Training & Nutrition - Snacking

Any ideas for original or even ordinary nutritous snacks?

Any fruit is good. My favorites are apples and bannanas. My wife also makes great home-made trail mix with raisins, peanuts, and M&M's.

They sell some "Miss Meringue" cookies in some of the stores around here....four of them is only 80/90 calories and you really feel as if you're cheating on your diet. (If you're on one.) :p Kills those sugar cravings.

Apart from that...yeah, fruit, baby carrots, cucumber slices, fat-free crackers with salsa, soy nuts, popcorn, pretzels, pickled sweet cherry peppers, Wasabi peas...

I enjoy a large amount of protein. I tend to have precooked meat and quick protein shakes or even protein bars.

If I am feeling like my glucose level is low I will have fruit.

Fig rolls are excellent.

Some of those popsicles made with fruit jiuse are good--Edy's Realfruit ones are great. (You could always make your own Gatorade pops for after rides, too.)

Fruit is good. Here in tropical Queensland, I can grow my own passionfruit, which goes really well with bananas.

Of course, here in Australia, we have our own excellent source of vitamin B which has a very beautiful and unique flavour:

Vegemite!

Originally posted by Chris L


Of course, here in Australia, we have our own excellent source of vitamin B which has a very beautiful and unique flavour:

Vegemite!

A mere copy of our finer Marmite! ;)

Snacking is one of reasons I have to ride so much. Why do we have vending machines filled with crap.. ?? I Like good fruit, but problem is, in U.S supermarkets, our apples are mushy without flavor and bananas are only good for one day before they are too mushy.
Nothing fills you up for keeps the way a bag of Fritos does.. Shame...All of the reflux problems we have in the U.S. something must be wrong with our food/ diet..

Could the Harvard University School of Medicine possibly know as much about human nutrition as the manufacturer of that high carbohydrate, low protein sugar-filled snack??

Is taking on a hi-carb load really good for your health? Does it really give you that burst of energy????

Adelle Davis is the author of several books on nutrition:
Let's eat right to keep fit
Let's have healthy kids
Let's cook it right
etc


page 22 Let's eat right to keep fit by Adelle Davis

a similar study was made at Harvard University by Dr Thorn and co-workers who determined blood sugar levels for six hours after meals high in carbohydrates.

A high-carbohydrate breakfast consisted of orange juice, bacon, toast, jelly, a packaged cereal and coffee, both with sugar and milk. The blood sugar rose rapidly but fell to an extremely low level, causing fatigue and inefficiency. A packaged cereal eaten only with whipping cream for the high-fat breakfast, after which the blood sugar inceased slightly, then remained at the fasting level throughout the morning.

The high protein meal consisted of skim milk, lean ground beef, and cottage cheese; the blood sugar rose to the high level of 120 milligrams and remained there throughout the entire following six hours.

To determine the effects of different types of food on energy production, metabolism tests were taken at fcrequent intervals. The metabolism, or energy production, increased only slightly after the meals high in fat or carbohydrate. After the high-protein meal, however , the metabolism rose more quickly than did the blood sugar and stayed high throughout the entire six hour study period.

p 23 sugar, cereals, hotcakes fruit, fruit juice quickly changes to sugar during digestion . in minutes blood sugar may increase from 80 to 155 milligrams ..stimulates pancreas to pour forth insulin; the insulin in turn causes the liver and muscles to withdraw sugar and store it as a form of sugar, or glycogen or change it into fat, thus preventing it being lost in urine. The tremendous amounts of sugar defeat the purpsoe for which sugar is needed -- to produce enegy efficiently. Too much sugar is withdrawn due to the oversupply of insulin; the result, ironically, is fatigue

p 24 in studies mentioned, efficiency for three hours was produced by only 22 grams or more of protein. Meals furnishing 55 grams protein sustained a high level of energy and a high metabolism for six hours afterward.


p35 "Let's eat right to keep fit" Adelle Davis

When you eat more protein than your body can use immediately, your liver withdraws amino acids from your blood and changes them temporarily into protein storage. As your cells use amino acids the supply is replenished from the breakdown of stored protein. As long as your diet is adeduate, the amount of amino acids in your blood is thereby kept relatively constant.

If you ignore your health to the extent of eating insufficient protein, the stored protein is quickly exhausted. From that time on, the less important body tissues are destroyed to free amino acids needed to rebuild more vital structures. Such a process can go on month after month, year after year. Your body continues to function after a fashion. Useen abnormalities set in because blood proteins, hormones, enzymes, and antibodies can no longer be formed in amounts needed. Muscles lose tone, wrinkles appear, aging creeps on , and you, my dear, are going to pot.

It is possible, though not probable, that you may eat more protein than your body needs. After the storage depots are filled, the leftover protein is changed by the liver into glucose and fat, the nitrogen being excreted in urine; the sugar and fat may be used immediately to produce energy or may be stored as fat. Proteins are also used to produce energy whenever too few other foods are eaten to produce calorie requirments.

My boyfriend makes this kind of trail mix stuff with toasted soybeans (there are all kinds of flavors), sunflower seeds, and this wierd fiber cerial. Looks like little twigs. You can put whatever in there, I'm sure. Raisins, etc. The fiber cereal makes it surprisingly good! I thought it would be gross.

