I get asked a lot about what to eat on the bike during long rides. There is no right answer that will work for everyone. So experiment to see what works best for you. Here are some guidelines that work for me. Typically for rides under 1:30 hours or less I don’t eat anything. I make sure I’m drinking an electrolyte drink (Citrus Nuun is my current favorite) and for rides up to 2 hours then and I’ll throw in a scoop of maltodextrin along with the Nuun tablet.
For longer rides your body will probably need a little something beyond a drink. There are tons of bars and gels on the market. Some good and some not so good. I’ll save that for another posting! There are times when you might just feel like some real food. Dr Allen Lim has a couple of great ideas that he has posted on Youtube: rice cakes, potatoes, and Panini. Sound pretty simple, eh? They are. And not only do they make great on the bike food, but the rice cakes make good snack food too.
Ingredients:
1 cups of Sushi rice
1 -2 tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 Eggs
1/2 to 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Bragg or soy sauce
1/2 cup to 1 cup of chopped Canadian Bacon / Ham or for a vegetarian option use Black beans
Method:
Cook the sushi rice as directed. While this is cooking, scramble 3-4 eggs in a little olive oil. Once the rice is all cooked mix together with the scrambled egg, ham or black beans, parmesan cheese and soy sauce (I use Bragg). The amount of cheese and soy sauce is up to you. Start with a little and you can always add more. I get a big casserole dish (9 in by 13 in) and lightly spray with a non-stick cooking spray like Pam. Then press the rice mixture into the dish. Cover with foil and refrigerate until it cools. Cut into slices and wrap in foil.
Notes:
You really need to use sushi rice or else it just doesn’t stick together and you can end up with a right mess on your jersey back pocket. Allen recommends using Parmesan cheese rather than other cheeses because it is easily digested. If you watch the video pay attention to his fine foil wrapping technique!
You can make a sweet version using fruit and honey or agave syrup.
Video:
Dr Allen Lim’s Rice Cakes Youtube video.
Ingredients:
Potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
Parmesan Cheese
Method:
Boil potatoes for 10-15 minutes. Cool slightly in cold water. Remove potato skins (don’t need the added fiber for bike food). (For snacks, I leave on the skins and just slice the potatoes in half). Mix de-skinned spuds with salt, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Wrap in tin foil and enjoy.
Notes:
Potatoes have a high glycemic index. What does this mean? It rapidly increases blood sugar. This means they will give you a quick energy boost so they are best used towards the end of the ride. They also contain potassium.
Video:
Dr Allen Lim’s Potato Youtube video.
Ingredients:
Bread (croissants)
Cream cheese
Jam
Canadian Bacon / Ham
Method:
Slice the bread in half. Spread cream cheese on one side, and jam on the other. Include some Canadian bacon or ham, and do Alan’s secret foil wrapping technique and you are all set. For the vegetarians among us you could replace the bacon/ham with some flavored baked sliced tofu. My favorite are the smoked or sesame flavors (flavours for the UK readers)
Video:
Dr Allen Lim’s Panini Youtube video.
Tags: bike food, fueling, panini, potatoes, Rice cakes
Would you mind if I use some of the info here, and I’ll leave a link back to you?
Tofu Recipes: sure use the info. Thanks for reading.