Schwinneffect

I'm looking for suggestions for food to take while biking.

Some examples:

Canned salmon. High in omega 3 fats and protein. Looks kind of like what was swept off of the cannery floor, but tasty.

Prepacked baby carrots. High in vitamin A. I make my own packs of broccoli and cauliflower.

Hard boiled eggs. Great source of choline

Canned Tuna. Not as much fat as salmon, but still good.

Other ideas?

I do realize that this is talked to death on the training and nutrition forums, but some of those high milers can and will eat just about anything. I'd prefer to avoid any and all processed foods. Portable and relatively non-perishable is a plus.

MattTheHat 

All I ever carry is a couple of protein bars and maybe a small bag of nuts. That’s enough to cover me for 80 miles or more, even when starting the ride while fasted.

tim24k

Clif Bars “Crunchy Peanut Butter”and nuts, maybe some fruit leather.

KraneXL

One word: liquids.

You don't want anything heavy in your stomach being digested while you're asking your body for energy. These two should never mix.

Schwinneffect

The only liquid I take is water, since most of the other options have sugar, or overly sweet artificial sweetener. I guess I could drink heavy whipping cream, but that seems disgusting. I've never had any difficulty with eating a bit and exercising, but don't tell my mom since she was sure I would die if I ate before swimming. The nuts are a great idea, but most of the food bars have some kind of corn syrup or other crap in them. I have found eating healthy food at home to be fairly simple, but food for trail or campground is more of a challenge. I must admit that processed foods are mighty convenient. Before I was aware of the whole glycemic index thing I used to consider a banana a healthy snack, but bananas are now only an occasional treat. I have ridden in a fasted state, and that works fine, but there is a temptation to pig out on the first junk food that is available when the ride is done.

Milton Keynes

They all sound good, as long as you ride behind me.

Milton Keynes

A small baggie of dried apple slices works, too.

MattTheHat 

This is one of the reasons why I never eat a turkey dinner whilst riding.

MattTheHat 

Gravy clogging up my water bottle is another reason.

wsteve464

If you can follow directions and don't mind baking make your own energy bars, it's what I ended up doing after trying different things.

Google cooked energy bars. The uncooked mostly need to be kept cold.

https://www.rd.com/food/recipes-cook...e-energy-bars/

rutan74

Geez, is this a bike ride or a camping trip? Hey, just kidding.

What type of mileage are we talking here? Even doing my century rides I did not carry much. That is what the rest stops are for. Now, my choice are fig newtons. They come in a package of 2 and are around 100 calories which you need every 50 minutes. Maybe some of the energy jelly beans or the gummy chews but I don't carry much hard food. Gels mostly but for me, I like to chew on something once in a while and that is were the fig newtons come in. Easy to digest too and not expensive.

I could not imagine carrying any of the food you listed unless I was going camping.

john

KraneXL

Plain water works fine but has it limits. Same as it does in mechanics and manufacturing.The best and most efficient time to consume it. The molecule get shunted direct to energy.The body is a very remarkable adaptable organism. But just because it can do something, does not mean it happens efficiently. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Miele Man

I like to take various types of dried fruits with me if I'm going to ride for any length of time per day. I take things like dried apricots, dates, raisins, figs, pineapple, banana, cashews, and so on.

Cheers

jsigone

your body can only process 350 or less calories per hour. Keep it simple as possible, and I'm not one to carry eggs in my sweaty pockets for a 4 hour saturday ride. Mind you the dry mouth you get while eating the yoke and still having to pedal a bike up hill into head wind

Gels and bars. I'm a nature Valley bar kick with almonds and some sweets.

https://www.naturevalley.com/sweetandsalty/

Calories160

Total Fat 7g

Saturated Fat 3g

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg0%

Sodium 140mg

Potassium 65mg2%

Carbohydrate 22g

Dietary Fiber 1g

Sugars 10g

Protein 3g

Iron4%

Schwinneffect

Yep. I am finding my health food kick a bit inconvenient. My bike has a rack, so food does not get sweaty, but it is perishable just the same. I used to eat the food bars too, but as your list shows 22g of carb, and 10 g of sugar I might as well have my favorite reeses peanut butter cups, so most of the bars, dried fruit, and other high carb stuff is out for me. I must admit that I have not tried taking heavy cream with me so I should not knock it. Anything is palatable if you put enough chocolate in it.

skidder

I just stick with a normal breakfast-lunch-dinner pattern. I regularly ride 30-milers with nothing more than 1-2 water bottles. I have taken food on all-day trips or while on a multi-day trip, but its just basic snack food and I usually don't eat it all (sometimes none of it); a good mid-day lunch and evening dinner seems to work OK for me. And there always seems to be a store every few miles in my area where I can stop and gets something to eat.

Gconan

Apples. Oranges. Mangos. Coconut water. Larabar.

Podagrower

Low carb options. Justin's peanut butter individuals are good, they have some palm oil, but no added sugar. Beef jerky (but almost has to be home made to prevent sugar). Any kind of nuts.

Carby options. Ziploc baggy of GORP (good old raisins and peanuts). A few people I ride with use the squeezable pouches of fruit. Baked potato (bake slightly underdone, cut into bite size pieces, throw in a baggy with salt and butter).

MattTheHat 

Do people really eat baked potatoes with butter whilst riding? That doesn't seem very convenient.

Podagrower

Sometimes, you want something different. When you figure out the correct baking time, you get potato with enough firmness to not turn into mashed potato in your jersey, but soft enough it's an easy bite. Some people I ride with stick to the standard old potato, some use those small red potatoes because they are bite sized already. Most of the people I ride with don't do 100% gels, so real food gets mixed in.

indyfabz

I do a good deal of self contained touring and I agree 100% with this. Tuna and salmon are for dinner, and it's the foil packed stuff, because it's lighter to carry. Sometimes sardines on a bagel for breakfast.

And newtons are a staple of on road food when I am touring. Filling and light.

My camp dinners are legendary amongst my friends. Here is foil packed tuna with fresh garlic, shallots, zucchini, and red sauce over pasta during my September trip on the Great Allegheny Passage.

indyfabz

I have seen cooked red c potatoes at rest stops on organized rides. High glycemic index. One yearly ride has bottled Italian dressing to dip them in. Provides salt and fat. Actually a nice treat. Not practical to eat while moving.

cyccommute 

It’s a lot less weird than canned salmon or cream. Personally, those would stay down for about 5 minutes while riding. High fat foods sit on my stomach like a brick for hours.

MattTheHat 

I'm right there with you. On Sunday's ride I couldn't even finish my energy/protein bar. The last bite was tossed to the sidewalk to my right for the next doggo happening by to find.

I will say, by about mile 80 I occasionally start daydreaming about Fettuccine Alfredo. Alas, eating that on the bike is inconvenient.

cyccommute 

Salty French Fries for me but I couldn’t eat them until the end of the ride...if I wanted to finish the ride.

I once ate two slices of pepperoni pizza in Elk Point, South Dakota. I only had 14 miles to go to my campground and it was about the most uncomfortable 14 miles I’ve ever ridden. I swear I was belching pepperoni for 2 days.

My wife made the same mistake in Missouri. It was a very cold day on the KATY trail and she thought the cream of broccoli soup sounded wonderful at a local restaurant. I told her it was a big mistake but she thought a small cup wouldn’t be a problem. It was.