Some sort of fruit is my first choice. I gotta count the carbs though. I am diabetic.

After fruit I guess I look at snack/meal replacement bars. Choice, Glucerna and Balance are all tasty and make me think I am eating a candy bar.

Then in third place for me is a cup of some sort of whole grain cereal or a slice of whole grain bread.

One of the nicest rewards for cycling is that I must snack to maintain blood sugar levels.

Carl

Originally posted by Richard D


A mere copy of our finer Marmite! ;)

Help a yank out. Wot's Vegemite and Marmite? I'm guessing the fruit equivalent of mystery meat?

Originally posted by roadbuzz


Help a yank out. Wot's Vegemite and Marmite? I'm guessing the fruit equivalent of mystery meat?

Both are yeast extracts, which the aussies--for the most part--and others use as a spread.

Both are assumingly (I know I'm opening myself up with that) available at Foods of All Nations. (I'm in Richmond and my wife is a Wahoo.) I prefer Marmite to Vegemite as, to me, it is not as sweet. I'll take peanut butter or nutella over either on any day.

Ride on!

Originally posted by roadbuzz


Help a yank out. Wot's Vegemite and Marmite? I'm guessing the fruit equivalent of mystery meat?

Marmite is made in Burton-on-Trent as a by product of the brewing industry (the town smells strongly of both Marmite and hops). It's basically the waste yeast concentrated down with salt and spices, and is very high in B vitamins.

http://www.worldhealthcare.net/marmite/marmite.html

Vegemite and Marmite

It's Wonkavite! Wonkavite!
That heavenly, magic dynamite!
It can't be wrong, it must be right,
It's Willy Wonka's WONKAVITE!

Oops, pardon me....Roald Dahl flashback. :D

Originally posted by dano
Both are assumingly (I know I'm opening myself up with that) available at Foods of All Nations. (I'm in Richmond and my wife is a Wahoo.)

Thanks for the tip, dano. And if it's really bad, my dog sends her thanks, too.

I was at the grocery store checking out the trail mixes etc. and saw a bin of vegitablechips which consisted of dried sweet potatoes,squash,carrots and maybe a few others.I sampled a sweet potato chip and it was excellent however given the astronomical price they were asking for this item I picked up three sweet potatos to dry in the oven hanging from toothpicks as I do with jerky.This should be a good way to get complex carbs and other vegies while riding.Before this my snacks of choice on the bike are currently pistachio nuts(in the shell to make it challenging and avoid overeating),cherries ,oat based bars and diluted gatorade powder(I actually use a copy that has more minerals and electrolites).

Originally posted by roadbuzz


Thanks for the tip, dano. And if it's really bad, my dog sends her thanks, too.

My cat wouldn't even get near the stuff, my old roomie was an Aussie. I like fruit for quick enewrgy. I find the most important thing is to have a good base before you start, like pancakes. Then it is fruit and carbs. A cheap source of caebs is in the cookie aisle of your grocery store, fruit filled oatmeal cookies are great. When I did the STP(Seattle to Portland) one of our food stods had Obars made by Odwella and they are very good I refused to eat energy bars until I ran into these

Nature Valley Trail Mix bars are pretty good, too. Anyone else tried them?

Originally posted by Inkwolf
Nature Valley Trail Mix bars are pretty good, too. Anyone else tried them?

I have never tried the Trail Mix variety, but eat the regular NV granola bars just about daily. If it's not that, it's typically peanut butter crackers.

Japanese Rice Crackers - I love seaweed

Nature Valley Trail Mix bars are great! They also have less calories than your ordinary bars, if your watching that sort of thing! :)

just going back to vlad's post re nutrition, fruit etc and the not so healthy 'sugar rush' it causes - what do you recommend we should eat when riding, as well as just normally from day to day??

cheese sandwiches? meat stuff? wouldnt that be high in fat?

I've never noticed anything unhealty about fruit, and I practically live on the stuff.

In an interview with Robby McCewan after a stage win of the tour-de-France, he reckoned all the Aussie guys were packing jars of vegemite on the tour.

It must be pretty good as most of those guys are super fit cyclists.

Is it available in the U.K.? only seen Marmite in our shops,

[cheese sandwiches? meat stuff? wouldnt that be high in fat? [/B][/QUOTE]

Remember Fat can be could in moderation it gives you a longer energy base carbs and fruit are quick burning fat is slow burning just don't eat a whole lot refer to your food pyramid

Thanks for the tip, dano. And if it's really bad, my dog sends her thanks, too.

My dog would likely thank me as well for the treat! Cheers!

I've never noticed anything unhealty about fruit, and I practically live on the stuff.


Actually Chris, it is not the best choice for those of us with diabetes. The high "sugar" content causes rapid elevation in blood glucose levels. A better choice for us diabetics would be raw vegetables. I am being very general here. The dance a diabetic plays with his blood sugar levels is far more complex than fruit vs. veggies. (or other snack foods)

Veggies veggies veggies! All raw and in the buff! Brocolli, cauliflower, celery, carrots, sliced onions, peppers! (I like to add a tablespoon of peanut butter to them sometimes to help fill me up and get me some fat.)