Training & Nutrition - snack ideas?

I am a pretty active guy. I ride between 120 - 150 miles a week on average. That includes two longer rides 35 - 50 miles(with the occasional metric on the weekends), a day of intervals, a day or two of sprints, at least one day of a recovery ride, and 1, sometimes 2, days off when I hit the gym to do weights for my upper body and sometimes work in a run here or there. I am 5'10" about 135 lbs(I was about 145 until this cycling season which I dropped down to 130 - 135 without trying). I feel like I am at my ideal weight and am more physically fit than ever before.

With all that said I NEED food! I eat a full three meals a day, but throughout the day I feel the need to snack. I want that snack to be a healthy one but I also want it to be beneficial to my lifestyle. When I ask for snack ideas, I am not speaking of pre or post workout snacks. My job requires me to do quite a bit of driving, I am needing some ideas of something I can carry in the truck with me and if I am feeling like I need some food I will have a quick snack handy.

Thanks for all the great advice I have received here over time. I truly appreciate all the free knowledge that is posted on here daily. Thanks!

Nothing? Come on folks.

I snack on fresh fruit, dried fruit, trail mix and nuts (preferably unsalted) at work. I find nuts and trail-mix particularly good at filling the hole.

Fresh fruit. I love bananas, apples and oranges, can't get enough of them. I also like ham/turkey sandwiches(sp?).

Eating on the road is a tough one. All you can get while on-the-go is pretty much junk food. I find that chicken salad in a cup/tupperware container works well when my family travels.

Get some of those foil packets of tuna. You could have one of those
an hour before hitting the gym, maybe with some fruit or something.

Thanks for the ideas. I made up some trail mix, but didn't think and use the regular mixed nuts from Planters. Too Much Salt!!! I have since gone with unsalted and it is much better. Just a handful or two when I start to feel the need and I'm good. MMMmmm Good! Also, bananas do the job if I'm looking for something more than a handful of trail mix.

Thanks!

Roasted soy nuts, really cheap and good source of protein. They're great to keep in your desk at work.

But I agree with ^, unsalted nuts are really good too :)

I eat a full three meals a day,
You should be consuming at least 5 "full" meals per day. This keeps your body anabolic, and helps you recover faster.

For one of your "snack" meals, you can have 1/3 cup of almonds or so.

We all know the perfect food is Little Debbie Swiss Cakes. How can anything be better for a buck a box?

^^^ In college I use to wear those Little Debbie Swiss Cakes out.

"5 full meals"?????
I think I would pop. I eat a full breakfast (usually cereal, a banana, and maybe some strawberries or a peach), for lunch my favorite is a sandwich of some sort (Subway if I'm on the run, or perhaps BBQ), usually a banana or some other fruit midway between lunch and dinner, and my wife and I usually cook a full meal for dinner (salad, meat and two veggies or something along those lines).

I haven't mentioned my riding diet. I usually eat a banana or possibly a Clif Bar before a ride. Usually a Gu (or my new favorite Carb Boom) during my ride for a boost, and I almost always have a PB & J after the ride.

Add all that up and that could be considered 4 meals. But 5???

I am really interested in the correct eating habits for someone at my activity level. I want my body to fully use all the resources I feed into it. I'm just not as educated on nutrition and diet as I should be. Honestly, I get a lot of my info from forums such as this one.

What about protein shakes as meals?

I make homemade granola. You just get a big can of oats, mix it with some dried fruit, nuts, brown sugar, and a little water, then spread it out on a cookie sheet and cook it for a little while, and bang! you've got your own stash of granola. If you guys want the actual recipe, I can ask my girlfriend for it, but it is really good, and it makes two freezer bags full of the stuff for like ten bucks.

