Suggested Shopping List

Ready to step out on your own? Check out the Favorable Choices of each nutrient beginning on page 229 of Dr. Sears book. Let that guide you in your choices for menus. I found that it was and still is helpful to always have on hand:

Karen's Kitchen Poster You may LAUGH at my shameless advertising, but once you talk to someone who has done this with my poster, you will know that this is nothing short of YOUR BEST ADVICE for how to Zone.

Chicken, turkey and lean ground beef. It is well worth the extra buck to buy the pre-cooked or raw frozen portions you find in bulk at the Price Club. Watch out for added carbs from breading, but consider things like Tyson's Real Chicken Breaded Tenderloins. It is delicious and low fat and a great substitute for kid's greasy chicken nuggets. Vegetarians should check out all the "Phoney Meats Pages" for reviews and sources of meat substitutes.

Non-fat Cream Cheese. 2 Tbs.. of cream cheese is one block of protein. I have made Zone Muffins and then added a little milk to the cream cheese plus some vanilla nut flavoring and a scant amount of fructose to make this incredible cream cheese frosting we call "Cream Cheese Delight" around here (see Snacks Page for recipe)! I have also used this in ice cream cones (5-10 grams fat per cone) with a fresh strawberry and a dab of whipped cream on top for elegant 1 block snacks that endear my daughter and fellow Zone Groupers to my kitchen.

Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. Dr. Sears advocates a daily dose of oatmeal, the best source of GLA which produces good eicosanoid production (see Chapter 12 "The Wonder Hormones: Eicosanoids--the Long Course" p 119) and if you don't like it in porridge, be sure to check out our Colossal Zone Cookies down below in the bakery. Try to find some Scotch Rolled Oats in your health food store. They are like the old fashioned rolled oats, but are rolled out even less, giving an extremely chewy product.

Morningstar Farms Veggie Meats. Especially try the Breakfast Patties. These are quick, satisfying, and unlike their real meat counterparts, they are "favorable protein choices". Found in the freezer section. Slip into the back room and I will give you some sources, both names and addresses of where you can find these items through the mail.

Shelled, dry roasted almonds and peanuts. These are favorable fat sources and are really nice to sprinkle on top of foods for added crunch, plus are a great way to add fat to snacks. My friend Lola told me to put the raw almonds in the oven at 250 degrees for about 25 minutes. It just perks up that incredible nut flavor in an unbelievable way!

Avocados and a low-fat to no-fat corn chip. Essential for a weekly "nacho fix."

Texturized Vegetable Protein & Taco Seasoning Mix (or spaghetti seasoning). See above, plus TVP is wonderful for your pasta sauces instead of ground beef. Find it in sources.

1 % or non-fat milk. It is one block of protein and one block of carbohydrates, and a great calcium source Tastes best with Zone Cookies!

Individually wrapped String Cheese or Cheese Slices. Another quick, no-brainer, single block protein source, they pack well in purses and lunch bags for lunchtime and snacks. Non-fat is best. Try "Alpine Lace Swiss Cheese", the first low fat cheese my husband likes! There are some really good Vegan and Vegetarian Cheese Substitutes that should not be overlooked either!

Broccoli, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Green Beans and Onions. Generous portions per serving block, good raw or cooked, good fiber and nutrients, easy to prepare.

Graham Crackers Great for snacks, tastes like a cookie.

Eggs. LOTS of them. Throw out the yolks and use to whites to a block of protein, especially if you are scrambling them with veggies. Afraid they will look white? Gently sprinkle with turmeric or saffron to get their color back. Honest, you will not miss the yolks in the flavor. Yolks are better in the trash than pasted inside your artery walls. Whites are also cheaper than egg substitutes. Tofu can be used as a substitute for eggs as well.

Fudgesicle Ice Cream Bars, Light Ice Cream and Ice Cream Sandwiches . Check out the label for carbo counts. You want one block servings so measure it out so that you get 9 carbos for however much you dish out, usually about 1/4-1/3 cup ice cream or a third of an ice cream sandwich. Rich ice creams have too much fat, no-fat ones have too many carbs. Go for light, it has you carbs and fat right there. If I understand Dr. Sears, he says that the fat in high fat ice cream is what keeps you from having a high insulin response, so I always call the low fat ice cream a carbohydrate and add one block of fat in the form of a teaspoon of almonds or 6 peanuts!

DietRite Sodas They come in new, exotic flavors, no sodium and no caffeine. You won't need your caffeine fix with this diet and Dr. Sears says to treat a caffeine drink like one carbo block, even if it is a diet drink. Where do you want to get YOUR carbos from??? Also, traveling in Greece, I'd ask for a refreshing drink and they would bring me a glass of ice water and squeeze an entire lemon half into it. I tried adding sugar to it, but found it was delicious without! NOTE: After years of Zoning, I began to realize how much I was RELYING on diet sodas, and knew that the carbonation works on disolving calcium in your body. Please, TRY TO GIVE UP SODAS... But not too many "give up's" at the same time, okay?

Crystal Light Comes in easy-to-mix powders, it is easy to carry with you when you are tired of diet coke. They make delicious no-cal popsicles for hot days.

Water-packed Tuna in 3 oz. cans This is enough for a one block lunch of protein. Find the little packets of mayonnaise and take along crackers and a piece of fruit for an easy to pack lunch. In fact, Star-Kist has little lunch packs with tuna, crackers, mayo, relish and a little stick and bowl to mix it with. Ask your grocer.

Fresh or canned Salmon, or Fish-oil Capsules with cholesterol removed (takes out the cholesterol and the contaminants like PCBs). Once a week, salmon provides that healthy dose of EPA. Read more about the benefits of EPA in your diet on page 131 of Dr. Sears book. Flaxseed has EPA, but since it has large amounts of alpha linolenic acid which limit the formation of GLA, it is not a good source of EPA (see page 123 of Dr. Sears book and please don't ask me to explain this again--I HATE the chemistry part of this as much as some of you hate the math!!!)

Watkins Products I call out these flavorings through many of my recipes. There is NOTHING to compare to Vanilla Nut. Peanut Butter Flavoring is essential to recipes you want to have a peanut butter taste to. Butter Flavoring imparts a kick to certain recipes that rely on butter as a source of flavor. You will not believe their Citrus Cilantro Grapeseed Oil! Just a tiny bit on a salad gives it the most refreshing, delicious flavor, and grapeseed oil is even lower in saturated fat than olive oil! Find these and other Watkins Products in Karen's Kitchen Shop, right here online, or call or email me if you are interested in becoming a dealer or want a colored catalogue.

Look through the list of favorable food choices starting on page 229 again. Take some time to go to the store and read the labels on pre-made entrees and figure out how to make serving sizes which will fit into your allotted protein, carbohydrate or fat allotment. It is very interesting to do, and you will find that protein is harder to come by, carbohydrates are in abundance and fat is usually just about right--I even zoned out some cream puffs at the Price Club today!!! Are you ready to order a meal yet? See our Menu of the Month, or take your time to stroll around more--table space is one thing we do not lack!