I cooked this London Broil in the crockpot with : 1 can stewed tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 TB Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 7 hours on low.
This is such an easy recipe for pork tenderloin. Rub any spice rub you like a let and wrap in aluminum foil. Refrigerate for at least an hour and then bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. 
After eating more than my share of "un-Zoned" delights over the last couple days, it is nice to get back on track. This salad is heavy enough to be a meal, but light enough to be a nice break from the holiday fare. I added chicken pieces sauteed in garlic, salt and pepper to a salad with: mixed greens, 1/4 cup kidney beans, 1 TB Gorgonzola cheese, 4 croutons broken into crumbs, 9 pecans broken into pieces. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing to coat. Post thoughts to comments. Makes 2 three block servings.
The cornerstone of the Zone is reading your labels accurately. Make sure you subtract out your dietary fiber from your overall carbohydrate total. The above label would be as follows:
This recipe was forwarded to me by CFSCC's Kelly Greco. She has been zoning since starting Crossfit and seen amazing results. I adjusted a couple amounts of ingredients to make it balanced, but the taste should be the same.
I used leftover chicken and shredded it for this salad. Saute green or red bell pepper with 1 TB heated olive oil and add chicken in to heat. In a salad bowl, combine 3 cups mixed greens, 1/4 cup kidney beans, and pecans. Add the peppers and chicken to salad and mix. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic to finish and serve. Makes one 3 block serving.
I use whole wheat pita crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs to coat this chicken. Much lower glycemic index and it tastes really good! Coating: 1 whole wheat pita blended into crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Cut chicken breasts into larger strips and coat with whole wheat flour, dip into bowl of beaten egg whites, and coat with crumb mixture. In a large skillet heat 2 TB olive oil over medium high heat and cook strips until golden on both sides. Place on cooking sheet and place in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
I used leftover flank steak for this but choose your protein of liking. Saute the flank steak in 1 TB of teriyaki sauce until well coated. Remove steak from pan and set aside. Add 1 red bell pepper sliced, 1 1/2 cups green beans, 1 1/2 cups zucchini sliced, 1/2 cup sliced carrots, 1 cup sliced celery into the pan and cook over medium-low heat for about 5-7 minutes. Add steak back into mixture and serve immediately. Sprinkle with almonds or pecans for fat. Makes two servings. Post thoughts to comments.
Very easy lunch or quick dinner! My kids love adding their own toppings, and the pita bread makes a perfect crispy thin crust! Get creative with your toppings on this...
Minestrone is one of my favorite soups, and although there are some key ingredients missing here (mainly the pasta shells), it was pretty tasty. I used this as a side with Flank Steak because you will need to add protein to balance. 
Thanks so much to all of you who attended the Zone Clinic at CFSCC on Saturday. Please let me know what you liked, did not like, learned, did not learn, etc... I would love you feedback on the clinic so that I can continue to make it better. You were a great group...thanks for all the good questions! I look forward to watching your progress!
I know...I know...you have seen this one before right? You just can't go wrong with a classic! Enjoy your weekend and I will be back on Monday! 
This was a really simple stir fry to throw together quickly. I used chicken breast, but you could also use pork or beef with this and it would be great. The sauce for the stir fry is: 1 TB soy sauce, 1 TB rice vinegar, 1/2 tsp brown sugar. Mix in a bowl and set aside. In a stir fry pan, cook chicken until done and remove and set aside. In same pan add 4-5 cups green beans, 1 red bell pepper sliced, 1 green bell pepper sliced, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook until peppers are tender and add in chicken and sauce. Saute for about 5 minutes and serve immediately. Add crushed peanuts or cashews to top.
A tried and true favorite in my household! There are a lot of Zone meatloaf recipes out there...so pick one that sounds good to you. I have posted this recipe a number of times, so refer back if you need the recipe.
I used top sirloin for this, but you could also use London Broil or a lean beef cut of your choice. I trimmed the fat from the steak and cut into 3-4 oz pieces for cooking. Over med-high heat braise both sides of the steak until browned. In a large pot add 1 can Italian style stewed tomatoes, 1 red and 1 green bell pepper slices, 2 cloves garlic, 1 TB Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Add steak and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2-3 hours.
I eat a lot of pork because it such a naturally lean meat. This is a really basic meal that is very easy to balance. I used a spice rub for the pork chops and grilled them. 
I get asked a lot about having wine on the Zone. You can most definitely have wine on the Zone, you just need to balance it with protein and fat. 4 ounces of wine is 1 block of carbs, so you would need to have 1 block of protein and fat to balance.
Roasted Chicken - 3 blocks
Beef stew has always been "comfort food" to me. There is not really much to it, so it is pretty easy to Zone. I did replace potatoes with parsnips because I like the flavor. I cooked 8 oz of lean stew beef in a pot with 3 cloves garlic. Add about 2 1/2 cups water and 1 packet of beef bouillon. Add 1 cup carrots sliced, 1 cup celery sliced, 1/2 cup parsnips cut into cubes, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 2 hours.
