Obviously, I cannot carry around Phelps' three fried egg sandwiches, half a kilo of pasta or large pizza, so I do rely a lot on snacks, and many of them are sugary. Funny enough, I am actually not a big sugar eater in real life. However, I am embracing the now and doing what feels good. Before you get all worried (hi Mom!), my favorite town meal is a huge bagged salad with a extra veggies and some protein if I can find it! However, here are some of my favorite on-the-bike snacks.
Dried fruit: I would prefer non-dried fruit, but it is not really the season right now, plus I can only fit so much. I have bought an apple or orange or banana from time to time but I try to eat it fast so I don't have to carry it. What will last longer is something like Trader Joes dried coconut or mangos or WinCo dried apples (I love their bulk bins!)
Meat and cheese: For some reason I often crave protein, but I obviously do not have a fridge. My trick is to buy precooked bratwurst and a block of cheddar on an evening when I have a fridge and then try to eat them the next day. If need be, the cheese will last for a few days, although if it is warm, it does tend to get a bit slimy. However, the brats need to be eaten fairly quickly. I have been known to have two for breakfast and two for lunch to use them up!
TJs Boba Mochi: I looked at this and thought that it was a bit strange, but then I thought I would give it a shot, since they are individually wrapped. They are good! So nice to have one of these for "dessert" after a meat and cheese snack!
Fudge dipped coconut granola bar: As I mentioned, I eat a lot. In an effort to not spend $2 per bar and then eat 6 of them in one day, I tried to find a cheaper granola bar. These don't have the best ingredients for sure, but they are only $2.50 for a box of 10 and they taste pretty good!
Chocolate covered gummy bears: I also like plain ol' gummy bears, but the chocolate covered ones are my favorite. However, these do melt, so as it gets hotter, I have to have the naked ones...
Cottage cheese and tortilla chips: This is like my all time favorite snack, but I usually have to buy it on a town day, eat the cottage cheese with chips and then I can carry the remaining chips as a snack. There is nothing better than some salty corn goodness when I have just climbed up a big sweaty hill! Also, I don't care if they are tiny or smashed, they still do the trick!
Yogurt and peanut butter: I only carried this once when my eyes were way bigger than my stomach and I had a lot of fridge food that I did not eat on the night I was in town. So I wrapped the yogurt in a plastic bag and planned to eat it for second breakfast (or elevensies). Then I sat down on the side of the road, put a couple of scoops of PB in it, stirred and ate while I watched the cars go by. It was great. This is one of my favorite snacks from home when I trying to pretend that I am eating ice cream, but I am also trying to be healthier.
Speaking of Peanut Butter: This is such a versatile thing; you can just eat it right from the spoon, or on a cracker, or tortilla, or apple, or banana, or you can put it in yogurt or cottage cheese. I could go on, but I do not want to sound like Bubba. Peanut butter etouffee anyone?
What is your favorite hiking/biking/road trip snack!? What is your favorite way to eat peanut butter?
I'm a big fan of those Sunbelt bars! They're easy on the wallet and they're good. When I travel I usually don't want to stop for lunch so I carry a selection of cereal and protein bars with me.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had yogurt and PB but someone else in my house is a fan...we give our puppy frozen yogurt mixed with PB in her Kong every night. I should try it sometime;)
That's funny, as I had never seen those Sunbelt bars before (in CA) but then I got to OR and they were everywhere (but mostly at Fred Meyer -- where do you buy them?) Re PB and yogurt, it is SOOOOOO good. I don't know what a Kong is but please sign me up. Doggo and I can fight over the treats!
DeleteI used to carry a bag of granola with me in the car. Then it just got too messy and worky. Granola bars were next, but the kind I really liked got discontinued (a soft breakfast bar), and I gave them up entirely. Now I don't have any Emergency Snack in the car.
ReplyDeleteBut oh man, Peanut Butter! I don't eat much meat, and I have to watch my cholesterol, so Peanut Butter is a protein mainstay for me. I was never a fan as a kid, but now I eat it almost every day. A slice of Dave's Killer Organic Rye or 20 Grain and Seeds toast with Peanut Butter and a banana sliced on top, and that's lunch. If I get bored with that, I'll eat an apple with Peanut Butter.
Now cottage cheese...nope. I lost my taste for that somehow. I used to really like it, too.
Yes, PB and apple used to be my go-to snack until I found out that too much fiber makes me bloat, and apples have a lot of fiber (and so do peanuts, SO SAD). So now I have them both very sparingly, although I do try to sneak PB in whenever I can.
DeleteDo you eat a lot of tofu? Beans? How else do you get your protein these days? (personally I love beans but they also have a lot of fiber and do not love me anymore!!)
First, I wish we had Trader Joes. Second, I like peanut butter on/in everything. Almost literally. Peanut butter is perhaps my favourite food item on the planet. I mix it into yogurt, put it on top of ice cream, eat it by the spoonful...
ReplyDeleteMy all-time favourite, if I was forced to choose, is probably peanut butter and banana on top of a lightly toasted English Muffin. SO GOOD.
Yes, yes and yes! PB for the win. I do all of the above as well. Also, I did not put these on the list, as I do not carry a lot of meltable items, but the TJs dark chocolate PB cups are the best! I could definitely eat all PB related items all day and not be unhappy (we did not even touch on the savory items -- spring rolls with PB dipping sauce etc...!!)
DeleteThis is Lisa. I think we get the same brand of granola bars for Paul’s daily school snack but it’s a more kid friendly type so has minimal mix ins besides choc chips. It’s not healthy but it fills him up and works with his limited palette!
