My husband often uses thousands of calories on a training ride or run, so he needs high carb snacks. For a couple of years now I have been making these – we call them ‘high carb bars’.
The bars are based on certain brand of wholefood bar which conveniently has a list of its ingredients in percentages on the back of the wrapper. These bars are gluten, wheat and dairy free. My variation aren’t necessarily dairy free, as I add chocolate, but they could be.
Just five ingredients
To make my bars I use a Vitamix. This is a high powered machine which is good at whizzing up stuff. You could also use a food processor. To make the bars without a machine you would just need to bash up the dried fruit, almonds and chocolate in a bowl, perhaps using the rounded end of a rolling pin.
Vitamix
Once all the ingredients are combined, I squish the mixture up together in my hands and then pop it onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and form it into a square sausage.
Square sausage
I weigh it at this stage and because I have already worked out the total number of calories in the recipe, I can work out how many calories per gram. I cut it into 9 or 10 pieces depending on how many calories I want in each piece. For this batch I have cut 52g pieces which are 208 calories and 26g of carbs per slice.
Slices of high carb bar
The beauty of these bars is that they can be taken in the back pocket of a cycling jersey and eaten on the go. To make this easier I wrap them in rice paper.
Using this recipe, the bars are approximately 4 calories and 0.5g carbs per g
(The original recipe used 110g Cashews, but I prefer almonds and I wanted to make it more chocolatey so I added the chocolate. I have used cranberries instead of the original raisins because they have a slightly higher carbohydrate content – the bar is also delicious using raisins).
Method
Mash the dates and cranberries, blitz the almonds and chocolate and add to the mix, along with the cocoa powder – mix with your hands until you have an even consistency. Alternatively add all ingredients to a food processor/Vitamix and whizz together until mixed. Form into any shape/size bars you fancy.
Take on a cycle ride and boost your energy reserves!
Unfortunately my pirformis pain has got worse again over the last couple of months, so now I am reducing my running in order to try to alleviate of the problem. This has happened on and off for the last two years and it is very annoying. I need to concentrate on my stretching and strengthening exercises.
I have visited a physiotherapist, a chiropractor and a sports massage therapist about this ‘pain in the bottom’ and have never really had a clear answer as to how I can get rid of it for good (maybe I won’t ever?). I know the stretches I have to do and how to treat the acute problem, but why do I have to suffer? I also know it is because I run – but I’m not giving that up. My doctor once told me that as I get older I will experience running induced aches and pains, however he said the benefits of running – keeping me active and in shape – greatly outweigh the alternative of inactivity, obesity and muscle loss. So I will keep on running – with or without piriformis pain. But for a while I am taking it easy.
Over the past week or so I have been swimming and using the bike in the gym, neither of these activities give me pain, but both take a lot more effort and dedication, mainly because I have to drive 5 miles before I can start. It also takes me longer to use up the calories to allow me to eat the things I want to eat!! There is nothing like running for burning calories and the beauty of running is that I just open my front door and run. When there are other factors involved, like making a car journey, more excuses can be found…
So I’m feeling a bit sad that running is off the agenda for the time being. As I am not working this week, I can use the time to catch up with other things in my life that sometimes get neglected. Maybe a well-earned rest is something that my body will appreciate!
Oh, you may like to know that my gym isn’t such a traumatic place to visit – it’s in a hotel which is a fabulous gothic mansion and it is always a treat to drive up the long driveway to be greeted by this magnificent building in such a beautiful setting.
Sorry for lack of posts recently. The main reason has been these guys…
…and with the four hour time difference from Rio, all the events in the velodrome have kept us glued to the screen from about 8pm to midnight.
Five days to go at the olympics and Team GB are doing so well, second in the medals table for a few days now. So much talent from such a small island. We are very proud of you all.
Back to normality soon – we need to catch our breath!
