Creating Good Zone Recipes with FormulaZone
What makes FormulaZone a cut above the rest is the way they customize your program. When you fill out your profile, you allow the computer to design an eating plan for you, not a generic "blanket" serving amount.
If you've read any of the books explaining the Zone or the Formula or 40-30-30 balanced nutrition, you may have become familiar with terms like blocks and "levels" and "plans" to determine how much you should eat.
Conventional cookbooks define recipes in serving sizes and often list the nutritional values per serving as well. Some offer substitutions and variations.
Let's look at the process a recipe goes through from the time you first think about it to the time it is approved for sharing with the general membership:
The Meal Designer is your virtual kitchen. Here you can create and develop your idea into a balanced recipe. You can enter a favorite family recipe, a favorite cookbook recipe, one you have seen in a magazine, on a TV show, or one completely new unique creation of your own!
There are several tools to help you get your recipe ready to submit, and several steps to get your recipe to that final point.
You start by selecting the ingredients. You need to include all the ingredients necessary to make the recipe. Even if it sounds like it's a "given" such as salt or water. These ingredients will list out in the shopping list. Think of how discouraged you would be to be ready to make dinner and you don�t have the "cinnamon" because it was left out of the ingredients.
When selecting the ingredients from the database, take the time to look through the listings so you can select the correct ingredient you mean to use. As an example, there is quite a difference between "Chicken breast, deli, Healthy Choice" and "Chicken, breast" (the Healthy Choice has water added, so doesn't have the same nutritional values as simple chicken breast). We get a lot of recipes that clearly say to cut the chicken breast into strips or chunks and marinate, only to find that the deli chicken for sandwiches was listed in the ingredients. The values are not the same many times and can throw off the balance.
If you can not find the ingredient you are looking for, it might be because it is listed another way. You should use the ingredient search feature. Typing in a general term often will give results better than using a very specific term. As an example use "peppers" instead of "canned green chili". This will pull up all the peppers, including "Peppers, chili, green, canned".
If you still cannot find the ingredient you are looking for, it might not be in the database. You can always suggest an ingredient by submitting your request to Non-Browser <filtered@example.com>. Some ingredients are approved, while others are not. Some ingredients simply would not healthy choices, or are found in very limited areas, so would possibly be denied. Many others are approved. Keep in mind, that many items are listed "generically", not by specific brand names as well. This is because you might use Hunts Tomato Sauce and another member might use Contadina, but both are tomato sauce. (For more on our criteria for adding ingredients, read this discussion post on Adding Ingredients).
The next step is to adjust the ingredients to the recipe will balance. Ideally you want it to be as close to 40-30-30 as possible. The acceptable range for a recipe to be considered balanced in FormulaZone is:
- Carbohydrates must be at least 35% and not more than 50%,
- Protein must be at least 25%,
- and Fats must be at least 20% but no more than 35%.
If you enter a whole casserole that makes multiple servings (say, 8 servings at 350 calories each), and your recipe calls for 1/2 cup of blueberries for dessert, then consider this: You will end up with your profile allowing 1/8 of the total meal, which would allow each person only 1/8 of 1/2 cup of blueberries for dessert! (For the curious, that works out to two tablespoons of blueberries!)
Once you are satisfied with your ingredients, it now is time to write the directions for preparation. Since the ingredients do not list each way an ingredient can be prepared, like chopped, diced, sliced, etc., you have to specify this in the directions. Use directions like: Add diced onions and pressed garlic. Wash and pat chicken dry and cut into strips. FormulaZone recipes are unique in that they scale up or down to your profile amount. My individual dinner serving amount is very different from an "as entered" amount. So it is important NOT to use specific amounts in the preparation directions. For instance, do not enter "add 1/2 cup of tomato sauce" or "dice 2 eggs" or "spread 2 slices of bread with 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise". Why? Because when I call up that recipe, it might list ingredients as 1 egg and � slice of bread. (instead of the 2 eggs and 2 slices of bread typed into the directions).Now it is time for the final step: Proofread your directions. Make sure it is easy to understand, all the steps are there, all the ingredients are accounted for and it makes sense to someone who is new to cooking or has never made the recipe before.
Since 40-30-30 recipes rely on a (sometimes delicate) balance of ingredients, substitutions cannot always be assumed. Don't make statements like "you can substitute Ranch dressing for Italian", or "Pita Bread can be substituted for English Muffins." If a person does that, the recipe may no longer balance properly!
Be careful not to make notations that add ingredients after the fact. For instance: "This recipe would make a great lunch on the go, You can wrap it in a tortilla for a great brown bag lunch... add an apple for dessert." If the apple is not listed in the ingredients, then this has just tipped the carbs way out of balance!
Almost ready to click the Submit button. One final thing to remember. FormulaZone recipes scale. When you enter the "Makes" information, use something meaningful. There is no standard Block amount or "Serves" amount. What each member sees is different. Enter makes information like "makes 5 cups", or" makes 1 burger. These will be meaningful. (Makes information such as "Makes 6 servings", or "This is a 4 block meal" don't work. When the recipe scales, a person might see an entire recipe that they are to eat, and if the Makes information says "Makes 1/2 Serving", well, that's no longer correct!)
Congratulations! Now you are ready to click that Submit button and have your creation approved and added to our list of fantastic, tasty recipes for all our members to enjoy and hopefully you might consider entering in one of our contests!