Touring - Touring food

Hey there dudes

I have pretty significant allergies to wheat/gluten and dairy products and I'm trying to figure out what kind of food would be good for touring (aside from really obvious stuff like rice and oatmeal :( ). Anybody else have similar problems? I was thinking quinoa would be a good basis for meals, but I'm not sure what kind of availability there is for that stuff in the midwest.

Do you have celiac disease too?

Are you going to be cooking? If so, use the things you normally eat. Aside from what you mention, I always take a lot of bananas. They're a little bit on the heavier side, but I also buy the super cheap, high-calorie, delicious, and protein packed cans of pure salmon from amazon.com and take about 5-7.

My dad has celiac disease so we have had to delve into the gluten free world a bit. If you're travelling the Midwest you might think potatoes and rice rather than more exotic grains like quinoa. I'm sure you can find such grains in larger cities or health food stores, but those places can be out of the way, hard to find or operating on weird hours.

If you are cooking for yourself then I would certainly take the foods you normally eat that can be easily carried. If you have the time and inclination you could always cook up some of the grains like quinoa at home and then dehydrate them so they are lighter to carry, but easy to prepare without long cooking times.

Final thought you might do some web searches for Celiac groups in the areas you are passing through. Contacting them might put you onto local places that carry gluten free foods or can cook up some gluten free offerings. Nothing like a little inside info before you hit town. Also check out crazyguyonabike site and search for a couple of journals I have seen written by tourists with celiac disease or gluten allergies. They may have some helpful tips.

Would you be able to eat Cellophane noodles, made from mung beans?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellophane_noodles

If not, maybe rice noodles would be a good alternative to pasta?

How about lentils!! We love them, when you get fast cooking kinds.

Hey there dudes
Hey now, don't exclude the ladies. They usually have good input on this forum! :)

Back to our regularly scheduled thread...

Would you be able to eat Cellophane noodles, made from mung beans?


ROFL... At first read, I thought you were trying to be funny.:D
I guess the joke's on me. I learn the most amazing stuff here on this board.
Thanks for sharing.

Ha! Dudes! Being a west coast native, 'dude' has become largely without gender, but my apologies nonetheless.

Potatoes, lentils, rice noodles (which are easy to screw up and turn into a big semi-transparent blob of goo), cellophane noodles (delicious), de/rehydrated quinoa, regular rice, bananas.. thanks for the advice!

I think I'll also whip up a big batch of protein powder-coated granola

As regards celiac disease..my mother has it, but I'm just allergic to gluten and if I'm lucky/avoid the stuff enough it won't turn into the full blown disease(hopefully). The most amazing thing happened here in Corvallis, OR a couple of months ago..a gluten free bakery opened up shop in town! They've got cookies, cinnamon rolls, bread etc etc.. all gluten free and actually legitimately delicious--so good in fact that half of their customers don't have any problems with wheat. Awesome!

You can get your energy burning fats from other sources. Avocados, olives, tahini, almonds (soaked overnight),coconut, etc. No need for starchy breads and pastas.

Hey there dudes

I have pretty significant allergies to wheat/gluten and dairy products and I'm trying to figure out what kind of food would be good for touring (aside from really obvious stuff like rice and oatmeal :( ). Anybody else have similar problems? I was thinking quinoa would be a good basis for meals, but I'm not sure what kind of availability there is for that stuff in the midwest.

Tour the bulk bins at a large natural foods store. Try some new things. There are a lot of them.

Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Plain, raw or roasted. Flavored or unflavored.

Trail mixes.

Dried fruit (dates, figs, mango, apricots, currants, monukka raisins..................)

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Oats are higher in protein than people tend to assume.

They can also be cooked just like couscous, and flavored with all kinds of seasonings. They can be as good as rice, wild rice (which is a type of wild oat) or quinoa. All kinds of seasonings are possible. Italian seasonings can be very good (esp. with some olive oil on top). The main trick is to use quick oats and a lot less water than usual -- less than one part water to one part oats (maybe three quarters of a cup of water for one cup of oats, for example) -- and to turn the heat way down (or even off) shortly after stirring the oats into the boiling (seasoned) water. Then let it sit for maybe ten minutes or so, to finish. If you wrap it in some kind of insulation, it can help in keeping it hot.

Then stir and fluff (like rice), and sprinkle some seasoning salt on top, or some parmesano-romano, and olive oil.

Really good this way.


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If you add a little turmeric (maybe half a teaspoon or so per serving) to the water, the color turns out very beautifully. (Turmeric has also been shown to have some other benefits.)

TVP is good in this, too.

It can be added to many other dishes as well. It's easy to use, and high in protein.

It tastes best when liberally seasoned (otherwise it can be too bland) -- it's good this way.

Hey there dudes

I was thinking quinoa would be a good basis for meals, but I'm not sure what kind of availability there is for that stuff in the midwest.
Uh, I'm in the midwest and I have no idea what that is.:o
Going to Google it now....along with Cellophane noodles, mung beans, couscous, & TVP...........:D

Uh, I'm in the midwest and I have no idea what that is.:o
Going to Google it now....along with Cellophane noodles, mung beans, couscous, & TVP...........:D

Midwest here too. Confused the daylights outta me. Googled all afternoon long with some interesting reading.
Maybe this preponderance to name foods after 3M products is a southern thing?

Eggs?

Hey there dudes

I have pretty significant allergies to wheat/gluten and dairy products and I'm trying to figure out what kind of food would be good for touring (aside from really obvious stuff like rice and oatmeal :( ). Anybody else have similar problems? I was thinking quinoa would be a good basis for meals, but I'm not sure what kind of availability there is for that stuff in the midwest.

One thing about quinoa: it has been marketed as high protein. I looked it up once, in reliable and neutral nutrition tables, and it wasn't really that great.

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Just touring natural food stores, supermarkets, ethnic markets, farmers' markets, etc. -- with an open mind and an intention to find out new possibilities -- is a good way to make some new finds and expand the variety in your diet.

When we tour, we eat well. Have a good stove that heats fast. We will stop at a grocery store before the nights camp. Buy something like say ravioli or chow mein. Salad with lots of fresh vegis. We lay out a decent spread. I'm always surprised to see the other bikers nibbling along on what looks like something akin to rations given to prisoners in a third world country.

Oh I forgot about corn pasta. You should do a search and see if corn pasta meets your dietary restrictions. I can't see why it wouldn't because it's made with corn flour, but better safe.

If it does meet your dietary needs, give it a go. Super carbs.