I’m trying to cut out bread as an experiment. So I’d normally take a banana and a sandwich as well as some energy bars or shot blocks.

I’m looking for ideas to replace the sandwich that is just as convenient. Ideally leaning towards the healthy spectrum, so pork pies and scotch eggs are out (as delicious as they are!).

oat cakes
more fruit

Breadless or low carb? Long or short acting?

jelly babies are great for short acting boost – almost pure glucose. As too tall says oatcakes are good for a longer acting carb boost

I have a banana more or less every hour without fail. No problems whatsoever on 3-4 hour rides.

A little pot of couscous/rice or something like that?

Crackers, fine cheeses, and hip flask full of port.

I normally have the sandwich when my rides span lunch time to counter hunger rather than simply providing energy. So I guess I’m looking for the slow release energy from something that is actually filling. Oat cakes sound like a good idea.

I make date and coconut cake for longer rides and everybody loves it. It’s got a bit of flour in but you could use oatmeal if you don’t fancy that. This recipe makes a lot. I usually just make 1/3 of that. I also add sultanas, cherries, ground almonds if I feel like living on the edge.

Date & Coconut

9oz Butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
15oz chopped dates
12oz demarara sugar
12 oz coconut
12oz self raising flour
3 eggs
Mix it all up then bake (covered) at 180C for 30 minutes

ground almonds instead of flour might work in the cake. Nom nom nom.

sounds lovely thanks.

Welcome to singlemiddleagedwomansworld.com you’ve joined us just in time for the baking hour and today we’re talking about…

I’m having a mid-loaf crisis.

Sam – uncover the cake after 20 mins to let the top brown without burning. It will still look all sloppy and uncooked, but will cool nicely moist.

If I put saffron in my bread, will that be a mid-loaf crocus?

I don’t think I ever eat bread on bike rides.

Soreen and bananas.

I don’t think I ever eat bread on bike rides.

Apart from when I do. The Dales Bike Centre does a lovely ham, beans and cheese panini and I’ll sometimes have one of those mid-ride.

Normally jelly sweets, eccles cakes, dried fruit, Trek bars or whatever do me. On long rides that span lunchtime I skip lunch.

Soreen loaf – swear by it

Soreen sounds good but as it’s made with flour it’s on the bread list at the moment as part of the experiment. It is delicious though, I’ll agree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwt-DUpKPYA%5D

Eat like a pro! There is also a rice recipe as well, defiantly going to give both a try with the eye to using in endurance races.

Onigiri are my go-to food for particularly long bike rides. Dead easy to make, you just need rice, mirin and nori.

Hard boiled eggs.

Bio degradable wrapper (shell) and make you fart like a good un.

I can understand white bread being bad, but is wholegrain / granary really that much worse than oatcakes?

Gluten is the problem, and that’s found in both white and brown flour. Actually you could argue white bread is healthier than brown, as more of the phytates and lectin are removed in processing the wheat.

(i’d say oats are marginally less bad than wheat, but i don’t eat oats either)

why the hell was there a video on how to boil a potato?

This is what I have most of the time, tasty and easy to eat.

9 Bars are tasty and gluten free