Dr. Barry Sears is the creator of the Zone Diet. It has different concepts than those of other mainstream diets. Another name is the 40-30-30 diet; 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 30% protein; these percentages are in “the zone” for maximum calorie burning. Each meal should consist of foods in these proportions. The diet is based off of hormones, not calories because it aims to improve metabolic function and hormone production. The founder of this diet believes that carbohydrates make people fat because consuming carbs causes the production of insulin, which in turn causes too many of the calories to be stored as fat. Our early ancestors consumed plenty of meat, and this is a major concept of this diet. Sears says that when the grains and other carbohydrates were introduced into the diet, humans started getting larger.

Food Concepts of the Diet
The diet does not prohibit any food groups, but foods high in fat should be avoided. The preferred source of carbohydrates is fruits and vegetables; monounsaturated fats are the preferred type of fat.

Recipes

Finally, to the good stuff. Here are some recipes to get you started on the Zone diet.

Breakfast
Quick Oatmeal Breakfast

• 1/3 cup cooked oatmeal
• 1/3 cup unsweetened Applesauce
• 14 g protein powder
• 1 cup 2% milk
• Toasted slivered almonds

Slowly add milk to protein powder, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add cooked oatmeal and applesauce to this mixture; stir thoroughly and enjoy. Garnish with the toasted almonds.

Breakfast Sandwich

• 1 whole wheat English muffin
• 1 slice low-fat cheese, any variety
• 1 slice Canadian bacon
  

• 1 tablespoon mustard
• ¼ cup eggbeater or liquid egg whites
• Fresh spinach
• 2 slices fresh tomato
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Place Canadian bacon, cheese and mustard on English muffin and place in toaster oven. Cook until cheese is melted. In the meantime, cook the egg product in skillet with the olive oil. To assemble, place egg product on English muffin with mustard, bacon, and cheese. Add spinach and tomato.

Oat Flour Pancakes

• 1 cup oat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1-2 packets sweetener
• 28 g protein powder
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup egg substitute
• 1 cup mixed berries

Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Mix the next 4 ingredients together, then add to the dry mixture. Cook on a griddle. Top each with ½ cup of the berries.

Mama Zand’s Old-Fashioned Waffles

• 2 cups oat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sweetener
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• ¾ cup egg substitute
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3 egg whites

Using an electric mixer, combine first eight ingredients and mix until combined. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into batter. Use ½ cup of the batter for each waffle, and cook according to waffle iron instructions.

Cheese Pancakes

• ¼ cup flour
• 1 cup 2% cottage cheese
• 1 cup egg substitute
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 cups mixed berries, divided

Mix the first 4 ingredients and cook on a griddle. Top each serving with  1 cup of mixed berries.

Lunch
Chicken, Grapefruit, and Raisin Salad

• 6 ounces grilled chicken, cut into strips
• 11 cups arugula, coarsely choopped
• 1 ruby grapefruit, divided into sections
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Lettuce
• Lemon juice
• Salt

Soak raisins in cold water to soften. Mix all ingredients in a salad bowl; toss with the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.

Wicked Good Chicken Salad

• 1 (12 ounce) can all white-meat chicken in water
• ½ avocado, diced
• ½ tomato, diced
• 2 tablespoon onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• Green leaf lettuce (optional)

Drain chicken; rinse under tap water to help remove salt. Add all ingredients into mixing bowl and mix well until all ingredients are blended. Wrap the chicken salad in the lettuce for low carb wraps.

Salami Sandwich

• 4.5 ounces chicken salami
• Low carb wrap
• Lemon
• Onions, sliced into rings
• Lettuce
• Tomato slices
• Low fat cheese

Warm wrap in microwave or on a hot skillet. Spread chicken salami slices on the wrap with lettuce, onion, and tomato. Squeeze some lemon juice over it.

Shrimp Salad with Fruit

• Salad
• 12 ounces small shrimp
• 1 cup celery
• 1/3 cup carrots
• ½ cup onions
• Peel of 1 lemon
• ½ cup white wine
• 2-3 sprigs parsley

Fruit

• 2 cups cubed pineapple
• 3 medium kiwis
• 1 cup strawberries
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Spring green mixture
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt, pepper, to taste

Finely chop the carrot, celery and onion and bring to a boil in 2 1/2 cups of water. Add the wine, then the lemon peel cut into strips and the parsley. When the broth is ready, add the shellfish to the pot and cook for 4 minutes. Cut the fruit into small pieces, add to the Spring Green Mixture, and dres with a vinaigrette made from the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oil. Distribute the fruit and salad mixture in plates and carefully arrange the shellfish on top.

