Happy Feet

This has probably been discussed before but a search didn't bring it up for me.

In Feb. I did a food experiment where I ate only veggie burgers for 1 month. No snacks. 4 burgers a day. I am a long time vegetarian.

The burger consisted of the same patty (200cal), onion, spinach, cheese (100cal), thin bun (100cal) and mustard/ketchup. So.. 400 cal/burger or 1600cal/day. Probably 1800 if you include coffee and ketchup. I found it very interesting to track my weight (gradual loss of 8lb's) and cravings, hunger etc... basically none at all after I got the number of burgers right. I ate every 4 hours and found two burgers at dinner eliminated late night snacking urges. My friends thought I would be sick of veggie burgers but I still like them just the same. I found trying to tweak the ingredients for optimal balanced nutrition interesting too as a thought experiment. The question that prompted it was "If you could eat only one meal for the rest of your life (and survive) what would it be?"

Since then I have made it a point to eat the same breakfast every day and have worked at creating a "nutrition" mix of 1/2 cup oatmeal, 2 Tbsp ground flax seed, 2 heaping Tbsp dried cranberry (natural sweetener) and 2Tbsp whey powder. I make up a weeks worth in zip lock sandwich bags for a quick and easy breakfast.

I'm wanting to try to do the same for lunches now as I find I tend to just grab stuff that may, or may not be healthy. I'd prefer routine over variety if it meant I maxed out my nutritional requirements with a well rounded solution that preferably is homemade and not an expensive supplement like Soylent or Ensure. I'm experimenting with Quinoa, Sorghum, Kamut and grains like that too.

One person told me of a bar they make out of a ripe banana, some oats and chocolate chips. Just mash the banana, add oats till you have thick consistency and add some chips for flavour. Bake and there you go. Sounds good (I tried it and it taste good too) but I already eat oats for breakfast so am looking for something else.

Anyone have a recipe for a well balanced healthy one item meal that can be made ahead of time (like for a weeks pre made supply)?

Machka 

I have a fairly consistent diet from when I start eating mid-morning until dinner and again in the evenings. Dinners vary.

And what I eat usually fits within my calorie limit so that I either lose weight or maintain.

As for one meal for the rest of my life ... it would probably be brown rice, chicken, and veggies. And that is what I have for lunch about 4 days a week.


However, the ultimate cycling food is the salted almond. Lots of calories and all your electrolytes.

Nuts, almonds, dry roasted, with salt added Nutrition Facts & Calories

TomFR

I'd go with anything that has a good grain and you can throw in meat and veggies in large quantity. I like quinoa with chicken and veggies, add any spices and your golden.

rumrunn6

lately been experimenting with these frozen meatless products. their buffalo nuggets & chicken patties & cutlets aren't bad. I toast them up in the morning & bag them w a lettuce wedge for later in the day. so far, this winter they stay fresh in my car until lunchtime. come spring & summer I'll use a freezer pack. if I was bike commuting, I'd use the freezer pack as well

Recipes, Products and News from Quorn ? A Healthy Protein

Lazyass

Medium rare steak, baked potato and Texas toast.

noglider 

The thought of eating only one thing terrifies me. I don't even want to think about it.

But for what it's worth, I've been eating the same breakfast for many years: granola with plain yogurt. Milk and soft cheese give me stomach aches and sometimes diarrhea but I have no trouble with yogurt. I really like it, too. But I'm tired of it and am trying to think of what I could have instead. Occasionally, I'll make eggs, but preparation and cleanup take too long for breakfast.

Lately, I've been roasting cashews and snacking on them in the day. I eat a lot of them, enough that I can have a small lunch or skip lunch, which means I eat a big lot. I normally eat a big lunch. I eat about a pound of cashews a week!

12strings

I could go for a long time on trail mix...

Happy Feet

Hah hah.. I hope the steak and potato are the one meal forever choice and not the pre made weeks supply!

Machka, I wish almonds would do it for me but I find they don't curb my appetite very much. I can eat a lot and still feel hungry


I get that eating the same thing might be boring but I'm somewhat approaching this from a scientific POV and being my own guinea pig. Besides my own motivations, one practical application would be things like future Mars missions where one can't realistically (at least with today's technology) take fresh foods and the food one takes would need to pack a powerful punch (nutrient wise).

One of the big problems I see for myself and others is that we are usually rushed throughout our day and don't always have time to prepare proper balanced meals. Many times I grab something on the go because I am hungry and that's all that's available and later regret the poor nutrition vs calorie content. Or, being rushed, I skip meals only to binge on crap food before the next meal. My thoughts are that if I can create a consistent, easy and nutritious breakfast and lunch package I will still be free to seek variety at dinner when I have more time to cook, which I actually like to do.

