For holistic health, snacks can’t be overlooked as part of our overall nutrition. Amy Crawford tells us how to make the most of our in-between eating.
Good diet and nutrition is vital to all kinds of sporting activity, whether it’s bike riding, running or swimming. But for the time-poor or simply lazy, we often catch ourselves gorging on a concoction of unhealthy (and often expensive) snacks to simply get us through a ride, with little thought for the long-term impact.
While packaged, processed and sugary snacks can deliver the energy your muscles need quickly, they can also play havoc with your stomach, particularly for people who suffer from digestive intolerances or coeliacs disease.
That’s why more and more people are turning to nutrient-rich whole foods as an alternative to fuel their bodies. Not only are whole foods easier to digest, they’re cheaper and offer long-lasting energy and benefits that last well beyond the ride.
But what are ‘wholefoods’? It’s a relatively simple concept – according to the Oxford dictionary, wholefoods are foods that have been processed or refined as little as possible before they’re eaten. They are the centre of a healthy diet as they don’t contain additives like salts, fats or preservatives. Wholefoods include fruit and vegetables; whole grains (millet, brown rice, oats, rye, whole wheat, buckwheat, quinoa and cornmeal); beans and legumes (including lentils, chickpeas and kidney beans); and nuts and seeds.
Founder of online wellness hub The Holistic Ingredient and recipe book author Amy Crawford spends her days inspiring others to achieve a happier and healthier version of themselves through a diet of wholefoods.
“It goes without saying that it is essential we nourish our bodies with wholefoods. I believe that what we put on the end of our fork each day is the most important choice we will make each day, for our health, for our body,” says Amy.
“Wholefoods are not a set of numbers or of calories, they are full of properties that are designed to heal your body.”
Amy believes health comes in many forms and that we cannot reach and maintain great health by focussing on diet alone – we need to take a holistic approach to wellness and bike riding is the perfect compliment.
“We need to focus on our nutrition but we also need to consider all the other aspects of our lives that impact our health. Some of the most significant aspects to me are exercise, rest, mindset, relationships and getting out in nature – and many of these can be achieved through getting out on your bike.”
Here are four of Amy’s favourite, easy-to-make recipes from her blog The Holistic Ingredient. These recipes are refined sugar free, preservative free and gluten free and serve as great on-the-go snacks for anyone who rides a bike.
Roasted turmeric and chilli cashews
A healthy, on-the-go snack for people who favour savoury flavours.
Makes 2 cups
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3/4 teaspoons chilli powder (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- A good pinch of cracked black pepper
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper.
In a mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil, turmeric, chilli, pepper and sea salt. Add the cashews and coat well with the spicy mix. Have a taste and feel free to add a little more of whatever you need.
Spread out evenly on your baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Pull them out and if not golden, give them a stir and pop back in for a further five minutes or until beautifully golden. Keep an eye on them – nuts burn very easily!
Allow to cool and serve. Once fully cold, they’ll keep well in the pantry in an airtight glass jar for weeks.
Rowdy roll-ups
Easy to tuck away in your jersey or backpack, these healthy roll-ups will be popular with the whole family.
Makes 8 long roll-ups
- 1 cup fruit puree (I used 1/2 cup each of fresh or frozen berries and apple puree)
- 1 cup coconut or natural yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
Place 1/2 cup yoghurt in a small food processor. Add 1/2 cup of berries and 1 tablespoon rice malt syrup. Combine until smooth. Add more sweetener if necessary.
Pour onto prepared silicon mat or on baking paper on oven tray and spread out evenly across the sheet.
Repeat with the remaining ingredients and the apple puree.
Dehydrate in the oven at 50°C or a dehydrator at 50–60°C for approximately eight hours (possibly longer if in oven) or until the fruit is dry, tacky and pliable.
Remove and place a sheet of baking paper over the fruit leather and using scissors, cut both the paper and leather into lengths.
Roll the fruit with baking paper into cylinders and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Banana and tahini smoothie
Great for a pre-ride energy boost or a post-ride refuel, this smoothie is high in protein and calcium and promises to keep you pedalling.
Makes 2 cups of smoothie
- 1.5 cups almond milk
- 1/2–1 frozen banana
- 1 raw egg or natural protein powder of choice
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 heaped tablespoon Greek organic yoghurt
- 1 heaped teaspoon maca
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground flaxseed
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Simply combine all ingredients in your blender and whiz it all up.
Cranberry and pistachio quinoa bars
An alternative to your regular energy bars, you’ll find yourself reaching for a cranberry and pistachio quinoa bar for your afternoon tea as well.
Makes 12 slices
- 1 cup pistachios, finely chopped
- 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1 cup medjool dates, pitted, soaked in 2 cups filtered water for 1 hour
- ¾ cup quinoa flakes
- ½ cup mixed seeds (we used sunflower and pumpkin), plus extra for sprinkling
- ¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder or essence
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 20cm x 25cm baking dish with baking paper.
Drain dates of excess water. Place into a small food processor with the coconut oil and combine to form a smooth paste.
Into a mixing bowl place the pistachios, cranberries, quinoa flakes, mixed seeds, coconut flakes and vanilla. Add the date paste and mix well.
Turn the mixture into the prepared baking tray. Press down evenly and firmly. Using a knife, scour lines into the slice to mark each piece. Sprinkle with a few extra seeds.
Bake for 40 minutes or until slightly crispy around the edges, yet still moist.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks – if they don’t get eaten first.
Photography by theholisticingredient.com
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