Books The Soy Zone: 101 Delicious and Easy-to-Prepare Recipes
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - A poor effort
This book is useful in that it gives low carbohydrate vegetarian recipes. Annoyingly, however, it also doesn't explain very well how the zone diet works-- I don't think it ever tells you what a zone block is, for example, you will have to get the regular zone book to find out. Of course the author wants you to buy his other books, but it seems inappropriate not to include the basic information of what a zone block is in the book.

Worse yet, some of the recipes obviously have incorrect quantities. For example, in order to make "savory lentils with goat cheese" work out as a single serving of a four zone block entree the way it was supposed to, I had to cut the goat cheese in half, and the lentils by about 1/3 of a cup. (The recipe is also unclear on whether the lentils are measured raw or cooked. Cook first, then measure.) Given the mechanics of the zone diet, this is a fatal flaw. If I wanted to fiddle around checking recipes and adjusting them to fit the "zone," I would do it with a regular vegetarian cookbook, I wouldn't have bought this one.

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Rating: - A poor effort
This book is useful in that it gives low carbohydrate vegetarian recipes. Annoyingly, however, it also doesn't explain very well how the zone diet works-- I don't think it ever tells you what a zone block is, for example, you will have to get the regular zone book to find out. Of course the author wants you to buy his other books, but it seems inappropriate not to include the basic information of what a zone block is in the book.

Worse yet, some of the recipes obviously have incorrect quantities. For example, in order to make "savory lentils with goat cheese" work out as a single serving of a four zone block entree the way it was supposed to, I had to cut the goat cheese in half, and the lentils by about 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup. (The recipe is also unclear on whether the lentils are measured raw or cooked. Cook first, then measure.) Given the mechanics of the zone diet, this is a fatal flaw. If I wanted to fiddle around checking recipes and adjusting them to fit the "zone," I would do it with a regular vegetarian cookbook, I wouldn't have bought this one.

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Rating: - Great Book for Vegetarians
I've tried the very low-fat Ornish diet and very low-carb Protein Power diet, and this diet definitely makes me feel the best, and it does work for losing weight at a safe rate. I mostly just throw together a meal with my favorite soy and veggie foods, as the recipes given can get a little complex (10+ ingredients usually). This book also finally got me to give up being a junk-food vegetarian, and got me to appreciate fresh vegetables. I highly recommend this book to any vegetarian who wants to lose weight and/or gain energy. Good Luck!

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Rating: - Never felt better... (even if I don't follow it religiously)
I recently had my baby and since I'm breastfeeding, my hormones are still out of control. I was a bit depressed and feeling exhausted all the time. I was seaching the internet for information on hormonal imbalance and how to help in a natural way. I found out that soy is among the best source for women in menopause, to help balance their hormonal imbalance. I said to myself, I'm not menopausal (I'm 26), but I'll try to include soy in my diet, and hope it will help balance my hormonal changes. Besides, vegetarian diets are supposed to be healthy. But the problem with vegetarian diets is that if you are a vegetarian, especially if you are a vegan, you might not be getting enough protein on a standard high-carb diet, and this way of eating has left me with lots of cravings, mood swings, and I was not losing those pregnancy pounds that easy. So I decided to take the Soy Zone approach, for a low carb way of eating. The great thing about the soy zone, is that it goes beyond any fad diet of high protein consumption. It goes for a balance, not too cold, not too hot, but in a perfect balance. And this is great for those hormones going out of control. It works. There has been only a week that I have tried it, and my mood changed dramatically, and best of all, I have more energy. I'm also excercising and doing yoga (whatever my daughter allows me to do if she is not hungry or crying). But the Soy Zone system has helped me feel a lot better. To me, this way of eating is by far the best for energy, hormonal balance, cravings (I have very few compared to before), creativeness (I get more creative in cooking discovering many spontaneous dishes I can do with veggies and tofu), and overall wellbeing. Don't see this as a diet, but take its principles, and add them to your lifestyle. It's the healthiest thing you can do for yourself.