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What to Eat on a Bicycle Tour

31/08/2015 //  by Monica Shaw//  Leave a Comment

Have Baguette Will Travel

I’ve recently completed a 1000mile bike tour through France and Spain and wanted to share a little bit about the food I ate along the way. I tried to eat well, choosing foods that would energise my journey rather than drag me down. This is pretty easy to do in France and Spain, where there are fresh local delights to experience along the way, especially at the various markets, green grocers and artisan shops in the towns and villages. I was spoilt for choice, really.

Local Produce

Every day I anticipated what I would find in each village I came too. If I was lucky, I’d hit a village on market day, where it was always difficult to restrain myself from buying EVERYTHING. Highlights included: fresh tomatoes, cantaloupe, stone fruit (especially greengages) and haricot vert (aka green beans).

French_Market_Tomatoes

French-Melons

Greengages

Bike-Friendly Fruit & Veg

Bike-friendly food is compact and difficult to bruise. Courgettes, carrots and onions were a daily purchase, interspersed with aubergine, broccoli (not compact but I love it) and green beans. When it comes to fruit, apricots and plums were less prone to being smushed than nectarines and peaches. Tomatoes, bananas and avocados are also fairly delicate but I always bought them anyway because they’re so good!

French_Courgettes

Almond Butter on All Things

When you’re riding a bicycle for 50+ miles a day in hilly conditions, you need lots of calories, and almond butter was my ultimate calorie delivery device. This was a late morning and often afternoon snack ritual, especially when I felt my energy dragging. Almond butter plus banana seemed to have a magical effect of totally recharging me.

Typical snack: cracker, almond butter, fruit

Almond butter and banana moment

Almond_Butter_Snack

And when the almond butter runs out…

Nuts! Especially if your cycling in the Dordogne along the Route de la noix, noix meaning walnuts!

Banana_Walnut_Snack

Sauteed Seasonal Veg

Sauteed veg was a regular dinner at the campsite, which I’d mix up with herbs and spices (old film canisters make excellent travel vessels for spices). Just add chickpeas and / or some kind of grain (pasta, quinoa, bulgar wheat) to make the meal complete. (For the record, I use an MSR Pocket Rocket for my cooking needs, and yes you CAN get fuel for it in France and Spain).

Camp_Food_Veg_Chickpeas

Campstove_Veg_Medley

Ratatouille

This is in the sautéed vegetable arena but it’s worth a mention on its own because it’s just so awesome and totally doable on a camp stove. Add chickpeas for more protein.

Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset

Bircher Muesli

I came to prefer this for breakfast because it saved on fuel and was also less hot and stodgy for the hot summer weather. I especially loved it with plums and flat peaches. See my recipe for Bircher Muesli for how it’s done.

Campsite_Bircher_Muesli

Quinoa and Bulgar Wheat

As I already mentioned, I liked to augment my sautéed veg with grains. Quinoa and bulgar wheat are my preferred choice because they are quick to cook and really good for you. You can even save a step by buying pre-cooked quinoa packets which I found at many of the larger super markets.

Quinoa - Star ingredient in my camp food kitchen

Tinned Tuna

My one exception to my almost total veganism throughout the trip. The tinned tuna available in France and Spain is in a whole class of its own, and the branding is irresistible (I’m a sucker I know). A favourite lunch was sliced tomato with avocado and tinned tuna. Perfect in its simplicity.

Titus_Tuna

Toasted Seeds

I was so glad I took a few minutes to toast up some mixed seeds to take with me (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and flax). They’re a quick way to add crunch, flavour and slow-burning calories to just about any meal. You could up the ante with dukkah if you want to get super fancy. My go-to recipe is Ottolenghi’s dukkah.

Sauteed Veg with Toasted Seeds

Raw Crisps

I made a batch of these raw vegetable crisps in my dehydrator before I left. Sweet potato and beetroot are my favourites. These didn’t last long.

Sweet potato Crisps.

Granola

I also made a batch of granola before I left. A tasty eat-from-the-bag snack and also a great garnish for porridge (yep, double oats – it’s gonna be a long ride!). Recipe via Bon Appetit.

Granola

Jars of Delicious Things

All along the way you will come across specialty produce in jars and cans, everything from beans to peppers to mushrooms to meat and fish. Obviously when you’re travelling with bicycle panniers there are certain space and weight limitations, but it’s worth picking up a jar or two of tasty looking things as you go and giving stuff a try! After all, this isn’t just about cranking through the miles – it’s about experiencing the terroir as you go!

Basque Specialties

Baguettes

Obvoiusly!

Have Baguette Will Travel

 

I should also add that on the bike I also carried with me the bare essentials for bringing everything together: olive oil, salt and pepper, a few garlic cloves, and old film canisters filled with spices (herbs de provence saw the most use). Plus the rest of my camp kitchen kit you can find in my Bike Tour Packing List.

Any other top food tips for bicycle tourists and minimalist campers? (Not that travelling with avocado and baguettes is actually minimal.) What would you add to your bike tour pantry?

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Category: GuidesTag: cycling, france

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I’ve been trialing biodegradable packaging solut I’ve been trialing biodegradable packaging solutions for our lightweight trail meals and really impressed with the quality, range, and look of these pouches from @jamopackagingsolutions. My packaging has always been recyclable but this will take it a step further. I’m also looking at doing bigger bulk bags to further minimise packaging. I welcome any and all ideas for making my products more environmentally sound! …. brief rant alert… There is definitely a booming interesting in the outdoors at the moment which is obviously awesome, though respect for the environment is another matter and when it comes to food, I don’t think enough people are making the link between our food choices and our enjoyment of the natural world. No doubt trail food needs to be convenient, but this often leads to lots of plastic packaging and processed ingredients. OK, rant over, I just wanted to let you know where I’m coming from! And I’m by no means perfect. Still learning all the time, and trying to do better. That’s what it’s all about. 🌍 ✌️
The lesser seen white-flowered snake's head fritil The lesser seen white-flowered snake's head fritillary spotted on my walk this morning, plus forget-me-nots, wild garlic, and of course the bog standard friitillaries. Oh, and people! This time of year sees a surge in visits of nature photographers and their massive lenses crouched on the ground, typically at the prime hours of sunrise and sunset (the only downside to this time of year on #ClattingerFarm - the people! I’m used to having the place mostly to myself! I should be happy of course that people are getting outside - and I am! - but as an introvert who cherishes solitude, it can be a bit much!). 

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