On Saturday we travelled up to the capital for Dave’s second RideLondon 100 experience. As in 2015, we had decided to stay in a London hotel the night before as he had an early start time (07.15) and had to be in the pen an hour before. We had a nice early check-in at our hotel then we had to get across the city to the Excel Centre for registration. Unfortunately there were closures on the Northern Line so we had to use buses for some of the journey. This was not my favourite part of the weekend as I tend to get a little nauseous when travelling this way. Soon we were on the much more pleasant Docklands Light Railway, along with some of the other 26,000 people registering for the ride on Sunday. The registration process lasted minutes, sign a form, show ID then pick up the race pack. There was the Expo to look around but it was busy and stuffy and Dave soon felt the need for a coffee. I had brought some of my homemade superseed flapjack, so we sat outside, next to the dockside and started on the carb loading (fair enough, I didn’t need to carb load but I felt that I should be sociable).
The Excel Centre is in London’s Docklands which has been hugely regenerated over the past 20 years or so. A couple of years ago Dave took part in the London Triathlon which started here with a swim in the Royal Victoria Dock.
Moody clouds today at the Royal Victoria Dock – see the cable car in the distance
So with registration taken care of we travelled back into London and came across the Women’s RideLondon Classique – which is apparently the richest women’s one-day race in professional cycling. We watched in the Strand as the peloton slowed to take the 180º turn. It was pretty impressive and the support for the event was great. Thankfully it was a dry day as I am sure there would have been some accidents if these roads had been wet.
Taking the 180º in the Strand
It was now time to fuel up some more in preparation for Sunday’s race, so I had a quick check on my phone for somewhere to eat – we needed somewhere that served pasta, and I found a lovely little restaurant on the edge of Covent Garden. Dave had the standard pre-race carbs (mushroom and chicken tagliatelle) and I helped the carb loading (again) with a chicken burger, chips and a cool glass of Italian beer…maybe not so healthy but I did walk over 23,000 steps to earn this!
The journey back to our hotel was a little easier than earlier in the day but we still had to use the bus. We made it more enjoyable by travelling with a three-pack of Magnum Ice creams (double chocolate of course). Dave ate 1.8 and I ate 1.2!
So with all pre-race preparation done (race numbers attached to bike, helmet and jersey, and sports drinks made up and refrigerated) we had a relatively early night (23.00!) and set the alarms for 04.15. After what seemed like only 5 hours sleep – oh yes, it was only 5 hours sleep, the alarms went off and Dave got into his cycling gear, while I made his pot porridge with sugar and banana. All fuelled-up and raring to go he drove off into the sunrise and I headed back to the joy of my hotel bed for a further 3.5 hours sleep.
With a cycle ride such as this there is really no-point in trying to be a spectator because you are only going to see the person you are supporting once and only for a fleeting time. This is why I felt fine about going back to bed. Dave would need my support later on in the day when I could help him re-fuel and drive him home. So I rose (again) at 08.30 and caught the bus from outside the hotel right into Marble Arch. From there it was just a short walk to The Mall where the race finished. On the way I did a little sight-seeing.
Marble ArchPiccadilly Circus
There was great support down at The Mall, just along the road from Buckingham Palace. I wonder if the Queen was looking out of her window at all the activity in front of her house! I got a good spot and started clapping and cheering finishers as they passed. I knew I would have quite a long wait as I was tracking Dave on a phone app. I heard that there had been a crash somewhere along the route that needed the air ambulance so I looked it up on the internet and thankfully he had gone past that part of the course an hour or two before. Thank goodness for portable internet devices!
After approximately 5 hours and 10 mins the great cyclist that is my husband passed by and I managed to get a couple of pics (kind of), as he raced down The Mall to the finish line. What a brilliant achievement for him and all involved.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
We had already pre-planned to meet up in Green Park afterwards – It took quite some time for him to get through the finishing funnel and make his way up to me, but eventually he arrived and had a well earned sit-down and piece of cake. Green park was awash with triumphant finishers proudly wearing their medals sharing their race tales with their families and supporters with some even popping champagne corks!
Hey, I’ve just cycled 100 miles. No big deal!
We weren’t staying in the city to see the men’s elite finish as we had a long drive back home and Dave just needed to eat and rest so he made his way to the car park (more cycling) and I caught the tube. Soon we were back on the motorway and a couple of hours later, back home. What a busy and successful weekend and extremely enjoyable for both rider and supporter. Dave tells me the ballot is open for RideLondon 2017 next week and I am sure he will be applying once again.That means another weekend away with lots of walking and lots of food – which is fine by me.
Bananafitz.blog 