Background: I actively CrossFit and eat about 80-90% paleo (+/- some percentage when the wife has a brownie craving - Hey, we have to pick our battles right?). We have an Excalibur dehydrator but have yet to really implement the machine to its fullest. After being out in the field training for only four days, I discovered that sustaining my eating habits in the paleo realm are not feasible - I simply am unable to put in enough calories.

That all being said, I will be in the field for an entire month come October. What this means for the average Soldier is we will eat MREs for 2 of 3 meals (meals ready to eat....shaped, formed, and preserved loaded with all sorts of unnatural ingredients. Let me know if you want a sample and I would be GLAD to mail you some of our "favorites"). The other meal will probably be an army "cooked" meal - often breaded chicken breast or chili mac, iceberg lettuce, rice, corn, and sheet cake.

Obviously even sustaining a decent level of performance is difficult given these conditions.

PLEASE, I need some recommendations on recipes that don't require anything more than boiling water as that's the only source of "cooking" I have access to. My wife and I are more than eager to pre-package and vacuum seal back at the house too. Anything you all can contribute is greatly appreciated. In fact, if you're wanting someone to test a recipe, shoot it over, we'll try to make it, and I'll share it with the men and provide you some feedback.

Jason

You have a dehydrator, how about loading up on beef jerkey for your protein?
You can pack a lot in a small space and with very little weight.
There is an infinite amount of beef jerkey recipes available.
You could start with Mark's Daily Apple - a Paleo website.
Flank steak, good for Beef Jerky, used to be relatively cheap,
almost considered a throw-away meat.
But now, its like any other meat.
.
Fat should not be a challenge, the biggest problem is Carbs.
.
You could dehydrate some fruits, but that makes them more sugar heavy,
not very filling, and a higher Glycemic Load.
I'm stuck, there, for now .....

I agree that dehydrating fruit and veggies isn't a good idea for the Zone. It breaks down the cells in a way which renders them unfavorable carbohydrate. Soy nuts (roasted soybeans) is one thought off the top of my head. They'r very lightweight, contain fully balanced P, C and F and don't take up a lot of room.

Ok. Sounds like a start. Agreed, I am mostly concerned with the lack of carbs. I can load up on nuts, coconut, and olive oil for fats, jerky, tuna/salmon/sardines for protein, but carbs is where I die. Steel cut oat meal - but this also seems to take a lot of prep time. I'm wondering if there's a way of making a kale or cauliflower bar (puree, pan, and dehydrate? Sounds a bit gross) or tomato roll-ups after pureeing tomato and dehydrating it (sounds like it would take forever to dry)

Problem is none of those are really going to be favorable carbohydrate. I'm still thinking about it.

I thought dehydrating various veggies is favorable? Is that a possibililty at all, Sue, for this person? It also makes them a lot smaller. But yeah, it would still be a lot heavier than beef jerky ...

You could make Kale chips, but they are very delicate and they would probably end up as powder, and it would take an awful lot just to get to one block
Same with Cauliflower, one whole head barely registers as a Carb.
Soy nuts, as Due stated would make a great balanced snack,
but hard to fill up on ans make meals for two weeks or one month.
You might have to do the best you can, and balance out the MRE's with a balanced snack.
Bring along enough Fish Oil, and maybe consider doubling the healthy fat at meal time.
That way, you would not lose weight, but you would not gain,
and they would help slow down the insulin response to all of the unfavorable Carbs in the MRE's and cooked meals.

From what I've read from Dr. Sears, it's not favorable.

Sarah;
Sue and I posted at the same time.
She was responding to you
and I was responding to the original poster.

Dehydrating bell peppers worked well when I traveled to India but that comes down to a LOT of veggies given the timeline. Think I just need to break the bank and buy manufactured zone friendly food? Since the physical activity will be significantly higher than our everyday individual, is it easier to justify eating higher GI carbs (as this might make meal prep easier)?

No, not as many unfavorable carbohydrates as you would be eating. Your sensitivity to carbohydrate will probably also be a factor. You may be able to get away with it during an especially challenging (athletically) day, but not day after day. Maybe you can pick up some tips here: http://www.zonediet.com/forums/aft/37114

I think, now, it's ROASTING the veggies in the oven that I'm thinking of that's favorable, as opposed to DEHYDRATING, which is completely taking all water out of the veggies. I hadn't known dehydrating was so unfavorable.

I don't think sending ROASTED veggies would make sense, no, not via mailing.

I have an idea but Jason likely explored this and couldn't come up with anything before, but I'll ask anyway. Just in case.

Jason, is there simply, absolutely, no way at all that you can obtain LOCAL veggies etc where you are going for that month? And then just ... I don't know, eat them raw, that kind of thing? To better balance out your meals?

