Author Topic: Food on the go, but not too sweet.  (Read 5707 times)

Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« on: 14 August, 2013, 03:57:59 pm »
I don't get hungry while cycling, and on long rides, I have real trouble eating enough.

Anyway, specific question: I am looking for something to eat on the go, that's not too sweet.  On London-Edinburgh-London I really wasn't interested in any of the food I packed nor the food offered at controls for the road. 

Any suggestions for portable, longish life food for pockets that isn't very sweet?  When I stop at a supermarket, I'd usually go for a ham/ham salad/ham & cheese sandwich.  Crisps have seen me through the last 50km of a 300.  Any pocket friendly equivalents?

here's all the uneaten food from my pockets, carradice and bag drops:

here's my post-abandoning meal (though I probably would skip the beer if I was planning on riding on)


mcshroom

  • Mushroom
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #1 on: 14 August, 2013, 04:00:19 pm »
Pepperami and babybels - Keto fuel :)
Climbs like a sprinter, sprints like a climber!

Hillbilly

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #2 on: 14 August, 2013, 04:05:25 pm »
I also get bored of sweet stuff, normally come late afternoon.

Off the top of my head, on (hilly) rides of 200km+ over the last few months, I've carried and eaten:

- Pork Pies / sausage rolls (come on Scotland, score some goals) / scotch eggs (sometimes I just eat the egg or casing)
- Chicken satay (co-op, comes with sweet chilli sauce)
- Boiled eggs (these were amazingly on sale individually in a Spar in Hope)
- Pork scratchings / beef jerky (satisfies salt cravings)
- Cheese straws / cheese muffins (both homemade and shop bought)
- Tinned mackerel, ideally the ones with spicy tomato or chipotle sauce (I used to carry a spork, but lost it. Bah!)

High quality diet, as you can see...

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #3 on: 14 August, 2013, 04:07:22 pm »
Peanut butter and Marmite/Vegamite sarnies. No butter/margarine/butter like spreads though and wrap in clingfilm. They'll stay fresh for at least two days.  :thumbsup:

Pippa

  • Busy being fabulous
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #4 on: 14 August, 2013, 04:25:37 pm »
Cheese and carrot flapjacks

Make a few batches at a time, cut up, freeze, pop as many/few in pocket as needed for a ride.

For something a bit sturdier than crisps, try thai chilli rice cakes - those mini ones. They don't crumble too easily in pockets. Likewise dry roasted nuts, wasabi peas etc.

I don't have a big sweet tooth, but I also usually carry dried apricots, figs and prunes which I don't find overly sweet but I do sometimes need/crave something sugary on the go.

Karla

  • car(e) free
    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #5 on: 14 August, 2013, 04:43:29 pm »
Savoury flapjacks
Bananas
Frusli bars (unless they've changed the recipe to include too much sugar)
Fig rolls 

^ should all keep you nice and regular  ;)

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #6 on: 14 August, 2013, 05:09:14 pm »

Available, sometimes, from the prepacked charcuterie area in Waitrose

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #7 on: 14 August, 2013, 05:09:39 pm »
Pepperami and babybels - Keto fuel :)

I tried this recently and it works a treat.
Otherwise, beef Jerkey, pork pies, whatever takes my fancy at the supermarket - spicey wraps, blt sarnies etc.

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #8 on: 14 August, 2013, 05:57:06 pm »
I always reckon you need something to hit the tastebuds, especially in colder weather.  I pack sausage butties/pork pie with a lot of mustard, or cheese sarnies with a lot of pickle.  Booth's supermarkets also sell a soft fruit bar thingy by the tills - really easy to chew and swallow and packed full of calories.  I always try to eat every 2 hours whether I want to or not.  I usually have some Werthers/boiled sweets/jelly babies/fruit pastilles for sugar and comfort.

Chuffy

  • Found a newt on LEL
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #9 on: 14 August, 2013, 06:09:30 pm »
I have often taken a sandwich for a nice long ride only to dump it once I've got home... :facepalm:

Mars Thickshakes are a staple for me. I know it doesn't quite fit with what you're asking for, but I also have trouble getting enough food down me on long rides and I find that something cold and refreshing works well. Lots of calories in them, plus you get a good load of liquid. Really useful if you're flagging.

Otherwise, nuts are useful (salty goodness) and a friend swears by taking a tupperware box or ziplock bag filled with boiled new potatoes in butter or oil.
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mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #10 on: 14 August, 2013, 06:26:22 pm »
This comes up every few months (and rightly so, nothing more important than grub!)
Try here https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=34645.msg650835#msg650835 8 pages of yummy stuff.

Cheese and carrot flapjacks

Make a few batches at a time, cut up, freeze, pop as many/few in pocket as needed for a ride.