It was quite by accident that I stumbled upon the veggie burger results and have been intrigued since. Another aspect was how easy it was to shop for a weeks supply of food and the relatively low cost/unit. For example, here is a pic of my breakfast components. I think each unit (meal) works out to between .50 and .75 per serving.



And here's my first attempt at a granola type bar.

I decided to try Quinoa because I already have Oats for breakfast and Quinoa provides all 9 essential protein amino acids. I roasted the quinoa in the oven and added sunflower seeds. To bind it I used bananas by first putting them in the freezer and then mashing them (freezing turns them mushy). Fold in all ingredients and bake.



The results were mixed but I feel I'm on the right track.
The bars bound and held together very well with a tough but somewhat chewy consistency (good) but the taste is very bland. I think for my next batch I will add peanut butter and dried fruit to the mix. I still need to calculate the calorie content but.. I ate one with some Hummus dip (comes in a small multi pack container so I can shop for those each week too) at noon and have ridden 50km since (it's 4:45 now) with some chocolate milk right after and I still don't feel hungry. Again, the cost/unit is relatively low.

OldTryGuy

Like Flax seed must be ground, better to soak or cook quinoa. Can You Eat Quinoa Raw or Uncooked | Healthy Eating | SF Gate

Using almond butter and Medjool dates for binding and sweetness works as does Manuka honey Manuka Honey: Medicinal Uses, Benefits, and Side Effects

Happy Feet

Ah.. the mysterious "some experts say" from the internet.

I read that link, and several others and there is no valid reason why Quinoa needs to be cooked but, I rinsed and roasted and baked mine regardless. What many sites talk about is sprouting to soften the seed for easier digestion and that is a valid point, as otherwise intact seeds may pass whole through the gut. The problem with sprouting though is that the seeds then need to be consumed within a day or two or they mold. Not applicable in my scenario. I'm looking for a stable pre prepared and packaged food source.

I ground some of my seed to try to address the issue of absorption but plan to switch to fully grinding them to make more of a quinoa flour next time. You can buy quinoa flour but it is a specialty food up here and too expensive. You can grind seeds in a coffee grinder.

I forgot about dates and may look them up next time I'm shopping. I would like to create several varieties to mix things up a bit but am also trying to stay away from expensive "health food" options and stick to cheap but nutritious ingredients as part of the experiment that would make the product a viable option economically.

For example, I could buy a Clif type bar and nutrient drink very easily and avoid all this but that would cost about $5/meal in our stores. breakfast and lunch = $10. That's ok if it's just me but I have a family of 5 so when I extrapolate it would cost 5x10x30 or $1500 to eat like that a month, and that does not include suppers (1/3 of the meal budget). Most health food options that are convenience based fall into this expensive category and are thus make nutrition less available to most working class people.

The option is then to either eat cheaper but less healthily, have one parent stay at home to create nutritious meals (what happened in the old days) which lowers the earning potential of the family; or what more often happens, people skip meals and/or eat out at fast food places. What I'm looking at is creating a healthy, low cost, convenient package that can be prepared ahead of time using inexpensive whole foods. It's partly for my own use and partly a thought experiment to see what could be practical on a more macro scale.

DrIsotope

My wife tried a diet where breakfast every morning was 2 eggs and 2 slices of bacon. She lasted a week.

I eat a bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch for breakfast 5-6 days a week. But the thought of eating one for lunch...

gregf83 

Recommend you buy one of Alan Lim's books: "Feed Zone Portables" and/or "The Feed Zone Cookbook" (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...words=alan+lim)
Plenty of good ideas in either book.

Happy Feet

Just looked at the link. That (feed zone portables) is along the idea that I'm exploring.
I'll see if I can source one locally. Thanks

picked up shredded coconut and pitted prunes for the next round.

Happy Feet

Back in the kitchen I whipped up batches 2 and 3 (burnt 2 dang it) and went for a 100km ride.
Saw this in the store though when I was buying the dates and sweetened shredded coconut and just shook my head I get pre washed Quinoa in 5kg bags for $20 at costco, compared to $20 for 623 grams of that stuff.



So back home I ground some roasted Quinoa seeds in my coffee grinder.



Here are the ingredients for batch 2. For batch 3 I ran out of Pumpkin seeds and substituted chopped peanuts instead.



After mashing the banana and pitted dates together I folded in the Quinoa flour and then the coconut and nuts getting a blob like this



Which baked out into something like this.



My goal is to eat two each lunch this week and see how I do until dinner appetite wise. I've also decided for batch 4 to split and add half my daily whey powder to these and my oatmeal in the morning. I think it might be better to space out the dose between two meals. Right now I have vanilla flavour but could buy chocolate as well and have two flavours each day instead of one for both meals.

These taste ok. I could go OTT and melt some chocolate and dip one side in it to get more flavour but want to try and get flavour from more nutritional sources if I can.
Thinking of cheap but healthy ingredients to add next time.

