in this book do not differentiate between favorable and unfavorable carbohydrates.

Some one (Dennis) who used to post here, some time ago - took the time to convert a lot of the foods from volume to weight in g for both unprepared and cooked (where applicable). He called it his Food Brick guide.
I have a copy in PDF format. I keep it on our refrigerator. It helps for foods (what we mostly eat) without labels, whole, raw foods. E-mail me, and I can send you a copy (JayDPiii at Yahoo dot com).
Here is a (small) excerpt:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This guide contains my selected Zone friendly foods. Data is taken from the USDA Food Database and nutrition labels from my kitchen. There is also a lot of variability from brand to brand, but this should be a reasonable guide. This chart may contain unintentional errors. All weights are for edible parts of food only. (CHECK YOUR FOOD LABELS.) Most women select 3 and most men select 4 food blocks per each of 3 meals per day. All choose 1 food block for mid-afternoon and pre-bedtime snacks.
.
PROTEIN (7g Protein = 1 protein block):
(READ LABELS for actual Protein & Fat g)
Beef (Range Fed) .........................unprepared.......Cooked
Steak, lean, fresh (1/2F)..................38g..................28g
Ground beef, 5-10% fat, (1/2F)........34g..................24g
.
FAT (3g Fat = 1 fat block):
Pure Ols (Organic) ..............Volume..............Weight
Almond, Olive, Macadamia.....2/3 tsp, 3ml.........3g
Coconut, Palm (good SF)......2/3 tsp, 3ml.........3g
Cultured Butter (SF).............2/3 tsp, 3ml.........3g
.
CARB (9g Carb = 1 carb block):
Squash Fruit.......................Raw.......Boiled
Cucumber, sliced ................4 c
Spaghetti squash, fresh........130g.......178g
Yellow squash, fresh ...........400g.......310g
Yellow squash, frozen .........250g.......216g
Zucchini, fresh....................400g.......356g
Zucchini, frozen..................392g.......398g

John, would you mind sharing that file with me? I just sent you an email at the address you listed, so my email address should come with that (if the email doesn't get routed to spam). I would really, really appreciate it!!

Just sending, now: 10:05 PM on 15 Feb 2010.