Make your own energy bars
Discussion
My LBS sells home made bars for a customer and all profit goes to charity. I gave them a try and are VERY tasty. Only problem is after 2 hours in a camelbak they looked like a bag of meuseli. Not easy to eat, especially with gloves on.
My trail munchie of choice is;
http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/products/ricekrispies/Ba...
500 kcaliries per bar, sod all fat. Very tasty and very light - also very cheap. Dont sit in your belly like an energy bar and withstand being thrown in your camelbak for months. Long LONG rides I use the usual cycling power bars, jelly snacks and gels (bleugh)
My trail munchie of choice is;
http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/products/ricekrispies/Ba...
500 kcaliries per bar, sod all fat. Very tasty and very light - also very cheap. Dont sit in your belly like an energy bar and withstand being thrown in your camelbak for months. Long LONG rides I use the usual cycling power bars, jelly snacks and gels (bleugh)
I can't stomach ANY energy bars/gels - results aren't pretty...
Jelly babies and pretty much any bakery good (cookies, muffins, etc) from Tesco's is my choice of fuel along with bananas on longer rides. I do occasionally make my own flapjacks too but am usually too unplanned for that.
Jelly babies and pretty much any bakery good (cookies, muffins, etc) from Tesco's is my choice of fuel along with bananas on longer rides. I do occasionally make my own flapjacks too but am usually too unplanned for that.
All seems fairly sensible!
In my LBS they have racks of gels, shot-block things, bars, you name it. Some of them a £2+ each which seems expensive to me - esepcially if you're riding a few times a week! Seems like an expense you could sensibly do without! Must admit I've not tried any yet, but even so I think I'll stick with my lucozade sport / banana / carbs approach
In my LBS they have racks of gels, shot-block things, bars, you name it. Some of them a £2+ each which seems expensive to me - esepcially if you're riding a few times a week! Seems like an expense you could sensibly do without! Must admit I've not tried any yet, but even so I think I'll stick with my lucozade sport / banana / carbs approach
Enery bars are a bit of a pet hate of mine. I rarely if ever use them. By and large I think they are totally unnecessary. Quite apart from being difficult to digest, I find the taste and texture pretty awful too. For a ride of less than 50 miles (and a race up to 75 miles) I will eat nothing on the bike. A bit of carb drink covers me off provided you eat properly (i.e. plenty) in advance.
For longer distances (when there is no cafe stop invovled)I might take a handful of nuts/raisins, or a sandwich with a bit of cheese and ham or something. For something sweet bananas are God's own energy bar, and for me even a Mars Bar is preferable to an energy bar. It's a lot more tasty and I'll take the miniscule nutritional disadvantage when I'm buring 3000 calories anyway.
All this "I must have an energy gel/bar every half hour or I'll die" b
ks might work for a pro riding a Grand Tour with 0.7% body fat, but for the rest of us normal mortals is a load of old tosh.
For longer distances (when there is no cafe stop invovled)I might take a handful of nuts/raisins, or a sandwich with a bit of cheese and ham or something. For something sweet bananas are God's own energy bar, and for me even a Mars Bar is preferable to an energy bar. It's a lot more tasty and I'll take the miniscule nutritional disadvantage when I'm buring 3000 calories anyway.
All this "I must have an energy gel/bar every half hour or I'll die" b
ks might work for a pro riding a Grand Tour with 0.7% body fat, but for the rest of us normal mortals is a load of old tosh.I can't be bothered carrying real food, so on long rides I take a bottle of salted water and bottle of homemade energy gel.
Yesterday I made the gel as follows:
- Fill bottle with maltodextrin
- Add juice of 2 limes, half teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of Andrews
- Add water, shake, leave to dissolve.
This produced something that tasted quite close to a mojito. Might try adding some mint next time. Would be interesting to de-alcoholise some rum for the final touch.
Yesterday I made the gel as follows:
- Fill bottle with maltodextrin
- Add juice of 2 limes, half teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of Andrews
- Add water, shake, leave to dissolve.
This produced something that tasted quite close to a mojito. Might try adding some mint next time. Would be interesting to de-alcoholise some rum for the final touch.
Gels and the like should only be used for racing and full on training sessions - long rides on the bike you have plenty of time to use other foods.
Malt loaf, buttered, is delicious (although riding along trying to remove it from your teeth can be dangerous!!) as is a simple couple of rolls - Peanut butter and jam actually works well thanks to carb and protein levels... the American's got something right for once
nuts and raisins, and jelly beans - I've heard good things about jellybelly sportsbeans.
As expensive as they are I do have a soft spot for clif bars whenever I can get them.
Malt loaf, buttered, is delicious (although riding along trying to remove it from your teeth can be dangerous!!) as is a simple couple of rolls - Peanut butter and jam actually works well thanks to carb and protein levels... the American's got something right for once
nuts and raisins, and jelly beans - I've heard good things about jellybelly sportsbeans.
As expensive as they are I do have a soft spot for clif bars whenever I can get them.
dubbs said:
Gels and the like should only be used for racing and full on training sessions - long rides on the bike you have plenty of time to use other foods.
Sure, but you have to carry it.I quite like Allen Lim's rice cakes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UiuqIWGe_s&NR=...
These can be rolled up tight to produce what my cycling mates christened "the dong of nutrition".
This thread has made me very hungry (or perhaps it's because I haven't eaten since 6pm yesterday).
When I was younger I used to eat energy bars like chocolate bars. I just liked the taste.
I'll have to ask Mrs Pints to try these recipes out. I like the idea of the mojito flavoured one.
When I was younger I used to eat energy bars like chocolate bars. I just liked the taste.
I'll have to ask Mrs Pints to try these recipes out. I like the idea of the mojito flavoured one.
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