Is there simply, absolutely, no way you can gain access to a microwave somewhere while you are there in that country? Or something like that. You could steam veggies in the microwave. It's what I do.

alexy

Alexy,

Thanks for the recommendations. I did explore some options and what it looks like is I could have a resupply possibly once a week for the local grocery. There isn't any microwave access though but I suppose I could, for example, stick raw broccoli into the water boiler. What produce will last the longest without refrigeration?

Depends on the climate. Tomatoes for sure. Onions, maybe. I'd go with whatever the local markets are selling without refrigeration and that you deem to be Zone favorable. Barley and favorable legumes are another choice. It takes very little barley to make a block. Protein powder could suffice for your protein.

I assume you could cook barley the same way as the steel cut oats (boiling water in nalgene over night) as recommended by cranberrycat in that hiking thread? There were definitely a few good thoughts in there. Thanks

Hi Jason,

Great! Tomatoes, which Sue mentioned--I take them with me when I'm out for the day, and I eat them like I eat apples!!! :-) A bit drippy but there are tricks around that, etc. So tomatoes are very portable. I also eat green peppers when out, but only one green pepper--can't handle more bulk than that. If you're not very carb-sensitive, there are probably quite a few different veggies that you can just carry around with you and eat as necessary, or keep in your room or wherever. And I'd think a mixture of raw broccilli and cooked broccilli would be nice ... you lose vitamins when you put veggies into water, obviously.

Speaking of which ... does anyone know if it's possible to eat spaggetti squash UNCOOKED, e.g., raw? Would be nice to carry it with me as well ...

Alexy

by the way. I think president obama is taking really good care of you soldiers, he's doing many things (and his wife too) to help you guys (and your spouses) get jobs when you get back to USA, for example, and increasing mental health services, and hiring many vets into his government, and so on, and so on, and so on .... I think he's a great president overall!!!! :-)

Jason, another tip, my daughter went on a 3 week sea kayaking trip in the Sea of Cortez (Baja Mexico,basically dessert and ocean) where they were only allowed one modest sized stuff sack each, not even enough room for a change of clothes and no toiletries allowed, not even not even soap, because it was a protected environment. Water was air dropped to them at couple spots on the trip, but otherwise they were limited as to food to the space in their stuff sack and a stop at a local outdoor market in Mexico at the start of the journey. She said her prized possession quickly became the bottles of olive oil she'd brought form home. She'd packed just the amount she'd need in a couple smaller bottles. I don't recall if she brought with any protein, but I think I remember she did say there was a cheese she purchased at that local market which kept well without refrigeration. It was over 10 years ago so my memory is foggy.

Sarah,
I would just pre-cook Spaghetti Squash ahead of time, maybe a little al dente.
Takes up a lot less space, too.

So it's not a good idea to eat it raw?

Ok, pre-cook if necessary ... actually I often cook it a la dente, I love it that way!!! :-)

alexy

Jason - If you don't mind canned food, here are a few nice choices for getting your favorable carbs -

--Tomato paste comes in a small can and only 2 TBS = 1 carb block. I eat it all the time.

--Water chestnuts - also a small can and you can get 2 carb blocks out of each can. (tip: water chestnuts + tomato paste tastes great)

--Canned stewed tomatoes - not as compact as the above but 1 carb block per can, if drained. If not drained, you get 1/2 block of unfavorable carbs, too, which isn't a problem.

I assume you're in the Middle East - get some local hummus, 2 TBS = 1 carb block.

All the above can be eaten cold, right out of the can.


And for protein and fat you can mix protein powder with a nut butter like almond or peanut + a little water.


There isn't a lot of fiber in the above but you could take a fiber supplement, if needed. I do best on not too much fiber so these foods work great for me.

Adding to Larry, (Tomato Paste, good recommendation, didn't think of that.)
Glucommanan pills are a good fiber supplement, very much smaller and lighter and a lot more compact,
than fiber powders, with a lot more fiber punch than a Tbl of powders with only 3 g fiber.
I had used them in the past, prior to eating more vegetables when I started Zoning over 8 years ago.

Tomato paste come in a tube, too, that you can squeeze out the amount you need and obviously put the cap on and save the rest for the next time ...

I'm wondering--is tomato paste favorable for very carb-sensitive people like me? This sounds like a great item for me to take with me when I'm trvelling, but 2 blocks of this tomato paste may not work for me?

Alexy

Since tomato sauce is Favorable, then, yes, I would state that tomato paste is favorable, as well.
Liquids generally are not as favorable; however, paste is thicker than sauce.

Correction -- 4 TBS of tomato paste (60g) is 1 block.

Canned kidney beans are another favorable carb option.

4 Tbl (1/4 cup) of paste makes sense.
Since 1/2 cup tomato sauce is 1 block.

I am thinking fresh green beans are very portable, and really wouldn't require boiling. Other veggies that would keep for awhile include carrots, onion. Tomatoes might last awhile, but they are not as portable. However, I am liking the tomato paste idea.

Don't forget about fruits: apples will last quite awhile and can be eaten raw.

Legumes are also an option.

Protein and fat seem to be less of a problem.