Fig rolls. I really hope there is an alternative.

littledove44

People seem to rave about them, so I decided to give them a go.

A bit like cardboard soaked with a smear of jam. Seem to require copious amount of water to swallow.

Surely there are easier things to get quick energy from.

Any suggestions? I tried gels and they just seem like sweet glue slime to me.

Dates seem better.

diamonddog

Jelly Babies or Jelly Beans also Minstrels but the chocolate makes you a bit thirsty.

meursault

diamonddog wrote:

Jelly Babies or Jelly Beans also Minstrels but the chocolate makes you a bit thirsty.

Home made flapjacks. Cheaper and better nutrition than mass produced stuff. Lots of recipes online like this

http://www.gourmetmum.tv/easy-recipes/banana-flapjacks.html

I do like fig rolls though.

diamonddog

Being vegetarian and having really weird dietery requirements I could only manage the Minstrels option but tend to stick to fruit or nuts.

ric/rstsport

Breakfast bars (i prefer chewy ones as opposed to crunchy), or sandwiches with jam, or soft cheese or jam and peanut butter. home made flapjacks. raisins. or new potatoes with some salt, or with ham wrapped around them.

there are also lots of different gels and energy bars. some are nice (i have some that i prefer to biscuits and have with a cuppa) and some bloody awful.

ric

imposter2.0

Sarnies with jam or peanut butter - unbeatable on a long ride.

team47b

diamonddog wrote:

Being vegetarian and having really weird dietery requirements I could only manage the Minstrels option but tend to stick to fruit or nuts.

Being vegetarian and Diabetic and having really weird dietery requirements I could not even manage the Minstrels :shock:

Fig rolls are mostly white flour and white sugar, so pick any biscuit you like and eat those instead, I am told Hob-Nobs are nice

sloppyschleckonds

Marzipan

FatTed

Convenient and expensive wiggle stock them
http://www.clifbar.co.uk/uploads/produc ... _berry.png

vin31

i use dried apricots.

meursault

team47b wrote:

diamonddog wrote:

Being vegetarian and having really weird dietery requirements I could only manage the Minstrels option but tend to stick to fruit or nuts.

Being vegetarian and Diabetic and having really weird dietery requirements I could not even manage the Minstrels :shock:

Fig rolls are mostly white flour and white sugar, so pick any biscuit you like and eat those instead, I am told Hob-Nobs are nice

I didn't know figs are made out of white flour and sugar, you live and learn.

mile muncher

I too find fig rolls like eating rolled up carpet. I use Soreen malt loaf, flapjacks, peanut butter sandwiches and the trademarked Graham Obree jam sandwich, with jelly babies as the emergency bonk food. You are probably not allowed the jelly babies and not sure if jam sarnies are allowed for diatbetics, probably not.

My mum just gave me a jar of blackcurrent jam she made from currents she grew in her garden, it is like crack cocaine of the jam world and has the biggest kick and best flavour of any jam I've ever tasted.

Grill

Dates are better. In fact I'd wager that they're the best natural energy food you can get, especially medjool dates.

lef

high 5 energy bars are my choice. It can be costly if you're doing lots of long rides but everything else I've tried that's not a sport specific bar needs loads of water to wash down.

team47b

meursault wrote:

team47b wrote:

diamonddog wrote:

Being vegetarian and having really weird dietery requirements I could only manage the Minstrels option but tend to stick to fruit or nuts.

Being vegetarian and Diabetic and having really weird dietery requirements I could not even manage the Minstrels :shock:

Fig rolls are mostly white flour and white sugar, so pick any biscuit you like and eat those instead, I am told Hob-Nobs are nice

I didn't know figs are made out of white flour and sugar, you live and learn.

I just learnt to be more specific, thank you meursault

Fig rolls are 68% flour & sugar and 32% figs (approximately)

sloppyschleckonds

How much sugar and salt addd? :roll:

cookiemonster

Loose the "rolls" bit - a big handful of dried figs (and, as above, dates) are a great cycling food.

And in your other pocket a plastic bag with boiled potatoes in oil and salt

kajjal

Fruity muesli bars are fine for me. The chewy ones not the ones like chipboard.

dzp1

Jaffa cakes !

matt-h

madasahattersley wrote:

Dates and bananas should give you everything you need.

Or if you want to take things a bit more seriously I'd recommend training your body to use a higher % of fat throughout the intensity range. I've only been doing this 7 weeks or so and can now ride 4-5 hours having had no breakfast, no food while riding, and only water in the bidons.