My link also features cheese+onion flapjacks. I'm a bit suspicious of them for 'proper' rides as cheese is suspect after a few days. I usually take a few pockets worth of tried-n-tested flapjacks on long trips, so for PBP this might mean I'm finishing them off 7 days after baking.
( I might be being over-cautious, but TG's PBP stoker fromage frais incident is still in my mind ... )
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #11 on: 14 August, 2013, 07:10:53 pm »
I too have a funny taste and get easily tired of sweet stuff. For 200s I usually pack my own sandwiches, usually made of cured meats, tomato, some green stuff, olive oil, a bit of garlic. Very mediterranean, tasty and has a bit of everything. I look forward to eating them, so that's a good thing. If bread makes it too bulky, you can wrap these in tortillas, and they pack very small. Smoked salmon also good. All these foods should last you a couple of days no problem.

On longer rides, I took the idea off of Javier otp and carry a hearty pasta salad with me. Throw olives, boiled egg, tuna, sweetcorn, carrots, tomatoes, peppers etc in it, with olive oil and vinager. Very good and tasty also.

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #12 on: 14 August, 2013, 07:13:14 pm »
For the pedants, TG was the stoker and the captain got ill at PBP07.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #13 on: 14 August, 2013, 07:16:43 pm »
For the pedants, TG was the stoker and the captain got ill at PBP07.
Drat.

As TG would say: smug point to you.
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Bairdy

  • Former Pints Champion
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #14 on: 14 August, 2013, 07:24:52 pm »
Try these http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd/

Their NAK'D bars aren't too sweet or sickly, natural ingredients. Lots of flavours, about 80 cals each.



or chips.
"And I been up to my neck in pleasure
              Up to my neck in pain"

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #15 on: 14 August, 2013, 08:18:34 pm »
I could talk for hours on this subject.

The short answer is... no, no, no.. that's too simplistic.

To misquote someone of this parish "It's a complex subject that will need more than one colour highlighter".

Attractive, young ladies (e.g. jefmcg) are invited to attend a masterclass during my next DIY 200.

There. That's today's perving done.  ;D
You're only as successful as your last 1200...

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #16 on: 14 August, 2013, 09:51:13 pm »
One of the points of the Keto diet for me is NOT having food on the bike.
We used to carry Keto snacks but just don't need them any more. I can easily go 100k.. But then I do have (considerable) reserves.

Train yourself not to need it. It's easier than making sandwiches.

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #17 on: 14 August, 2013, 10:01:32 pm »
I've pretty much switched over to just sandwiches now, as I struggle to digest anything else solid, and discovered a couple new flavours this year:
 - Peanut butter & Nutella, thanks to Chuffy & Baggy at Penzance on the KSW600, these proved to be just the ticket in Newquay at 1am.
 - Lemon curd, there was a massive bucket of this at Barnard Castle in LEL, which had almost completely gone by my return.
“That slope may look insignificant, but it's going to be my destiny" - Fitzcarraldo

Pingu

  • Put away those fiery biscuits!
  • Mrs Pingu's domestique
    • the Igloo
Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #18 on: 14 August, 2013, 10:02:24 pm »
...(though I probably would skip the beer if I was planning on riding on)

I've found the occasional beer on a long (300+) ride does the world of good  :thumbsup:

Euan Uzami

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #19 on: 14 August, 2013, 10:06:04 pm »
Curious to know of any good tips for savoury flapjacks. I made some recently but they were unfortunately pretty damn rank and had to be binned. Is cheese a good idea?

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #20 on: 14 August, 2013, 10:13:29 pm »
There are some good ideas in the Feed Zone Portables book  - http://feedzonecookbook.com/ - rice balls and things; sweet and savoury. I think there arte a few of his (Allen Lim's) recipes on youtube too.

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #21 on: 14 August, 2013, 10:15:36 pm »
My link also features cheese+onion flapjacks. I'm a bit suspicious of them for 'proper' rides as cheese is suspect after a few days. I usually take a few pockets worth of tried-n-tested flapjacks on long trips, so for PBP this might mean I'm finishing them off 7 days after baking.
( I might be being over-cautious, but TG's PBP stoker fromage frais incident is still in my mind ... )

I was going to suggest my favourite non sweet pocket foods. Cheese, sausages and chicken breasts.
Cheese will keep for a week or two without it being in a fridge IME, assuming it's well within it's use by date. It will keep for a few days on a bike for sure, but why would you keep it that long? Surely you'd eat it, unless you're carrying an entire Edam or Cheddar in your saddlebag.
I remember carrying a cheese sandwich in my jersey pocket on a warm day about 20 years ago. When I decided to eat it, the sun had turned my manky cheese sarnie that I wasn't really looking forward to, into a warm, crisp and tasty cheese toasty. :smug:
It wasn't me who was ill on PBP, it was Nigel the pilot and that was from manky old fromage frais which had been festering in the bar bag for several days.

Phil W

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #22 on: 14 August, 2013, 11:44:57 pm »
On LEL I just ate at controls and the odd shop / petrol station. No eating whilst on the go. Savoury all the way till I when for the full monty line up of food Kirton Southbound. ('Cause MR wasn't serving anything up before I left).

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #23 on: 15 August, 2013, 12:41:11 am »
Ginsters buffet bar?

Re: Food on the go, but not too sweet.
« Reply #24 on: 15 August, 2013, 12:52:29 am »
Soreen lunchbox loaves?