Happy Feet

Round 4:

After thinking a bit I decided to mix some things up a bit (see what I did there). I split both my daily serving of ground flax seed and whey powder between the morning oatmeal mix and the lunchtime nutrient bars to spread their delivery over a more extended period of time, and I added some oats and more peanut butter to the quinoa as the bars were a bit dense and "chalky" in batch three. I'll add more dried fruit to the final recipe but didn't have any on hand today. As it was, within an hour I have my weeks breakfast and lunches made and packaged.

When I get my bars right (next batch I think) I can then calculate the calories/bar/breakfast to see how many calories I consume before dinner. I've gone from 212 to 209 in the last two weeks so far but blew the months budget this weekend for Easter!

Rollfast

If it's in my tummy, it's ultimate. Maybe the failures make it on my shirt.

dozen_bullets

Bananas!

DXchulo

I eat almost the same breakfast every day. Oats, sugar, and either flax or peanut butter. I was sticking to oats, sugar, and PB for many years before that. I started that routine mainly because it was cheap, easy to make, and filling. I stuck with it mainly because of the filling aspect of it. I like knowing that I won't be hungry until lunch.


I eat a very similar lunch every day during the work week, and have been for about a year. Rice, hot sauce, and either beans or peas. I also eat some fruit, which is usually an apple and a banana. It's the same basic idea: cheap, easy, and fills me up. It may not be nutritionally complete, but variety at dinner time should fix that. I ride 1,000 miles a month, and I figure that I would have broken down by now if my nutrition was all ****ed up.


It's nice having things so simple. Grocery shopping is pretty easy. Breakfast is easy. Mix up the oat stuff and toss in some hot water. Lunch is easy. Throw some stuff in the rice cooker and wait for it to beep at me. I've always been a bulk eater. I get more pleasure from having a full stomach than I get from the taste of eating. I like having a meal that I know will fill me up.

Happy Feet

Well, I'm about 3 weeks into the current regime and just made bar batch #5.

The morning oatmeal mix is the following:

1/2C quick oats - 150cal
1Tbsp hemp hearts - 50cal
1Tbsp ground flax seed - 60cal
1Tbsp pumpkin seeds - 50cal
1Tbsp dried cranberries - 50cal
1/2 Scoop whey powder - 65cal

Total calories per serving - 425

The lunch nutrient bar is the following:

2C ground quinoa - 1360cal
1C pumpkin seeds - 640cal
1C dried cranberries - 520cal
3.5 Scoops whey powder - 450cal
7Tbsp hemp hearts - 400cal
7Tbsp ground flax seed - 350cal
2 bananas - 200cal
1C pitted dates - 960cal
1C natural peanut butter - 1440cal
1C shredded coconut - 350cal

Total - 6670cal / 7 bars = 950 cal / bar

Breakfast and lunch = 1375cal.

Basically I've aimed for carbs (oatmeal) in the morning and protein in the afternoon, splitting my daily limits of whey, flax and hemp between the two meals. Kinda high calories but at the same time almost all are derived from healthy whole foods (except whey powder which I think could be optional but add because I'm a vegetarian and want to up my protein intake).

The longest part of the prep process is washing and drying/grinding the quinoa. Washing in fine sieve, bake on a cookie sheet in the oven on low, grind in coffee grinder. Once that's done breakfast and lunch for the week can be prepared in 1 hour.

Some good reviews from others who have sampled the bars. Tasty but not too sweet like cliff bars can be.

KraneXL

First, condolences. And second, whole grain rice. The world's food. All the carbs you need to fuel any ride.

Daniel4

UN refugee survival bars are probably the ultimate food you can get. Low on taste high on key nutrients including lots of protein.

Hondo Gravel

I follow the See It Diet. I see it I eat it. I try hard to eat well but it is a weakness of mine. Training is the easy part the proper diet isn’t. Ultimate food is scramble eggs, turkey bacon with wheat toast or tortillas and 1 slice of cheese. Ham and cheese sandwiches on wheat bread work well for me.

Ball Bearing

My breakfast is always the same:

Dates
Berries
Oranges
Apples
Flax seeds
Banana
Kale
And occasionally:
Pineapple
Passion Fruit
Mango

Blended into a smoothie.

Works for me.

PM City

Oatmeal It's affordable, easy to make, filling, provides tons of useful carbs and you can mix all types of yummy stuff in there. Can't go wrong!

bruce19

Every morning I start the day with about 4 oz of 100% organic beet juice. Recommended by my ND to lower BP. It works. After a trip to the gym for weight work and stretching I often will have an egg, cheese and English muffin sandwich. I could not choose one thing to eat. Pizza but not salad? Bagel, cream cheese and lox but not Mexican food? Not happening.