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Posted By Sue on 02 May 2012 12:54 PM

3. Change the chick peas in the lunch salad to vegetables that are less dense in carbohydrate, like bell peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes, green beans, etc.
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Sue, sorry if I'm confused here, but the Zone food guide found here on this site, as well as the one found in the books I own, specifies chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzos) as one of the favorable low-density carbs. As a matter of fact, not only are chickpeas themselves included, but so is hummus, the middle-eastern chickpea paste. Has that recommendation changed? If so, where can I find a chart of Zone blocks that includes the most up-to-date information?

James,
also in my list of food from Italy chickpeas/garbanzos are favourable. Just 20 gr. dry for a block C, but still Zone friendly along with broad beans, green beans and some other beans. I sometimes get confused myself...

Hi James,

Legumes, even the "Zone favorable" ones, are sometimes too carbohydrate dense for a more carbohydrate sensitive individual.

Sometimes legumes can be confusing, and perhaps a change to the list SHOULD be made.

The list does list them as Zone favorable, yet if you read the Zone literature, you will find that Dr. Sears recommends somewhat limiting them, due to the fact that they are higher density than veggies are.

I have mixed feelings about them, myself. I find that sometimes I need something in my meal with just a little bit more density, and a 1/2 -1 block of legumes sometimes will turn a meal into a solid zone meal for me. An example, using beans in a salad is good because everything else in there is very low density. So, adding some chickpeas helps me to feel sustaining satiety.

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Posted By cranberrycat on 03 Jun 2012 08:48 AM
Sometimes legumes can be confusing, and perhaps a change to the list SHOULD be made.

The list does list them as Zone favorable, yet if you read the Zone literature, you will find that Dr. Sears recommends somewhat limiting them, due to the fact that they are higher density than veggies are.

I have mixed feelings about them, myself. I find that sometimes I need something in my meal with just a little bit more density, and a 1/2 -1 block of legumes sometimes will turn a meal into a solid zone meal for me. An example, using beans in a salad is good because everything else in there is very low density. So, adding some chickpeas helps me to feel sustaining satiety.
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I'd have to agree. Personally, some "low-density" carbohydrates can be too **** low. For example, if I'm making a four-block salad, and stick to the non-legume varieties of vegetables, I'd be looking at ten cups of romaine, two cups of green peppers, four cups of broccoli, and four cups of mushrooms. One of the benefits of the Zone block system, granted, is that you can eat a filling amount of food and stay healthy, but I don't think I could even get through that much, and, if I could force it all down, by the time I was done, it would probably be four to six hours later, and time for another meal! ;) Fortunately, so far, it looks like I'm not so carb-sensitive that having legumes as part of those blocks is a problem for me, but I can see how it might be for others.

I find that if my meals are TOO low density, I may have trouble finishing the meal, and yet will still become hungry soon after. So, by adding in a little moderate density carb helps to extend the life of the meal. So, for me, even being somewhat carb sensitive, I feel like my Zone is best achieved when I add a little bit of moderate/high density, without adding to much overall carb to the meal.