On Bicycles, and.... what else is there?

Another Interbike theme was food. After flying in from San Francisco, having munched on some raw food bars from my back pack, I planned to invest my lunch calories in food samples, which are plentiful. Powerbar was there with it's high protein bars and a new flask containing fruit mash. I stay clear of protein bars containing isolated soy protein, since I don't digest it well, but I tried the mush. It reminded me of my days eating Gerber's baby food. Actually, I don't remember those days, but it reminded me of baby food anyway. Indeed I've heard of ultra-endurance riders preferring baby food on their rides, so the new Powerbar product has precedent. But I'd rather just eat fruit. They also had gel blocks. Clif was there in force, with Clif Bars, Luna Bars, their granola bars, and their relatively new Lara Bar rip-off. The Lara Bar varient was good, a lot like Lara Bars. Clif Bars and Luna Bars, like Power Bars, are made with soy protein isolate (proba...

I've been making granola a lot lately. Here's my recipe. Make sure to carefully follow each step exactly as written. mix the following in a bowl some oata a syrup source, for example one or a combination of honey, molasses, maple syrup, agave nectar, balsamic vinegar a bit of oil, for example canola oil, olive oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, or almond oil some dried fruit, for example cranberries, dates, raisons, chopped mango optionally some chopped nuts, for example cashews or almonds, or a nut butter like almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, or tahini (sesame butter). I prefer raw nut butters to toasted. optionally, some egg or egg white to clump things, but not too much some extra flavor, like vanilla, spices, soy sauce, Liquid Amino, or hot sauce (it's good, really!) distribute on pan cook @ 320F = 160C until done, but not too dry (15 minutes, or maybe less if had the vision to pre-heat your oven ). If feeling inspired, mix it part way through. cool...

After Skyline to the Sea, amidst all of the Cosco food provided by PCTR which generally falls into the "hydrogenated fat + corn syrup" category which I prefer to not put into my body, especially when trying to repair the considerable damage from such a hard effort (a recipe is only as good as its ingredients, and my recipe for me is what I eat), I found something which for me saved the day: small protein-fortified balls by Clif called Shot Roks . Obviously they were sponsor products, not part of the Cosco run. They were mostly sitting untouched: honestly, they looked fairly threatening. Little hard balls. But after I tentatively tried one, I had another, and another, then two more, then... good stuff at the end of a very depleting day, and the protein was just what I craved after the long run. So what's in Shot Roks? Here's the listed ingredients: INGREDIENTS : Clif Protein Blend TM (Whey Protein Concentrate, Milk Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate), Organic...

Every Tue it comes: a new load of fruit and vegetables. And the clock starts ticking. 168 hours left before the next one arrives. It has to be eaten. All of it. 168 hours. Thus was inspired the Way of the Farm Box : Cooking must be done using primarily produce from the farm box. Only produce contributing a small fraction to the total macronutrients, such as spices, may be added. Last week's farm box must be fully eaten before this week's can begin. All edible parts must be consumed. No discarding broccoli stems. The clock is ticking. One week to go. Forever ticking. Week after week. Forever. I don't want to seem to negative. The farm box is a wonderful thing. But I sort of miss eating out more often.