Eating on cycle tour

Lots of places will have wild fruit for the picking. A yummy Serbian apple.

We were mostly cooking for ourselves during our cycle trip - it was cheaper but also a lot easier for our picky diets. I am allergic to gluten and Jenny's vegie which can be hard to figure out how to avoid when eating out without an English menu (even with an English menu can be difficult when it comes to gluten). It was a bit of  a shame in that we didnt get to sample a lot of local dishes but it did mean we stayed healthy on the road and didn't get frustrated ordering things we couldnt eat. 

When we were planning the trip we had no idea what would be available in the countries we were passing through in terms of our diets. We were a bit nervous about finding nutritious food that we could eat. We also didnt  have any experience of cooking with our new mini gas cooker and saucepan. Short camping trips back home consisted of bake beans, bbq's and beer which didnt seem like an appealing staple for months on end. We did a few experiments with different meals and narrowed down some good staples to keep on the bikes. We could find most of these "staples" in every country we travelled through, although replacing spices (we carried lots of Indian ones) was sometimes difficult.
                                                                 Before our main trip we had a few smaller excursions in Scotland where we conducted experiments cooking different dishes.  A lot of our home cooking was quite easy to pull off on the little cooker but sometimes we would have to simplify a bit.

Capsicum season in Serbia. Stuffed peppers galore!

We thought it might be useful to give some details of the food we found handy to carry and a recipe we enjoyed  using a lot on the road. It's food to suit our taste but it may be good as a framework if you're planning a big trip on bicycles.
First here's a list of staples that we found you can get most places and are pretty versatile, filling and easy to prepare.
Rice = Easy to get everywhere and cheap.
Lentils = Find green or red varieties in most places. Cheap.  
Oats = Harder to get the further east we traveled in Europe. Great breakfast with any fruit going. We use water instead of milk, fine once you're used to it.
Oil = hard to get small quantities for carrying. We transferred to drink bottles as the oil lids would always spill.

Yogurt = Available everywhere and usually very cheap (especially in the east). Varies dramatically in thickness and fat. Quality from good to amazing. (France and Germany tight contenders for flavoured yogurt supremacy).

Veg = onion and garlic are always good for a meal base, then add whatever other veggies are available. We found carrots consistently good. Broccoli is wonderful to use but was often pretty sad looking during the summer heat. Seasonal fruit and veg is definitely worth using. Even if you are not of fan of a something back home, local varieties can be taste sensations. Giant sweet strawberries in Belguim that taste a bit like rockmelon, sweet rich Italian tomatoes, Croatian grapes like lollies, Serbian capsicum...

Bananas = Available everywhere and great for energy.

Nuts = Easy and cheap. We found peanuts the most versatile.

home grown taste tops!

Chocolate =  amazing variety. Good emergency energy.

GELATI!

cooking in our hotel room in paris. Classy.

So here it is, our favourite meal we made on our trip........

Lentil Curry 
serves two

Cooking oil

One diced onion

Half a bulb of garlic (diced)

Half a cup of lentils (red lentils will cook quickest) 

Ginger (diced)

One large carrot.

Yogurt

Optional = Broccoli, Zucchini, Spinach or Soy chunks

Spice = 

2 tsp of Cumin seeds or a bit less of powder.

1 tsp of Chili or more for kick.

2 tsp of Turmeric

1 tsp of cinnamon

2 tsp of Garam Masala

Salt to taste.

 Heat oil in pan and add the spice as it warms. Add and brown onions then garlic. Add the rest of the vegies and cook for five minutes or so. Stir in Lentils and mix in a cup of water. Keep adding water as it simmers when it's looking dry. Add salt and ginger. Should take about ten minutes but test the lentils and it should have a porridge consistency.

Its good served with yogurt on the side and peanuts on top. The one pictured below also has soy chunks which just need soaking in water while you're preparing the rest and added with the veggies. They soak up the flavour and have a chicken like texture.

Lentil curry. It tastes better then it looks!

Happy cooking!