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SparkPoints: (6,650)
Fitness Minutes: (8,653)
Posts: 387
11/21/09 9:33 P

Coleman makes a propane oven, as does camp chef I think. Maybe get one of those to bake in?

current weight: 198.0

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Posts: 4,095
11/21/09 3:01 A

Also... have you considered investing in a mandoline slicer, food processor, or other cutting tool to make cutting quicker and easier?

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Posts: 56
11/21/09 12:43 A

It really is great, and I do love it. :-)

I have tried asking for no oil, which usually gets less oil. My poor vegetarian friends are living on rice because "I don't eat meat" is received as "Oh, a Muslim who doesn't eat pork." No oil and no meat are alien concepts.

Yeah, I've frozen big batches of oatmeal and soup before, but I don't have an oven for casseroles and no pasta, tomato sauce or cream of anything to make them, actually.

Recent successes: stove top squash casserole-thing, breakfast porridge with peanuts, and vinegar soup.

current weight: 207.0

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Posts: 4,971
11/21/09 12:24 A

Lots of casseroles can be frozen. Chicken dishes freeze well. I like to make a TON of oatmeal and rice and freeze (or refrigerate) it in smaller portions. Things like chili or any dish with beans as the base freeze well too. Even bread freezes ok.

If you do eat out, can you make special requests to the cooks? Maybe just ask for no oil?

Good luck! Sounds like an amazing experience!

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Posts: 11,344
11/20/09 11:52 P

Make you usual favourite dishes but only leaner, remove visual fat and sugar a lifestyle change is not about making wildly fancy food. It is easier to keep at by converting recipes you already eat now than find and keep making alot of new recipes.
I just make more of what I cook and freeze several portions for busy days....
If a recipe uses butter I remove it totally and use one step healthier principle if recipes allow me..

Edited by: RENA1965 at: 11/20/2009 (23:55)

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Posts: 56
11/20/09 11:01 P

Hi everyone,

I am a little stuck on how to stick to a Spark Diet. I've used it before with great success, but things have changed.

I'm currently teaching English in a third world country. I have pretty good housing and all (yay internet!) but it's a less than ideal environment for eating well. There is fresh produce in abundance, but absolutely no convenience foods. You have to wash, peel, chop, and cook everything on a propane burner yourself. Most families live with a grandparent who spends a good part of the day involved with bargaining at the market, hauling the food home, and cooking. I work full time and have a 30 minute commute, so this is difficult.

On the other hand, there are lots of delicious and cheap restaurants, but all the food here is very oily and unhealthy.

Does anyone have suggestions for quick ways to cook batch foods to freeze starting with raw material (other than soups)? Or ways to make starting from scratch faster and more appealing? Given that it's cheaper and quicker to eat out than to cook, I do it more often than I should, and I am really beginning to see it... :-(

Thanks in advance,
Corrie

current weight: 207.0

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