I make homemade granola. You just get a big can of oats, mix it with some dried fruit, nuts, brown sugar, and a little water, then spread it out on a cookie sheet and cook it for a little while, and bang! you've got your own stash of granola. If you guys want the actual recipe, I can ask my girlfriend for it, but it is really good, and it makes two freezer bags full of the stuff for like ten bucks.

yeah.. pass that recipe along.. it sounds good !

jeff

I make homemade granola. You just get a big can of oats, mix it with some dried fruit, nuts, brown sugar, and a little water, then spread it out on a cookie sheet and cook it for a little while, and bang! you've got your own stash of granola. If you guys want the actual recipe, I can ask my girlfriend for it, but it is really good, and it makes two freezer bags full of the stuff for like ten bucks.
Definitely pass along the recipe!

^^^ In college I use to wear those Little Debbie Swiss Cakes out.

"5 full meals"?????
I think I would pop. I eat a full breakfast (usually cereal, a banana, and maybe some strawberries or a peach), for lunch my favorite is a sandwich of some sort (Subway if I'm on the run, or perhaps BBQ), usually a banana or some other fruit midway between lunch and dinner, and my wife and I usually cook a full meal for dinner (salad, meat and two veggies or something along those lines).

I haven't mentioned my riding diet. I usually eat a banana or possibly a Clif Bar before a ride. Usually a Gu (or my new favorite Carb Boom) during my ride for a boost, and I almost always have a PB & J after the ride.

Add all that up and that could be considered 4 meals. But 5???

I am really interested in the correct eating habits for someone at my activity level. I want my body to fully use all the resources I feed into it. I'm just not as educated on nutrition and diet as I should be. Honestly, I get a lot of my info from forums such as this one.
By eating more frequently, you boost your metabolism. I actually have 7-9 meals per day.

Here (http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=bloodfist&Year=2004&Month=5&Day=3) is a sample of what I eat in a day.

(Foods are somewhat jumbled up because lets say I have oatmeal twice, I don't put in twice I just double the quantity. You should get the idea though. Feel free to browse my other days - I don't use the site every day, just sometimes to get a benchmark.)

choclate is good for you. eat that.

Okay.. Crunchy Granola

This makes TEN cups!!
1 and 1/2 cup borwn sugar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon salt (you could add more for endurance rides)
8 cups rolled oats (make sure you DON'T get the instant kind!)
2 cups of mixed nuts
2 6oz. bags of dried tropical fruit mix (usually found in baking aisleor dreid fruit section)
*** you can also add raisins, coconut, etc... I think Cinnamon is an awesoem addition to this!

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave safe glass measuring cup or bowl. Place in microwave on high for 5 minutes and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave, add vanilla, almond extract, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, brown sugar, and whatever else you have, but DO NOT ADD YOUR DRIED FRUIT YET (unless you like it crunchy)! Add your brown sugar syrup mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed. SPread the granola onto cookie sheets and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour until golden and crunchy. WHen your granola comes out, you can let it cool for a minute, then add all of your dried fruit and mix it in with the granola. At this point, just put it in an airtight container and take out what you need in a ziploc bag for each ride. This stuff is the absolute best, and it lasts for weeks!!

Thanks for the recipe!!! I'll definately try that. Do you rip off a handful or how is the consistency?

Also, someone mentioned protein shakes. Anybody want to post their favorite recipe for a protein shake? I know there are some good ones out there. Let's hear 'em.

BTW, does anybody else get hungry when reading through this thread?

Thanks for the recipe!!! I'll definately try that. Do you rip off a handful or how is the consistency?

Also, someone mentioned protein shakes. Anybody want to post their favorite recipe for a protein shake? I know there are some good ones out there. Let's hear 'em.

BTW, does anybody else get hungry when reading through this thread?

The consistency starts out in chunks, but I usually find that, as it gets a few days old, it tends to crumble down. Still really good, though.

I think you must've got the idea by now. This "having" to eat junk food is a myth. A backpack full of bananas, carrots, fruit and tinned Tuna in spring water or brine is all you need. You'll know when you start to need carbs and I'd stay off them till that part of the ride, then bring out a tub of pasta salad or something. A few bucks spent now on tupperware will save you a fortune and help you get even healthier.
Cheers