I have this everyday for breakfast:

30 g frozen blueberries (1/4 cup)
30 g fresh blueberries (1/4 cup)
OR have just 1/2 of frozen ones - I mix them because for me the smoothie cannot be too cold
1/3 banana
1 tsp of turmeric/curcuma, cacao and generous serving of cinnamon
1 block of protein powder (for me it is around 9g)
15 g of peanut butter (around 1.5 heaped tsb)
65 g of cottage cheese (1/4 cup)
135 g of plain yogurt (1/2 cup)

Blend it all together. I also add a bit of water to it and blend again, so I can drink it. But it must remain quite thick.

Yum Bozena!! I made a blueberry smoothie today. I was thinking of adding cottage cheese and dropping 1 scoop of protein powder next time to see how that tasted. I will try your recipe next week. This is the one that I made today that kept me happy for 5 hours.

1 cup frozen blueberries
6 ozs water
handful of walnuts
3 scoops protein powder

Bozena, lots of interesting flavors in that! I have had blueberry smoothies, but I think I will definitely have to try it with your recipe.

I tried it with different frozen berries but the overall effect was too sour. Blueberries rule!!

Hi Bozena

I had the smoothie for lunch today. It was very nice. I am going to try it without the banana next time as I seem to be very carb sensitive. Or might substitute the cottage cheese for another scoop of protein powder. It kept me satiated for just over 3 hours. Will experiment to see if I can last another hour with less carb.

cootage cheese is pure protein - I recommend stick with it as it boost up the volume. It works for me only for breakfast though. For some reason, for lunch I have to have much more food in volume to keep me satisfied. So this smoothie is great for breakfast, but not good for lunch.

haha that sounds so familiar to me!

CC - I thought you might be happy about the cottage cheese comment!! For some reason it doesnt keep me full. Protein powder is a better choice for me. I wasnt that hungry at lunch time and had a banana that had to be used so thought of Bozena's smoothie!

Margaret, rer protein powder vs. cottage cheese, protein powder works better for me too. I don't eat cottage cheese very often but when I do use it for a good part of my protein in a meal or snack I become hungry earlier. I keep it to small amounts. I'm very sensitive to carbohydrate and after exeprimenting with many different combinations I've come to assume the carbohydrate in cottage cheese might be the reason. Most of the cottage cheese that I find contains 6 or 7 grams of carbohydrate per cup.

Cottage cheese seems to work fine for me in small proportions, but I would not use it for an entire 3 blocks of protein in a meal, or if I do, then I would adjust the carb content of the meal to accommodate for the additional carbs.

I have found that protein powder generally does not work well for me as a stand-alone protein in a meal, either. I don't know why, don't have an explanation for that one. If I use it in combination with other proteins, then it works ok. But, not as the only protein.

Another thing that doesnt keep me satiated and actually I get really hungry not long after eating it is 1/2 apple and block of hard cheese. I sometimes add nuts to help with the hunger if I have this snack.

Margaret, except for a couple of varieties apples don't work well for me either. The apple that works best for me is called Honeycrisp.

Hi Sue

We dont have a variety by that name here in Australia but will look it up to see if we have something similar. We must have the same body makeup! ha ha ... My body really doesnt like anything sweet (I am insulin resistant) but my brain doesnt listen!! Now only if I can train my brain not to like sweet things .... I am going to be vigilant and look out for products with the word "Fructose". As I mentioned in other posts - the Sweet Poison book which is about kicking the sweet habit says that fructose is the worst sugar - we should go for glucose. There was an interesting segment about seeing if you were insulin resistant. Wet your finger and dip into glucose powder. If it didnt have a taste and was like flour then you were insulin resistant. If it tasted sweet then your werent. Of course, I had no taste when I did the test! Hopefully down the track when I do the test again it will taste very sweet ....

