Eating cheaply on the move

rdt

getprg wrote:

50 miles plus I carry a Topeak Tribag lined with foil and filled with about 5 slices of fruit malt loaf (Soreen) - about 80p a loaf.

I buy the sliced loaf and cut each slice into quarters (mouthful size) - makes eating on the bike really easy - no wrappers to remove or rear pockets to fiddle with - just dip in for a mouthful when you need it. Increase the quantity for longer rides.

NB - if you get the tri bag with the waterproof flap it doubles as the battery carrier for those cheap magic shine lamps on wet winter commutes.

For anyone interested, Topeak have now brought out a new fully waterproof (welded seams, etc) version of the tri bag, called the Tri DryBag:-

http://www.topeak.com/products/Bags/tri_drybag

I've ordered one for carrying food on long rides and a camera, phone, etc on holiday rides. If my knees hit it when out of the saddle, as I suspect they might, I'll stick it on my GF's bike and let her carry everything :shock:

Slack

Marmalade sandwiches with wholemeal bread.

ozzy1000_0

i get a plastic freezer bag, roll down the top and stuff a load of fig rolls into it, sits nicely in my jersery, plastic keeps the sweat off and is easy enough to get my hand in... my estimation is that a fig roll every 15mins or so seems pretty good... i also eat quite abit of flapjack, malt loaf and squashed peanut butter and jam sandwiches:) yum!

also a make shift isotonic drink = 50%water 50% orange juice, and a good pinch of decent salt....

or for a caffinated energy drink = flat coke

pinnaclered

I buy in bulk online. I tend to eat Nak'd bars on the go, they do vegan flapjacks, energy bars and breakfast bars. I love he flapjacks but most retailers sell them fr at least 1.60 a bar so I get a box of 12 or 24 from website which lasts me a while seeing as I don't ride everyday.
Check out some manufacturers websites and see if you can buy directly at discount prices

oldwelshman

Get a pack of marzipan from the home baking section in superstores. I recently bought 10 packs for £1 each at sainsbury's or tescos on offer cant remember which. You can cut about 4 or 5 good pieces out of each pack.It is easy to eat and swallow and good energy source, and I love the taste

patchy

redvee wrote:

paggnr wrote:

Bananas in Australia cost more than energy bars at the moment :shock: :shock:

Don't they grow in Australia? I know I ate fresh fruit on the roadside and thought bananas were amongst the samples.

Yes. Small problem with floods and cyclones destroying 90% of the crop earlier this year though. Currently trading at $12-14 a kilo.

Velonutter

I have been using the Go Bars from Tesco's Asda etc. 5 x 3 slices for a £1 plenty of different flavours, they go down easy, very similar to a Garibaldi

genki

I find just having something like orange squash (glucose-fructose) to drink, rather than water, makes a huge difference. I also take a bag of dried fruit and may have a few dried apricits or dates, but only of the ride is over 3hrs.

On a long ride, you're never going to be eating enough to replace what you're burning, but I think it's more a question of keeping your blood sugar level high. It's probably total rubbish, but I find if I drink plain water I'm far more likely to get hungry. It's saved me a fortune over the last few years and I don't get any of the bloated feeling I had after hours of drinking energy drinks and eating gels.

coombsfh

My housemate and I have made our own cereal bars before and to a degree you can dictate how calorific they are. The best bit is that you can entirely dictate what flavours they are. We have done banana, blueberry, mixed dried fruits, seed and nut etc. They are easy to do and if you buy big bags of oats, cheap honey and basics butter they work out much cheaper in the long run.

TheBullet

I love mcvities jamaican ginger cake or golden syrup cake. They're about £1.00 for around 500g but I have seen them as low as 2 for £1.00. I usually slice them up and put them in foil. In fact I might go get a slice right now!

mz__jo

I see no-one has suggested rice pudding made really stiff so you can eat it like cake. Used to be a favourite in feeding stations on 12s.

wicked

Sainsburys have just finished an offer on Nutrigrain bars box of 6 for a quid. Compare the nutritional info on the label and they are as good as energy bars.

rdt

rdt wrote:

getprg wrote:

50 miles plus I carry a Topeak Tribag lined with foil and filled with about 5 slices of fruit malt loaf (Soreen) - about 80p a loaf.

I buy the sliced loaf and cut each slice into quarters (mouthful size) - makes eating on the bike really easy - no wrappers to remove or rear pockets to fiddle with - just dip in for a mouthful when you need it. Increase the quantity for longer rides.

NB - if you get the tri bag with the waterproof flap it doubles as the battery carrier for those cheap magic shine lamps on wet winter commutes.

For anyone interested, Topeak have now brought out a new fully waterproof (welded seams, etc) version of the tri bag, called the Tri DryBag:-

http://www.topeak.com/products/Bags/tri_drybag

I've ordered one for carrying food on long rides and a camera, phone, etc on holiday rides. If my knees hit it when out of the saddle, as I suspect they might, I'll stick it on my GF's bike and let her carry everything :shock:

Tried the Tri DryBag for the first time y'day on a long ride.

In the saddle, the inside of a knee occasionally slightly touched the bag. No problem there. Out of the saddle, it could quite often lightly brush the inside of the thighs (ooh err :shock: ), but this seemed to happen less later in the ride, so maybe I was adjusting my action slightly without realising. This was less of an issue than I was expecting.

Food-wise, I did the same as getprg: lined it with foil and filled it with small pieces of malt loaf. Despite the black bag colour and mucho sun, the foil parcel kept the temperature OK. Bar someone handing me a musette, it's the easiest way of eating regularly on the move I've tried.

On balance then, a bit of a result.

BBH

Nutrigrain elevenses
Go ahead oat bakes
malt loaf
flap-jack

all work for me and are fairly cheap!!

simon_e

Homemade flapjacks are easy, I like this recipe: http://bookwormscookbook.blogspot.com/2 ... dgies.html

Geobar, Elevenses or fruit bars (I prefer Tropical Wholefoods bars). Nakd are raw and tasty, and cheaper if you buy direct at http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/

If you like sweet bars - traybake flapjack or flapjack bites. You could try supermarket cereal bars (though they're mostly rather small) or Eat Natural. All these have more fat than the fruit bars or branded energy bars, mainly because it's cheaper.

For nibbles - dried apricots, dates, raisins or jelly babies.