Ok folks, it's time to eat...chomp,chomp,chomp...
Are you sick and tired of the same old energy bar? Have you tried everything and they all start to taste the same? Is your stomach constantly unhappy? Clif Bar, Pro Bar, Bonk Breakers, Stingers, Zingers, Flingers, Gels, GU's, Glop and Sludge... is it time for something new? After 15+ years of eating this stuff I'd had enough and have been wanting something different that tastes better, easy to digest, gives me energy, easy to make and is cheap. Ok, that's it for my "used car salesman," pitch.
Two weeks ago I picked up a cookbook called, Feed Zone Portables by Biju Thomas and Allen Lim. I've heard of these guys before and know they've been affiliated with cycling for quite some time, bouncing around from various teams coaching and cooking their way through the pro peloton. I thumbed through the book, it looked promising, so why not buy it and see what happens. That evening, Lauren and I were diving into it's pages (because that's what we do on a Saturday night, sorry ladies, this one's taken) and we began to realize that not only did this stuff look appealing but it's cheap and easy to do. After a trip to T.J. Maxx for cooking utensils and a $10 rice cooker we were on our way to Winco.
**WARNING** Do not do groceries at Winco on a Sunday afternoon. The two of us aren't really into crowds and this shopping excursion was like Black Friday. We managed our way through the masses, filled our reusable bags with a weeks worth of groceries and all the essentials to make our first batch of "portables."
Wanting to keep things easy for round #1 we chose the following 4 recipes:
Liege waffles- 228 cal
Basic Baked Eggs- 80 cal
Strawberry & Chocolate Coconut Rice Cakes- 249 cal
Peanut Butter & Jelly Rice Cakes- 301 cal
In total we made 60 handmade pre-packaged deliciousawesomeness (new word), and the price per unit ended up costing significantly less than a standard energy bar.
Bottom line is, this doesn't make me a cook or professional chef (good thing too because I'm a bike mechanic and don't need a career change). This stuff tastes awesome and you make it yourself (total time for prep and cooking was about 2 hrs so skip the movie tonight and have fun in the kitchen). I've been training with these little bites of heaven for the past two weeks and I feel stronger toward the end of my ride instead of fading like I used to. During a 2.5 hr ride with 5,000 ft climbing, I normally take gels to eat since there aren't many times to take your hands off the bars but the PB&J portable goes down just fine. Lauren and I both have been eating them as snacks throughout the day while at work. We feel a more consistent level of energy throughout the day and everything has more rainbows & unicorns.
This may not be the only contributing factor, nor am I saying this is the be all/end all way to eating on and off the bike but it's something new being introduced. Clearly the pros have been on this wagon for a while and it works for them. It works for us too - bars are expensive and after a while they all taste the same -this is real food and my body is happier when my brain can recognize ingredients.
Mr. Thomas and Mr. Lim, from my very deep insides, I thank you for sharing these recipes and look forward to making more. For everyone else, buy this book if you're in the same boat. BTW the Liege waffles are amazing when you smother them with Nutella and honey.
Here's some photos of the cooking process with Head Soigneur Lauren Goss.
Are you sick and tired of the same old energy bar? Have you tried everything and they all start to taste the same? Is your stomach constantly unhappy? Clif Bar, Pro Bar, Bonk Breakers, Stingers, Zingers, Flingers, Gels, GU's, Glop and Sludge... is it time for something new? After 15+ years of eating this stuff I'd had enough and have been wanting something different that tastes better, easy to digest, gives me energy, easy to make and is cheap. Ok, that's it for my "used car salesman," pitch.
Two weeks ago I picked up a cookbook called, Feed Zone Portables by Biju Thomas and Allen Lim. I've heard of these guys before and know they've been affiliated with cycling for quite some time, bouncing around from various teams coaching and cooking their way through the pro peloton. I thumbed through the book, it looked promising, so why not buy it and see what happens. That evening, Lauren and I were diving into it's pages (because that's what we do on a Saturday night, sorry ladies, this one's taken) and we began to realize that not only did this stuff look appealing but it's cheap and easy to do. After a trip to T.J. Maxx for cooking utensils and a $10 rice cooker we were on our way to Winco.
**WARNING** Do not do groceries at Winco on a Sunday afternoon. The two of us aren't really into crowds and this shopping excursion was like Black Friday. We managed our way through the masses, filled our reusable bags with a weeks worth of groceries and all the essentials to make our first batch of "portables."
Wanting to keep things easy for round #1 we chose the following 4 recipes:
Liege waffles- 228 cal
Basic Baked Eggs- 80 cal
Strawberry & Chocolate Coconut Rice Cakes- 249 cal
Peanut Butter & Jelly Rice Cakes- 301 cal
In total we made 60 handmade pre-packaged deliciousawesomeness (new word), and the price per unit ended up costing significantly less than a standard energy bar.
Bottom line is, this doesn't make me a cook or professional chef (good thing too because I'm a bike mechanic and don't need a career change). This stuff tastes awesome and you make it yourself (total time for prep and cooking was about 2 hrs so skip the movie tonight and have fun in the kitchen). I've been training with these little bites of heaven for the past two weeks and I feel stronger toward the end of my ride instead of fading like I used to. During a 2.5 hr ride with 5,000 ft climbing, I normally take gels to eat since there aren't many times to take your hands off the bars but the PB&J portable goes down just fine. Lauren and I both have been eating them as snacks throughout the day while at work. We feel a more consistent level of energy throughout the day and everything has more rainbows & unicorns.
This may not be the only contributing factor, nor am I saying this is the be all/end all way to eating on and off the bike but it's something new being introduced. Clearly the pros have been on this wagon for a while and it works for them. It works for us too - bars are expensive and after a while they all taste the same -this is real food and my body is happier when my brain can recognize ingredients.
Mr. Thomas and Mr. Lim, from my very deep insides, I thank you for sharing these recipes and look forward to making more. For everyone else, buy this book if you're in the same boat. BTW the Liege waffles are amazing when you smother them with Nutella and honey.
Here's some photos of the cooking process with Head Soigneur Lauren Goss.