Margaret, yes, I've noticed many of your responses to foods are very much like mine. I've never heard of that test with glucose powder. Very interesting! About the apples, I only eat a few slices or less at a time, never more than about 1/4 an apple at most. Any more than that and I can't handle it well. I happened to notice by accident that I had different responses with different apple varieties, so I kept trying all kinds and found the Honeycrisp worked for me. I can only find them here in the fall, not all year round, so it may be a variety grown more locally to where I live. I do much better sticking with berries when I eat fruit. Yesterday we attended a neighborhood BBQ where everyone brought a dish to share. I brought a fruit salad made of peaches, plums, apples, strawberries, blueberries and grapes, mixed with vanilla favored plain yogurt. It was quite delicious, prompting many favorable comments from my friends, but unfortunately it must have had too high of a glycemic load for me because I didn't feel so well by a couple of hours later. I had only eaten a generous 1/2 cup of the fruit salad together with salmon, broccoli and tomatoes and some nuts. :/

I have been making a smoothie that keeps me satisfied for around 4-5 hours (1 cup strawberries/1/2 cup blueberries/water/handful walnuts/3 scoops protein powder). I have a big bucket of protein powder that I got from a gym. I asked for one that was for weight loss - not building muscle! I didnt check the carbs, fats, protein when I bought it. Anyway ... I was looking at a Zone recipe book yesterday and one of the recipe ingredients was 7 grams of protein powder. I got my bucket of protein powder and had a look at the ratios. What a shock!!! The fats and carbs werent the problem - the protein was 25 grams for 2 scoops! I was having 3 scoops which meant my smoothie had 5 blocks of protein .... I did an experiment today and had everything the same except cut the scoops - I used 2 and I was hungry within 2 hours. With the 3 scoops I was in the Zone.

I remember discussions we had on the old forum about how many grams of protein are in a scoop - depends on the size of the scoop etc. I was so happy with this smoothie and of course having 5 blocks of protein is going to keep anyone from being hungry!

Should do I cut back on the carbs - just have the strawberries and measure 2 scoops instead of the 3? Or does this make the carbs too low. I never have 3 blocks of carbs - always 2 because of my sensitivity.

Margaret,

Good thing you checked!

First get rid of the water. The thicker the smoothie the better. Also change the walnuts to a monounsaturated fat. I'd try a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in that smoothie. The extra fat will slow the entry of the carbohydrates into the bloodstream. You could also try 2 or 3 teaspoons of alomnd butter in place of the olive oil. If that doesn work, try using about 1 1/4 cup mixed berries insstead of the berries you haev now

The smoothie is quite thick. Sometimes I eat it with a spoon. I dont put a lot of water. I thought walnuts were a good choice - there have been many write-ups about it being the wonder nut. Olive oil doesnt seem to do it for me in smoothies but I will try a tablespoon to see if that helps as I dont normally put that much. It is a shame about the protein powder as the Zone feeling was great. Just perfect!

Good that it's thick, Magaret. Walnuts may be a "wonder nut" in some circles, but they are not in terms of the Zone and lowering inflammation. It's best to stick with monounsaturated fats. Keep tinkering with the shake by changing one thing at a time to see if you can get it to work. A food diary will be a big help for fine-tuninig this recipe. Jot down the ingredients you use each time you make it and how you feel 4 hours later. If you can't get it to work with 3P try it with 4 P and go a little shy of 3 C (I wouldn't advise going below 2.5 C with 4 P). That's not going to give you as much additional protein as you had to begin with.

Also, remember that protein powder is usually fat free so you'll need to at least double the fat blocks in the meal just to have the minimum amount of necessary fat for Zone balance. In your case (carbohydrate sensitivity) a little additional fat beyond the minimum for Zone balance might be enough to prevent early hunger. Don't worry about a little extra monounsaturated fat. The amounts we're discussing here will not be enough to prevent the loss of stored fat.

If it still doesn't work after many tweakings, you may just have to scrap the recipe. Some things just don't ever work for some individuals.

Good luck!

Margaret, I don't know if the water really makes all that much difference, and if your smoothie is already quite thick, then it probably would not be the problem. Sounds like you probably need a small amount of water in there, otherwise the other ingredients won't blend well.

