My husband and I are new to the zone diet. I am supposed to be eating 11 blocks which I find doable. My husband is supposed to be eating 21 blocks which seems like an excessive amount of food. We do not eat grains, dairy, or legumes. I am having a very difficult time figuring out his carbohydrates. For example 2.5 apples as part of one meal is not feasible. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you in advance!
- Erica

Something doesn't add up, a serving is only half an apple. 2 and half apples would be more than your carbs for an entire meal, what else are you having with it? I get 3 servings of carbs and my husband gets 4. So green beans, salad and half an apple, and I would give my husband an extra.
T

I think Erica meant 2.5 apples for her husband.

I would recommend that he eat 4 block meals rather than 5 block meals, and then just eat more snacks throughout the day.

Erica, some suggestions for 5 block meals:

4 oz. (4P) chicken breast baked in a mixture of 1 cup salsa (2C), 1/4 cup black beans (1C) and 1 2/3 tsp. olive oil (5F): 1 glass of milk (1P and 1C) and 1/2 apple or 1 cup strawberries (either one is 1C)

6 egg white omelet (3P) cooked in 1 tsp. olive oil (3F) and filled with 2 oz. shredded low fat cheese (2P plus the missing fat in the eggwhites) and 2 1/2 cups onion and tri colored pepper strips that have been sautéed in 2/3 tsp. olive oil (about 2 C and 2F) and topped with 1/2 cup tomato sauce (1C), one cup blueberries on the side (2C)

A meal salad containing 2 or 3 handfuls of lettuce, 4 1/2 ounces deli turkey and/or ham (3P), 1 oz. low fat cheese (1P), 1 medium tomato and 1 green pepper (1C), 1/4 cup chick peas(1C), and a dressing of vinegar mixed with 2 1/2 tsp. olive oil (about 5F plus the fat usually missing in lean deli meat); 1 apple or 1 pear for dessert (either one is 2C) and a glass of milk (1P and 1C)

If you prefer Zone Classic meals to meals made with Zone foods (bagels, pasta, pizza, etc.), Zone-At-A-Glance is easier than the block method. It works great and there's no tedious counting or measuring involved. I lost 100 pounds with it. You can find it here: http://www.zonediet.com/tools/zone-classic

Erica,

I missed that you said you don't eat dairy and legumes.

In the first meal, you can increase the chicken breast to 5 oz. and omit the cheese, swap the black beans for 2 cups of pepper strips, and change it to 1 apple or 2 cups of strawberries.

In the egg dish make instead of the cheese, add 2 oz. Canadian bacon on the side.

For the salad, instead of the milk and cheese increase the deli meat by another block to a total of 6 oz. and add the chopped hardboiled whites of 2 eggs. 1 cup artichoke hearts could take the place of the chick peas, and some shredded carrot will add the extra C block that the milk contained, without a lot of additional volume. You can also slightly increase the amount of dressing, or toss in some slivered almonds to make up for the missing fat in the additional deli meat and egg white.