I like the sound of that.
Do you have any links/advice to help achieve that

Matt

stu-bim

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

new potatoes with some salt, or with ham wrapped around them.

ric

As good as it gets, everything is better with ham

dilemna

Porridge, All-Bran, sultanas, lashings of Demarera sugar.

Wholemeal pasta.

Black bananas.

Cashews

Brazil nuts

Omlettes

Beans on toast (wholemeal).

Grill

dilemna wrote:

Porridge, All-Bran, sultanas, lashings of Demarera sugar.

Wholemeal pasta.

Black bananas.

Cashews

Brazil nuts

Omlettes

Beans on toast (wholemeal).

Besides the bananas, you've managed to post a list of foods that contain either slow-release carbs or a very high fat content. Try again.

dilemna

Grill wrote:

dilemna wrote:

Porridge, All-Bran, sultanas, lashings of Demarera sugar.

Wholemeal pasta.

Black bananas.

Cashews

Brazil nuts

Omlettes

Beans on toast (wholemeal).

Besides the bananas, you've managed to post a list of foods that contain either slow-release carbs or a very high fat content. Try again.

Who are you, the Food Police?

Apart from dates where are your alternatives? I have never eaten dates and manage just fine.

Errrr ...... Omlettes = protein. Add scrambled eggs as well.

Wholemeal = fibre as well as slow release carbs. V important.

The clue is the thread title - a l t e r n a t i v e s . See it's easy when you try.

FYI there is good fat and bad fat. Nuts fall firmly into the good fat category. And slow release carbs are good as opposed to sucrose and glucose which are easily broken down. In any case each food group has it's place depending upon requirements of an individual.

You need to try harder.

phreak

It is food to eat whilst on the move though isn't it? Much as I love both porridge and pasta, I've never considered either whilst on the move

Have to admit though that I am a fig roll fan myself. Depends on the ride though. If it's something that's a bit more full gas then it tends to be things that are easier to gulp down, which sadly often means gels or energy drinks. That doesn't happen often in longer rides though.

Grill

Wow, you really have no clue. This is cycling, not weight training.

Protein is useful for recovery, but for sustainable energy you really don't more than a 4:1 mix carb to protein ratio.

Fiber is a bad idea on the bike. Last thing you want 90 miles into a ride is the overwhelming need to sh!t.

Omelettes and scrambled eggs? Really? How do manage this during a ride? Do you have a valet towing a buffet car? Have you even read to OP's question?

Yeah there are good and bad fats, but they all take more energy to digest and aren't as effective a fuel source as carbs.

Slow release carbs are fine pre and post ride, but during most rides you need fast release carbs to top up your glycogen stores. This is why cycling nutrition is based mainly in energy bars (not protein bars), gels, and carb drinks.

There are lots of alternatives but many have been mentioned. Besides staples like bananas and dates, you can also go with other dried fruit, boiled potatoes (mentioned), rice cakes (there's your egg), homemade flapjacks (way too much fat and not enough proper energy in the store bought ones), Jelly Babies, or even a jam sandwich (a bit of peanut butter if you really want your nuts).

There are always exceptions, such as audaxes, but this is more to do with the feel of the ride as opposed to the necessary nutrition.

t4tomo

How do we get 2 pages into the thread and Malt loaf / Soreen hasn't had a mention? perfect for that jersey poacket snack, (as are flap jacks)

still chuckling at dilenema packing his jersey pockets with porridge and scrambled eggs

Grill

Good point. Banana Soreen is the bomb.

edhornby

soreen got a mention in post 5 by mile muncher

my uncle Dennis who is a proper audaxer and was a racer in the 60s 70s told me a tale once of a rider with a bidon full of rice pudding (this was quite common) who decided, on a hot day, to take his bidon full of water and tip it over his head to cool down but grabbed the rice pudding and chucked it in his hair and down his back and had to complete the ride with drying smelly rice on him... eww

Grill

Aerobic carbohydrate metabolism consumes less oxygen than aerobic fat metabolism as fat metabolism consumes more O2 per unit of ATP produced, so a carbohydrate burning muscle will perform at a higher level than a fat burning muscle. This does assume you're you're not slacking off on your ride as fat metabolism territory doesn't require any real exertion so no additional fuel needed.

Phil_D

Is there a definitive answer here?