I’ve searched around the internet to find foods that are not only palatable for eating while on a long ride, but also nutritionally functional for exercise.

I’m going to start out with Dr. Lim’s recipes first, since his items are on Youtube, and I believe he was the most under-appreciated member of Garmin-Slipstream last year.

Pocket Panini

Power Potatoes



Savory Rice Cakes

This one is personally my favorite. If stored in a sealed container, they can hold up in the refridgerator for up to 2-3 days; they taste great, give a salty and savory taste… and it really is like a true lunch. Just Make sure you get a sticky rice, or you will not be able to clump them together.

Christian Vande Velde’s Wife, Leah is making a contest winner’s recipe for these Home-made Energy Bars.

Going along with Dr. Allen Lim’s philosophy of using real-world food and keeping it simple, but specifying it for the needs of an endurance athlete, I went searching for more recipes. Here is what I came up with:

Spinach Ricotta Calzones

These little sandwiches are terribly easy to make the night before for dinner, and have a few left over for a morning ride. The only omittance is the marinara since, well… you’re on a bike.

Ingredients

1 (11.3 ounce) can refrigerated dinner rolls, at room temperature

Cornmeal for rolling2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

Separate rolls onto a cornmeal-sprinkled work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while preparing filling. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute until tender and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach, garlic and nutmeg; saute, breaking up large clumps with a wooden spoon, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Transfer to a medium bowl; stir in ricotta. Let cool; stir in remaining cheeses. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkling with cornmeal as necessary, roll out each roll into a 7-inch circle. Spoon a scant 1/2 cup of filling just below the center line, leaving a 1-inch border along the bottom half of the dough circle. Spoon filling just below the center line of the circle of dough, leaving a border along the bottom half of the circle. With wet fingertips, moisten the bottom border. Fold dough over filling and press edges together. Thoroughly seal by using fingertips to crimp and flute the edges or by pressing with the tines of a fork. Place on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (At this point, can be frozen up to 2 weeks.) Brush tops with oil. Bake until golden brown, about 16 minutes (longer if frozen).

Nutritional Info

Apple Sweet Potato Waffles

While I was not able to find nutritional information for these waffles online, the recipe came from an athletic recipe website, and has relatively few ingredients that would bother anyone’s stomach. The addition of sweet potato was brilliant.

Ingredients

Dry:

2 cups flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

¾ t salt

½ t cinnamon Wet:

2 eggs, beaten

1 T vegetable oil

2 cups low-fat buttermilk

water (as needed) Other

1 cup diced apple, diced

1 lb sweet potato, cubed (or 1 15oz can yams)

cooking spray Directions Cut the sweet potato into inch and a half pieces. Place in a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook until very soft, about twenty minutes. Remove skin and mash well. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well, then add the diced apple and mashed sweet potato, stirring well to combine. Slowly add water as needed to thin the batter. Heat a waffle iron and lightly spray with cooking spray before cooking each waffle.

Tijuana Tortas

Everyone already knows that Avocados are great for any kind of healthy, active human being that may put food into their mouths. I tweaked this recipe a bit by notching down the amount of Jalapeno included in the mix, just in case this a stomach concern while out on the road. That and along with beans and avocados, this recipe originally called for green cabbage instead of lettuce. While I think lettuce will still make this a bit messy, the cabbage would have been the final step in a time bomb for a gastronomic meltdown an hour or so after eating this. I like the idea of this recipe, but would be tempted to add meat to it in some way.

Ingredients

1 can(s) black beans, or pinto beans, rinsed (see Tips & Techniques)

2 tablespoon(s) prepared salsa

1 teaspoon(s) chopped pickled jalapeño

1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cumin

1 ripe avocado, pitted

2 tablespoon(s) minced onion

1 tablespoon(s) lime juice

1 16- to 20-inch-long baguette, preferably whole-grain

1 cup(s) shredded lettuce

Directions

Mash beans, salsa, jalapeño and cumin in a small bowl. Mash avocado, onion and lime juice in another small bowl. Cut baguette into 4 equal lengths. Split each piece in half horizontally. Pull out most of the soft bread from the center so you’re left with mostly crust. Divide the bean paste, avocado mixture and lettuce evenly among the sandwiches. Cut each in half and serve.

Nutritional Info

I hope these recipes bring some variety to your future long rides, and you will leave those clif bars and energy gels for the triathletes and other people who can’t eat and pedal at the same time. (Low blow, I know… :))

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