Dinner
Sloppy Joes

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• ½ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 regular pitas, cut in half

Spray large pan lightly with cooking spray. Brown turkey and onions over medium-high heat until turkey is cooked. Stir in remaining ingredients (except pitas). Cover and cook over low heat until vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. This serves 4 meals.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

• 1 cup corn
• 2 cups black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1 cup red pepper, chopped
• 1 ½ cups sweet red onion, chopped
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 2 teaspoons chili sauce
• 2 teaspoons crystallized fructose
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Place first five ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Mix lime juice, chili sauce, sweetener, and garlic in another bowl; pour over vegetables and toss.

Hamburger Wraps

• 4.5 ounces ground turkey
• 4.5 ounces low fat sirloin
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped/divided
• 1 onion, chopped/divided
• Mushrooms, chopped (optional)
• 2 slices 2% cheese
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• 2 wheat tortillas
• Low fat ranch dressing

Mix ground turkey and sirloin together. Add ½ of the onion and bell pepper. Divide the mixture and form into 2 patties. Grill the patties until cooked. In a pan add a little olive oil and sauté the remaining bell pepper and onion (and mushrooms). Heat the 2 tortillas on the stove. Add cheese, onion/bell pepper mixture, and the burger. Add ½ cup of spinach to each wrap and a little bit of low fat ranch dressing. resource: http://www.ihealthdirectory.com/zone-diet-recipes/

Ingredients

• 1 vanilla cupcake, recipe follows
• 2 to for 4 tablespoons White Fluff Frosting, recipe follows
• Pink and yellow sanding sugar
• 5 pink candied Jordan almonds
• 1 red jujube
• 1 piece green fruit-by-the-foot

Directions

Frost the cupcake. Top with pink sanding sugar. Place Jordan almonds on top in a flower petal pattern. Press a jujube candy in the center of the flower. Cut the fruit-by-the- foot to make the flower stem, press onto the cake.

Vanilla Cupcakes:

• 2 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2/3 cupwater
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups cake flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake tins with paper liners. (To avoid cupcakes sticking if they overflow slightly, lightly spray the tops of the pans.) Put tins on a baking sheet. Set aside.

Process sugar and butter in a food processor until very creamy, scraping sides as needed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add the milk, water, and vanilla and process to blend.

Whisk both flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients, in 3 batches to the wet, pulsing, and then scraping batter off the sides of the processor as needed after each addition. Process until the batter is very smooth and pourable like pancake batter, about 2 minutes.

Evenly pour the batter into the prepared cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the cakes are just firm and spring back when gently pressed, and the tops are golden, 18 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly in tin, and turn out of tin when cool enough to handle. Cool cupcakes completely on a rack before frosting.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ease of preparation: easy

Fluff Frosting:

• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
• Pinch fine salt

Whisk the milk and vanilla extract together in a small bowl.

Slowly beat the butter and sugar, in another medium bowl, with an electric mixer until incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula.) Add the fluff and salt and reduce the speed to low. Add the milk and vanilla mixture, scrape the bowl down, and mix until fully incorporated. Raise the mixer to high and beat briefly until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Frost cupcake immediately.

Yield: 3 3/4 cups

resource: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/

easter-flower-cupcake-recipe/index.html

In one bowl, mix cream cheese, soups and cumin; gradually stir in milk. In another bowl, mix black beans, corn, onions, chilies, and black olives. Stack the tortillas and cut into six wedges. Spread a little of the soup mixture in bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Layer half of the wedges onto soup mixture in the dish; top with half of the black bean-corn mixture. Add a layer of half of the chopped chicken. Continue layering with half of the remaining soup mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat layers. At this point the casserole may be refrigerated overnight or frozen up to 3 months and thawed in refrigerator before baking. Bake about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. (Bake longer if casserole has been in refrigerator.) Serve with salsa and avocado slices.

Notes: Pretty if sprinkled with fresh chopped cilantro or parsley.

Number of Servings: about 8

resource: chicken-betterrecipe.com

Ingredients

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well

Directions

Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Fill 2 medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively, melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

resource:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chocolate-covered-strawberries-recipe/

index.html?nl=ROTD_021210_6

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 large egg yolks, plus 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing the bowl

For the Filling and Glaze:

• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 dry bean or plastic King Cake baby (available at party-supply stores or mardigrasday.com)
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• Purple, green and gold sanding sugar, for decorating

Directions

Make the cake: Heat the milk in a saucepan until scalding; transfer to a food processor, add the yeast and pulse to combine. Add 1/2 cup flour and the egg yolks; process to combine. Pour the remaining 2 cups flour evenly over the yeast mixture; do not process. Put the lid on; set aside for 90 minutes.

