Hi - sorry if this is one of those questions that gets asked 5 times/day - I'm brand new to this forum and new to the zone.

My q is about carb blocks. In Zone Meals In Seconds, some of the carb blocks are huge - 3c cooked broccoli, 4c raw broccoli florets, 4c cooked cauli. These amounts seem wrong to me - like at least 2x what I've seen in other references. Can anyone comment - are they right or wrong?

TIA!

They're correct. One Zone carbohydrate block is determined by the amount of the food which contains 9 grams of insulin stimulating carbohydrate (insulin stimulating carbohydrate = grams of total carbohydrate minus grams if fiber, fiber does not stimulate insulin production.).

Thanks Sue! But... those are the measures in the Zone Meals in Seconds book. I picked up Mastering the Zone from the library this afternoon to compare, and this book lists 1 1/4c cooked broc as 1 carb block, 2c cooked cauli, etc. The quantities are so different than the Meals listings. I don't think the Meals qtys are correct, that's what I'm trying to figure out. Does that make sense?

I do not have either of those two books.
Could it be that one book is listing pre-cooked,
while the other is listing cooked?
(YES, you would think Dr. Sears would be and SHOULD be consistent.)
All should be in terms of pre-cooked, as some eat a lot of vegetables raw, uncooked....
Anyway, I know when making riced cauliflower for my no grain pizza crust,
that cooking the riced cauliflower nearly halves the volume.
So that about 4 cups precooked (microwaved) becomes nearly 2 cups afterwards.

I use mostly frozen vegetables & berries and go by whatever it says on the package (carb grams - fiber grams = net carb grams)

I believe that those amounts that are listed are correct, i.e. broccoli 4 cups raw and 3 cups cooked, etc. Seems like a lot, that is true!

I don't have my copy of Mastering the Zone handy, so can't go back to look at what was printed in there. I have always used the online list, as they say that this is most accurate.

I am wondering if you are looking at the Anti-Inflammation Zone, as they created a points system in that book, and the food list actually lists foods in smaller portions than what the block list suggests.

Nope, it's not the Anti-Inflammation Zone, but that's a good thought!

The problem is there are inconsistent volumes when you compare one book to the other, whether the vegs are raw or cooked. Both can't be right. I have a very hard time believing 3c of cooked broc is only 1 block. The other book says 1.25c of cooked broc is 1 block.

Larry, you're a genius... I can use the info on the frozen version to see how many cups 9g make.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone! Here goes Day 2.

Interesting! The Formula Zone website calculator shows 8 cups raw broccoli to be 1 block.
.
http://www.formulazone.com/Help.asp...D=MDSearch

... and frozen, chopped is 6 cups to a block.
.
(I am guessing, that chopped, with smaller pieces, more fit into a cup measure; hence, the difference with the 8 cups for raw.)

Honestly, I also use the packaging to calculate, when there is a question. But, fresh veggies don't always come with a package.

Your best source for the food block guide SHOULD be the website, I would recommend going with that, as books do become outdated with time.

[quote]
Posted By jane on 05 Jul 2012 04:27 PM
Thanks Sue! But... those are the measures in the Zone Meals in Seconds book. I picked up Mastering the Zone from the library this afternoon to compare, and this book lists 1 1/4c cooked broc as 1 carb block, 2c cooked cauli, etc. The quantities are so different than the Meals listings. I don't think the Meals qtys are correct, that's what I'm trying to figure out. Does that make sense?
[/quote]


Hi Jane,

Dr. Sears has changed carbohydrate block quantities, years ago but after he wrote the first Zone books (MTZ s one of those earlier books). This is the reason the carbohydrate blocks are different in MTZ. If you're counting blocks, use the current block amount instead of the older ones in MTZ.

I'm glad I found this post. I'm also new to the diet and to the Zone. I was given a handout by my doctor produced by a drug company that claimed to be the Zone diet but is only somewhat similar. It seems as though someone looked at the diet then said "oh my, this doesn't look like the USDA food pyramid" and made some changes, adding in more starches than it seems correct from this site.

I likewise had questions about all those cups of broccoli and other veges. Kind of assumed that maybe what you really want to do is combine a cup of broccoli and a cup of cabbage, or something like that, instead of 2 cups of each, along with other carbs. Thanks for the answers in this post.

Pat