If you enjoy the walnuts, then don't worry about that, either. Walnuts are not the "best" nut in terms of the Zone, but no food is banned in the Zone, and as you said, walnuts do have some good properties, as well. They are rich in fiber, B vitamins, and antioxidants. You may not be aware, but B vitamins play an important role in fat metabolism. They are a good source of monounsaturated fat. Now, if it doesn't matter about the nuts, go ahead and switch. I am just saying that the walnuts are not the cause of your increased hunger with your smoothie.

My smoothie works best with only one block of fruit, and my other block of fruit comes from the yogurt that I add to it. I have tried my smoothie with more fruit and no yogurt, but it doesn't work well for me that way. So, if you want to be adventurous, perhaps think about that as a change.

Beyond those suggestions, I would also recommend doing a calorie comparison between the smoothie as you make it now (with the extra protein) and with the changes that Sue posted (less protein, more fat). You may find very little calorie difference between the 2 recipes, and if the higher protein shake keeps you in the Zone better and longer, then perhaps that IS your Zone. Everyone's zone is different, and for some of us who are more carb sensitive, it is hugely individual.

Hi CC and Sue

Thank you for all the suggestions and comments. Today I had eggs for a change but will definetly start tinkering with the smoothie. I will also work out the calorie amounts - it will be interesting to see the comparison. Yes, without the water it wouldnt have blended that well. But it wasnt that much water.

I think you are right CC. I felt so good after this smoothie. No cravings, not over full, didnt think of eating for around 5 hours so my body must have been in the Zone. Yoghurt is another thing that doesnt satisfy me unless I put a lot of fat with it. I thought it was a "no no" only having only 1 carb for a 3 protein meal but then again if it keeps you in the Zone ...

Well, it may not go quite according to what Sears says, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I wanted to write about apples. They don't keep me in a Zone too, but if you bake them - it works
better and keep me as regular carbohydrates. I bake them whole - six in one time and keep in a fridge.
When we have guests and we need some good Zone dessert I cut them into big slices
add few cranberries for color(green and red) few walnuts and bake them. It looks so nice and delicious.
Cinnamon with apples goes very well.

You're welcome Margaret

[quote]
Posted By Margaret on 08 Sep 2011 08:35 PM
Hi CC and Sue...I thought it was a "no no" only having only 1 carb for a 3 protein meal but then again if it keeps you in the Zone ...
[/quote]

Regarding the quote, one major downside to this is that if you do it too often you end up in an abnormal metabolic state called ketosis (very undesirable, not healthy). Staying on the edge of ketosis with the Zone diet by eating just enough carbohydrate to remain within the Zone P/C ratios of 0.6 to 1 will yield excellent results. But if you frequently take the Zone diet too far beyond the P/C ratio of 1 (that amounts to dropping more than 1 C block in a meal) then you risk ketosis. Eventually your body produces excess cortisol to be able to produce glucose needed for brain function. Dr. Sears explains in his book "The Anti-Inflammation Zone" how a ketoic state turns you fat cells into what he calls "fat magnets". This can be reversed after months of practicing strict adherence to the Zone diet, but it's much better to avoid ketosis in the first place.

Hey, Margaret,

Just reflecting on what Sue said... it is true that if you push the carb reduction too far that you could go into ketosis. However, as I understand it, I don't believe you were contemplating dropping the carb from all of your meals. If you don't make this adjustment to the other meals and eat as usual with the exception of the dropped carb in the shake, I doubt that this minor carb reduction will result in ketosis.

Besides, in the shake example, it sounds like we are talking more about merely having more protein in the shake rather than dropping carbohydrate from your meal. IMO, one meal with extra protein is not an issue, if that is what keeps you in the Zone.

BTW, I noticed a typo in one of my previous posts, so if I said something that confused you about the fruit blocks, "

"My smoothie works best with only one block of fruit, and my other block of fruit comes from the yogurt that I add to it." I meant to say "MY OTHER BLOCK OF CARB"

Hi, Jannetta!

I love baked apples! It is a really nice treat, and they taste so wonderful prepared that way. I feel like I am having a real dessert when I eat baked apples.