I love hamburgers!! I make turkey burgers a lot as well, but today I used organic, grass fed beef...very tasty! 
After a weekend of eating, and eating and eating....I have tried to keep our meals on the lighter side this week! 
Soup is one my favorite way to use leftover protein. This is an easy meal to put together to use up some of the leftover turkey you may have around! Use whatever veggies you like in this (I used zucchini, carrots, celery, parsnips). You will need to add fat to most soup meals (a few nuts or hummus). 
I generally use smaller tortillas for this and have two fajitas. You can also cut one large tortilla in half if you do not want one big fajita. This is great for leftovers...
I know that many of you were planning on trying to Zone your Thanksgiving meals (I definitely did NOT). After having a fairly substantial cheat day like I did, today felt great to get back to zone eating. I tried to keep our dinner simple and filled with LOTS of greens!
There are endless options for toppings on a pita pizza, so pick what you like. This one has turkey pepperoni, red bell peppers, mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
This is a standby in our house. My kids love taco's so this is an easy alternative that makes everyone happy. 
Flank steak or skirt steak work well for this one. I used flank steak for this one. Grill the steak and cut into thin strips. Saute green and red bell peppers until slightly tender. Use 1/2 whole wheat roll and place 1/2 slice pepper jack cheese on the roll. Place steak slices on roll and top with peppers and remaining 1/2 slice pepper jack. Place in preheated 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese is well melted.
I used both leftover chicken and steak for this stir fry. Stir fry is a great way to use leftover protein and you can mix it with many varieties of veggies.
Using pita bread to make the coating on this decreases the glycemic index. Add any seasonings you like to the crumbs to change the flavor. Pita Crumbs: 1 whole wheat pita chopped in blender to make crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
There are a lot of different Zone chili recipes out there. Use whichever one sounds good to you. I add cheese on this for the fat in order to balance. Using ground turkey will allow to have a bigger serving size.
If you have leftover chicken this is a good quick meal to throw together for lunch or dinner.
I used a Santa Maria marinated tri-tip steak for this to add a little extra flavor, but you could use any protein you like.
I used a different marinade on this chicken and it was really good! In a small saucepan add 1/3 cup water and 1 tsp dried rosemary or 2 tsp fresh rosemary. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let steep for about 5 minutes. In a blender add the the rosemary and water, 2 TB olive oil, 2 cloves garlic , salt and pepper. Puree until smooth and pour over chicken either in a shallow dish or resealable bag. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Either grill chicken or bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
This is a loose interpretation of the original, but it has a lot of flavor and is easy to make. To make, brown chicken breasts on both sides and add: 1 can Italian style stewed tomatoes, 1 TB Worcestershire sauce, 1 clove garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 2 hours. Serve with side of choice. The chicken is 1 block per oz and the sauce will make two 1 block carb servings. 
One of my favorite lunches!
I use thin cut pork chops for this because they tend to be less dry with cooking. For apple relish: cut up 1 apple into small pieces. In a saucepan add apples, 1 TB apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. Put over med- high heat until sugar is melted. Reduce heat and simmer over low until apples are tender.
You can always tell when I let the kids pick "what's for dinner"!
I roasted a whole chicken so that there would be leftovers for a couple lunch or dinners later in the week. 
We all use condiments and added sauces to our foods. Here is list of the most common that I use and what their blocks are. Most of these are added for flavor in larger overall portions and therefore are minimal in the effect on your overall blocks. Some, however, have more blocks than you may think...so just be aware.
There are many varieties of pre-marinated pork loin you can choose from. This one is garlic and herb, but choose the one that suits your taste.
This is a great crockpot recipe! It was a little hard to Zone off the original recipe, but I think it is pretty close. I figured this makes about 9 servings in the crockpot at 3 blocks of protein. 2 blocks of carbs and 2 blocks of fat per serving. The salad balanced that out.
This a good lunch if you have leftovers or a quick dinner. Each wrap is 2 blocks so change your servings to reflect your blocks.
I cooked these separately, but you could easily put all the ingredients into one pan and do a stir fry. The steak was marinated in teriyaki and the veggies are stir fry style with one bag of broccoli slaw, 2 cups broccoli florets and 1 red bell pepper cut into strips. 
Good Fats
This is a really good crockpot recipe! You will need to add fat to this to balance. 
With the weather getting colder I like to make soups and stews that make good leftovers! For this one: 1 carton organic chicken broth (about 3 cups), 2 carrots cut into slices, 3 stalks of celery, 2 zucchini sliced, 1 parsnip cut into cubes, 2 chicken breasts cooked and diced. You can either put ingredients into a crockpot and cook slowly or simmer on the stove for about 2 hours over low heat. You will need to add fat to this to balance it, but I figure it at about 3 blocks for 2 cups. 
