Food for Thought - and the Croom 50 - Protein Bites

Croom is coming up on Saturday!  50 miles of fun easy singletrack in the Withlacoochee State Forest.  A similar ride to San Felasco in the fun, easy, single track department.  Different in the added challenge of tent camping and campfire cooking instead of staying at the cushy Cabot Lodge and eating out.
 
We learned a lot in the last ten days on our abbreviated version of a detox diet.  Mainly don't do one.  But that said, all of the recipes from the detox were delicious.  We just wanted more.  More recipes, more food, more protein...  But that was the point, I suppose.  (Personally my biggest lesson was that I actually can say no to myself.  At least for ten days.)

One of the recipes on the snack list of the detox diet (Whole Living Magazine, February) was for Dried Fruit and Nut Bites.  Pretty basic, pretty tasty, and super easy.  Although this much fiber and fat on long sustained efforts, like a 4-5 hour bike ride, could be trouble, we thought these were great snacks for when you're feeling empty on sedentary days.  

Left:: recipe as written 

Right: with a touch of chocolate

Whole Living's Dried Fruit and Nut Bites:

1-  In a food processor, pulse 2 c. dried fruit.  Transfer to a bowl. (I recommend sticky fruits, like dried cherries and pitted dates.  And if you are done detoxing, and have some organic dark-chocolate coverered raisens to throw in with the dates and cherries, all the better!)

2-  Pulse 2 c raw mixed nuts and seeds until finely chopped.

3-  Add nuts to fruit, with a dash of cinnamon and pinch of salt.

4-  Knead together and form 1 inch balls.  Roll each ball in sesame seeds.  Makes 20, serves 5.


These tasted pretty darn good when all you had to eat so far that day were a kale smoothie and a salad.  They provided sweetness, plus the hunger squelching fats from nuts during our week of restricted  dieting and (resulting) low effort. 

Delicious, yes, but the high percentage of nuts seems a little too tough on the digestive system to risk taking along on a lengthy physical effort.  For long rides, we have found that we need more easily digestible carbs, with a little protein and some stuff to help with electrolyte transport.

The look of this snack reminded me of the protein balls we make for long rides.  And since the Croom 50 is this weekend, it's time to switch out the detox recipe for our distance version.

* You might remember that Just Plain Mike wanted to name these snacks Popeye's Balls.  Suggestions for a better name are welcome.  Let's just keep it PG though, ok?

Biking Bites, Protein Balls, whatever...

Distance Bites

(especially if you don't eat enough)

In a food processor, pulse up:

2/3 c. pitted dates (no added sugar)


1/2 c. tart dried cherries (no added sugar)


1 tsp honey


1 tsp apple cider vinegar


1 tsp lemon juice


1/8 tsp salt


1/2 c. high quality protein powder (about 40 gr. protein)


1 c. Kashi Oat Cereal


1 T. all natural peanut butter (no hydrogenated fats!)

Pulse until the mix is coarsely chopped.

Grab up a bit, smash and roll it into a ball in your hands. It should form a firm ball and hold together.

We thought ours was just a little dry, and added water a tsp at a time. 2 tsp water, perfect!

Yield: 16, 1" balls


Serving size: 3


Protein: 9.75 gr.


Carbs: 38.4 gr.


Fat: 1.5 gr.


Calories: 189

original post, January 2010:
http://bikeeatsleeprepeat.blogspot.com/search/label/protein%20balls