Add the 2 whole eggs, granulated sugar, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg to the food processor; process to make a slightly textured dough, about 1 minute. With the machine running, slowly add the butter to make a smooth, sticky dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place for 3 hours. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead briefly; form into a ball and return to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Make the filling:

Plump the raisins in the bourbon in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the brown sugar, pecans, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, salt and the bean or plastic baby; mix until combined and set aside.

On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 20-by-7-inch rectangle, with the long edge facing you. Spoon the filling in an even layer over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the top and bottom. Fold the bottom and then the top edge over the filling to make a tight roll; pinch to seal. Transfer the roll seam-side down to a parchment-lined baking sheet; tuck one end into the other to form a ring. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the roll doubles in size, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cake until firm and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Make the glaze:

Mix 3 tablespoons water with the confectioners’ sugar; brush 3 tablespoons glaze over the cake. Sprinkle with bands of colored sugar; drizzle with more glaze.

resource: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/king-cake-recipe2/index.html?nl=ROTD_021110_6

By Susanne Marra

Is there anything better that enjoying a warm bowl of rich soup on a cold day? The tastes, the textures, the endless varieties, and let’s not forget the comfort food factor. While soups are often thought of as a wintertime food, there’s no reason they can’t be a year-round favorite. Many of the heartier soups can be a complete meal. And for the hottest days, you can always switch to chilled soup if you prefer. Below are some of are some of the basics about the types of soups you can make. It’s interesting that most soups can be broken down into a few categories, basically that there are soups that begin with or without a stock base.

Then there are also the fruit soups. Some examples of soups requiring stock include your broths, bouillon, and consomm. Soups without stock would be bisque, chowders, creams, and purees. When creating your own meat-based soup stock, any of your favorite meats would be a good starter. Anything including beef, turkey, lamb, chicken, veal, fish, etc. would work fine. Using dark-colored meats will produce brown stock while white soup stock is made from light-colored meats. Vegetables commonly added to soup stock include onion, celery, and carrots. Soups in this category include beef vegetable, chicken soups, tomato soups, cabbage soups, and broth’s.

Being much thicker and richer, and generally quite nutritional, a puree or a cream soup can often be served as a main course, especially for a luncheon or a light dinner. These soups include varieties such as split pea, bean or potato puree, cream soups such as corn, broccoli or mushroom, bisque of oyster or lobster, and clam chowder.

Then there are the fruit soups – these are delicious chilled soups that are perfect on a hot summer day. Refreshing varieties include cherry, honeydew melon, strawberry, peach, and cantaloupe. Some cold soup recipes will list fruit juices as a mixer while others use a vegetable-based soup stock in the recipe.

Whatever soup you choose to make, there’s nothing quite like coming home and savoring a well-made soup. Finish your cream soup off with a small garnish and serve in a large, flat bowl. Covered soup bowls are ideal for bean and onion soups. And don’t forget to make enough for second helpings.

About the Author: Homemade bread is a great side dish for your soup. Bake up a fresh loaf in this great clay bread pan . You’ll find that having quality kitchen bakeware helps produce great baking results.

Yes, it’s pure, but this panna cotta heart is hardly innocent. Made with half-and-half, vanilla, and sugar—and not much else—it’s stained with a splash of blackberry sauce, and perfect for sharing.

This dessert is one of our Ingredients:

Directions:

Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan; let stand a minute to soften. Heat on low, stirring, until gelatin dissolves, 1 minute. Remove from heat.

In a large saucepan, bring half-and-half and 1/3 cup sugar just to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Remove from heat; stir in gelatin (it may need to be scraped off pan with a spatula) and vanilla. Ladle into 8 (1/2-cup) ramekins or glasses; cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, make fruit sauce by cooking berries and 2/3 cup sugar over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until berries release their liquid and begin to break down, about 20 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender (or puree in a blender), strain, and chill for 1 hour.

Serve panna cotta in ramekins or on plates: To loosen, dip each ramekin in a bowl of hot water for 3 or 4 seconds, run a knife around the edges, then invert onto a plate. Spoon fruit sauce on top and garnish with extra berries (if using).

Note: This recipe can also be served simply with fresh fruit or a spoonful of preserves on top.

resource: oprah.com