Hey zoners!  Sorry about last week.  I figured that since there are several weeks of menus on here, you could probably struggle through the week on your own.  If you click on “menus” under “categories” at right, only the menu posts will come up, so it’s easy to see all of them at once.

This week I’m going to just list some snacks and drinks.  It seems like people are getting the hang of meals, but still having trouble with snacks.

Click below to read the recipes.

Drinks:

Zone drinks are pretty boring, I’m not gonna lie.  Especially if you are not much of a water drinker.  If you are zoning, you’ve really got to cut out all the soda (even diet), juice, and other flavorful drinks.  Here are some suggestions that I like:

Sparkling mineral waters – I like Talking Rain.  Read the label, and be sure that they don’t have any sugar or other sweeteners in them.  If you get unflavored water, you can add a VERY SMALL splash of cranberry juice (or other lower sugar juice) for a bit of flavor

Iced Tea – Unsweetened, of course.  Try making it with flavored herbal teas.  My current favorite is Black Cherry Berry from Celestial Seasonings.

Flavor your water – cut up a few slices of citrus fruit and put in a pitcher of water in the fridge.  For a change use cucumber instead of citrus.  Add fresh mint if you want. (slightly crush the mint before you put it in.)

Milk – milk is an equal balance of protein and carbs.  8 ounces = 1 block of each.  Use milk to make a 3 block meal 4 blocks, or have a small glass of milk and a few nuts for an ultra quick snack.

Snacks:

The most important thing about zone snacks is to make sure they are easy and fast, so that you will actually choose them over handful of chips or sweets.  Post the food list from CrossFit Journal issue 21 (free) on your fridge so that you have easy access to the amounts you will need.

Try to keep the following items on hand for snacking: 

Cheese sticks or slices.  1 ounce = 1 block.  Most string cheeses are one ounce, which makes it easy.  There are also a variety of prepackaged cheese chunks of different kinds.

Lunch meat and/or pre-cooked, sliced chicken breasts. 

Cottage Cheese

Milk

Plain yogurt

Fruit

Easy to grab vegetables such as snow peas, sugar snap peas,  baby carrots, broccoli florets, etc.

Whole grain crackers or tortilla chips

Nuts – whatever kind you like

Peanut/Almond Butter – unsweetened 

The snack we most commonly eat is cheese, fruit, and nuts.  One cheese stick, half an apple, and 3 almonds is a one block snack.  The www.zonediet.com site has a great list of snack foods under the quick start guide.  You just choose one item from the protein list, one from the carb list, and one from the fat list, and you are good to go.

Here are some snack recipes that I like from the zone website:

Mama’s Deviled Eggs

1 Block

Ingredients:
Two hardboiled egg whites
1/4 cup hummus
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Instructions:
Boil eggs, cut in half and remove the yolks. Fill cavities with hummus and top with paprika.

Submitted By:
Boris R.

Peanutty Yogurt

2 Blocks

Ingredients:
1 cup of 2% plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. peanut butter

Instructions:
Blend the two together until smooth and creamy, and enjoy!

Submitted By:
Mattie H.

Super Easy Bedtime Strawberry Delight  (Remember, by "whip cream, they mean actual whipped cream, with no sugar added to it.)

1 block

Ingredients:
1 cup Frozen Sliced Strawberries
½ packet Splenda
¼ cup 2% cottage cheese or skim ricotta
Fat Free Whip Cream

Instructions:
Place Frozen Sliced Strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle just a dash of splenda on top. Place it in the Microwave for 30 seconds then take out mix together, add cottage cheese or ricotta and put a dollop of Fat Free Whip Cream on top. If you prefer to not have them a little frozen and more like room temperate then place back into the microwave for 15-20 more seconds. It’s a delicious way to end a great day!

Submitted By:
Shanna M.

Raspberry smoothie (you can replace the raspberries with one block of any fruit you like)

1 Block Snack

Ingredients
1 cup raspberries
1 scoop protein powder = 7g of protein
3 ice cubes
3 Tbsp. of 2% milk
1/3 Tsp. almond or olive oil

Instruction:
Mix in blender until well mixed and there are no chunks. This smoothie is a replacement for ice cream! ENJOY!

Submitted by:
Hannah K.