Packing for Event rides ~ Peanut Allergy

[Nokomis]

Hiya!

We rode 3 event rides last year, and will do at least that this summer. My concern is what/how much do I need to pack with me? I got so tired of Oreos, Gummy Snacks, and Bananas...

I'm alergic to peanuts (buh-bye sammiches, cracker packs, trail mix...) and Lactose intollerant (no Vegetarian = cheese sammiches) and need some quality fuel for my longer rides.

Anyone else as challenged as me? Am I stuck bringing all my own goodies, or is it worth petitioning the organizers for a little more diverity on the chow line?

Oh yeah - the peanut thing also kills any pre-packaged energy bars that I've found.

[snapdragen]

Have you checked out Lara Bars? Many of the girls here seem to like them. A quick check shows they have nuts, but I see no mention of peanuts.

http://www.larabar.com/home.html

[Nokomis]

Nice - I'll have to hit the local REI to check those out. Hopefully it won't have the "processed in a plant that processes peanuts" tag on the label.

Oh - forgot to mention that I also am avoiding Soy, so anything not eliminated by peanut or dairy tends to fall into that category. Can't win! Ha!

[Eaglewalker]

Anyone else as challenged as me?

Oh sister, if your only food problems are what you list, I am far more challenged than you! I am lactose-intolerant and fructose-intolerant; allergic to sucrose, soy, milk protein, and most nuts; don't have the enzymes to digest glutinous starches or anything grassy; sensitive to acids...

So no fruits, nuts, breads, tofu, salads, pasta, candy, dairy -- and trying hard to stay vegetarian -- I'm pretty well limited to beans, eggs, and cooked vegetables (and fish when I get desperate).

Try baked beans. Bush's makes a vegetarian version. If you can eat bread, you can make a bean-spread sandwich. Beans are excellent fuel. I carry little single-size servings of them whenever I travel, because I have to assume there will be nothing in the airports that I can eat.

[Nokomis]

Oh sister, if your only food problems are what you list, I am far more challenged than you! I am lactose-intolerant and fructose-intolerant; allergic to sucrose, soy, milk protein, and most nuts; don't have the enzymes to digest glutinous starches or anything grassy; sensitive to acids...

Okay, I'll stop whining now! *hug* I'll be sure to tell DH that I need a women's fit pack this year so I can bring my snacks with me.

[Dianyla]

My manfriend has an extensive list of food allergies, so I (indirectly) feel your pain, it is difficult to find safe foods out there. His list is longer than Eaglewalker's!

I second the recommendation for Larabars, which you can find at Wild Oats and Trader Joes, among other places. None of their bars have peanuts, though some of them have tree nuts (walnut, pecan, etc). If you can't eat tree nuts but you can eat almonds (which are in the rose family) then check out the Cherry Pie flavored Larabar.

If you can eat eggs, a hardboiled egg is a good high protein snack. Also, look into nut butters like almond butter. In addition to beans, hummus (made from chickpeas and sesame) is a good rocket fuel. If you can eat hazelnuts, Nutella spread makes good sandwiches (especially in a croissant or in a graham cracker sandwich, mmmm!).

BTW, you mention lactose intolerance, a lot of cheese doesn't have lactose in it. The lactose has all been digested up by the bacteria/fungus used to create the cheese. If you stick to the more aged/dry cheeses (avoid fresh things like mozzarella, ricotta, etc.) you may be able to tolerate them better. If you can't do any cheese, then you may have more of a milk protein allergy. Or, you may be able to tolerate goat/sheep cheese better than cow cheese.

If you go to a natural foods store, they usually have bulk sections and you could mix up your own GORP (trailmix) omitting the peanuts and whatever else you cannot eat or do not like. Also, stores like these typically have pretty clear product labelling describing what they don't contain for people who have food allergies.

[CorsairMac]

Isn't it nice to know you're not alone! Welcome to the wonderful world of "I can't eat that"!! In addition to nut allergy I also have a dairy allergy and I'm gluten-intolerant so that means no wheat, rye, oats, or barley and I have to be careful with starches in general so easy on the legumes, potatoes, rice blah blah blah! Anyway, you can get sunflower seed butter and I found some rice flour tortillas (oh yeah, no yeast Period in my diet) and I'll make up fruit-sweetend jam and sunflower seed butter tortillas to carry, rice cakes with hummus or seed butter. Alecar (think Emergen-C) makes an electrolyte replacement drink that is everything free but the electrolytes your body needs, so I carry those with me on all my rides. I just carry all my own food - I can't always be sure whats in anything I buy or is provided and my allergies usually translate into asthma attacks (bad news on a bike 50 miles from home )