1/3 cup dry black beans is 200-230 calories after cooking. 100grams of uncooked rice is 350 calories after cooking. Add 100-200 calories after adding cooking oil. Decent dinner. I think I may tweak the ratio to 1/2cup beans, 1/3 cup rice.
Either way, it's way less salt and preservatives than dehydrated backpacking meals, and the beans have 12 grams of fiber. I try to eat 30-38 grams of fiber per day.
I biked from my house to the West Boylston Rail trails to Maple Spring Pond. About a mile before the pond, found a cool little lunch spot with a running brook and a bench. Never noticed it before, and it feels like a little oasis I know about now. Biked 3.5 hours, 33 miles today. 1900 ft of climbing felt fine, and it was hot. Fingers crossed I'm totally ready for the bike trip I want to do from my parent's house to Moose River Plains and back.
Anyhoo, back to the cooking...
Pre-soaking the beans cuts down on the cooking time dramatically. < 10 minutes total cooking time, and more than half of that time is with the burner on simmer. For a week long bike trip, I think I can get away with my Primus stove's small fuel bottle. Less weight. Worst case I can buy some high octane gas somewhere if I run out. Or if I do bring the large 1 liter fuel bottle, I only need to fill it halfway, but I'd rather not use up that much space in my rack bag.
Today, I also brought my Keith multifunction cooker for cooking the rice. I figured while the pressure cooker cooled down, I could cook the rice. Worked great tbh, but i think for bikepacking, I'm not going to bother. More work, another pot to clean, and takes up space. And I just dumped the rice in the pressure cooker anyway to eat it. Not bringing a plate or a bowl.
Instead, I'm going to just add the rice and water (1:1.5 ratio respectively) to the pressure cooker pot when I cook the beans. I fully expect the rice to pretty much liquify or be super mushy at best, but it's not worth the hassle or fuel time (10-15 minutes in the Keith) to cook perfect rice when touring. Black beans need 6 minutes at pressure and a 10 minute cool down. White rice (basmati) only needs 3 minutes in the pressure pot, and a quick pressure release, which is a burn hazard.
The bigger issue is the Keith requires 100 grams of rice at minimum (like 2/3rds cup) which is more rice than I want to eat. I'd rather eat more beans and less rice.
For Breakfast, I'll cook Steel cut oats, which are even faster. I'll presoak the oats overnight to prevent foaming that spits out the vent. Foaming is dangerous because if the vent clogs, it can't vent, and you'll blow the safety valve on the lid.
I've practiced using the pressure cooker at home and oats foam like crazy unless you pre-soak them. The Hawkins instructions suggested adding oil to the oats to avoid pre-soaking, but it doesn't work in my experience. The key is to discard the starchy soaking water and add fresh water to the pressure cooker with the oats. Pre-soaked Steel Cut Oats only need 3 minutes at pressure and a 10 minute cool down before opening. After opening, I add some orgain protein powder to the oatmeal, and more water as needed until the consistency is right. During the cool down time, I may boil some water for tea and cleaning up. I'll just have to bring my 1liter titanium mug/pot, which is fine. The stove's fuel bottle can nest inside the mug when I store things.
In either case (oatmeal vs beans & rice), I'll eat straight from the pressure cooker pot using my long GSR spoon, https://gsioutdoors.com/products/essential-spoon
Weird how when bike touring, my eating/cooking mindset changes. First and foremost, is it enough calories. On today's ride, I burned an extra 1300 calories biking 3.5 hours. After a year of dieting, it's weird to worry about eating enough. But without enough calories, muscles cramp and it's hard to sleep. After calories, it's about how much storage space the food takes up. Will it fit? After that, how fast and easy is it to cook? And last but still an important concern, is it healthy? Enough protein, minerals, vitamins, carbs and fat? Is there enough fiber to keep the old poop chute happy? The joys of getting older, sigh....
So I think I'll plan on oatmeal for breakfast, buying lunch and snacks out on the road somewhere, and beans and rice for dinner after setting up camp.
My long term goal is to bike cross country, and I feel like finding steel cut oats, dry beans, and uncooked rice in grocery stores along the way will be far easier than finding dehydrated meals. And my tummy will be far happier if I'm not eating gas station food or fast food every meal.
Click or tap on the photos to make them bigger.
The benches along the trail are memorial benches for the people that have donated. Hopefully it wasn't sacrilegious to use one for cooking my lunch
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