ReplyDeleteI did not know choc covered gummy bears were a thing. I am not sure I would like them as I don’t like choc + fruit except choc covered strawberries but only on occasion.
My fave snack is trail mix probably but it needs m&ms or something like that and it can’t have gluten. I also like gummy bears but they melt easily so they aren’t great in summer unless we eat the whole bag.
I think your eating is like what a marathon trainer is eating because you are burning so many calories! So enjoy all the treats. It all normalizes!
Btw currently typing this on a flight to SFO for my Napa event. Our flight was delayed by an hour so I am kind of having heart palpitations because we present at 5. We land at 12:30 but I med to get my car rental and drive 2 hours to Napa. It will be FINE but I want more margin!! I booked my travel when my panel was supposed to be on Thursday and then it got moved to the last slot on Wednesday which is kind of a crappy slot because we are the only thing standing between the clients and the winery social hour. Wish they could drink while we talk. Ha.
Ha! Your client meeting is like the 3 pm Friday meeting at work. Nobody is paying attention; everyone wants to leave and go have happy hour. Who schedules those slots!? Of course, I would be scheduling all meetings at 6 am, and I guess other people would be wondering who scheduled those slots... I am responding to this at nearly 7 pm so I am hoping that you are done and it went well and everyone is into their 2nd glass of wine by now. I did not ask you if you have evening plans tonight or if you are going to at least get a moment to relax before getting back on the plane tomorrow.
DeleteRe the granola bars, I had never seen them before this trip, when I was looking for something cheap and found them at Fred Meyers (I think). I am not sure if I normally pay more for bars so I just never noticed them or what. I have been to A LOT of grocery stores in the last month!!
I also love trail mix and have a bag of it as well. However, when on the bike or backpacking, I tend to avoid chocolate, as it melts and then I have a mess or a big wudge of candy, neither of which is handy, especially when you are not always near a place where you can clean off your hands! I currently have an almond/peanut/craisin mix, although I do prefer it with chocolate! I do love stores with bulk bins as I can make my own mix without having to buy big quantities of each item.
If you like gummy bears, you should give the chocolate covered ones a shot, as they really just taste like chewy chocolate, not so much like fruit.
I love cottage cheese and corn chips, or potato chips, or even wheat thins! I also use cottage cheese as a salad dressing. Yum! I used to love peanut butter, but now my stomach won't tolerate it. What's up with that?!
ReplyDeleteGetting older sucks, that's what's up with that! I have the same issue. Peanuts/PB and beans seem to not love me as much as they used to. However, I can tolerate a little, so I have chosen to forego beans and keep PB in small doses.
DeleteI am with you re cottage cheese as salad dressing! I love a salad with cottage cheese and lots of crunchy things! Yum is right. We used to always eat it with fruit too when we were kids; I have not done that lately, but would not be adverse to it either!
Ohhh how fun!!! I do not discriminate with snacks - I have them, I eat them lol Unless they are black licorice something then no thanks. But red is fine! Example: twizzlers.
ReplyDeleteRoad trip: Lays chips, pistachios, granola bars, small cheeses (Laughing cow?), pepperoni and prosciutto. Also, bagel chips.
My favorite way to eat peanut butter is with a spoon. The bigger, the better.
I love black licorice and I say that yay to all of you who don't as that means more for me. However, I will also eat red or twizzlers; I am not picky!
DeleteRe road trip snacks; those all sound great! I do love pistachios, although when I am driving they are not quite as easy to shell and I don't like to get the shelled ones, as I can sit and eat like 3,000 calories worth of nuts in a very quick time when I they are shelled!
Re PB with a spoon: AMEN, sister!
I'm not riding a bike for hours a day and I'm always thinking about my next food, too! I am very food motivated!
ReplyDeletePopcorn is 100% my favorite snack for the road or any time!
Me too! I love popcorn. Sometimes Costco has the Boomchicka kettle corn on sale for $3.99 for the huge bag and I am all over that. However, it doesn't fit too well on the bike, so I would have to eat it pretty quickly to save room! :)
DeleteI do not think I could trick my brain into thinking yogurt + PB is ice cream, but I'm glad it works for you, haha.
ReplyDeleteMmm... peanut butter. I love eating it with chocolate or apples. I also love a PB&J sandwich, but I haven't had one of those in a long time.
For road trips, I love peanut M&Ms or chips. Nothing healthy here!
I like the idea of peanuts and chocolate (Peanut M&Ms) but prefer dark chocolate and better nuts, so would probably go for dark chocolate almonds instead, but otherwise yes to the combo! Also you are right, yogurt and PB is NOT ice cream, but it is my way of trying to be healthy(?!)
DeleteOh man I love the snack post! I really loved snacking on my cycle touring adventures. Our favourite was oatcakes and cheese (it was cold so the sweaty cheese wasn't a big issue) and nuts. Also summer sausage because it didn't need to be chilled (although maybe it did, and I just didn't read it?)
ReplyDeletePeanut butter and yogurt sounds weird but also kind of good, I may have to give it a try!
All your cycling snacks sound great. I would have gone bankrupt if I had a trader joes near me on my cycling adventures. Also tortilla chips and cottage cheese... yum!!!
Yeah TJs is a fun store, but it is so easy to spend a lot of money! I have trouble reeling in the spending in general, as I am usually quite hungry when I stop and I get overexcited about the choices! I do love summer sausage and cheese and have no issues with it not being refrigerated no matter what the actual rule is!
DeleteIf you like PB and you like yogurt...you will probably like the combo!