Booklet/Cooking + Recipes (Collection)

• Basic information about (vegan) nutrition

From 2009 Booklet:

How to make food for a large group

During the Biketour you will be responsible for preparing food for the group. Not many people have experience in dealing with food for such a large group so no-one is going to expect you to be an expert, but you will be expected to have a go. Whatever you make, not everyone will like it ­ it will be too spicy for someone, too salty for someone else, too garlicky for someone else etc, but the point of taking turns to make dinner is that you get to eat what you like for one day and people who like something different can cook the next day. When preparing food for the Biketour, there are some things to think about:

Quantity

There is no firm rule for quantities of food per person, so it's better to ask someone more experienced.

In the evenings it is better to have too much than too little, as the leftovers can be eaten for breakfast, but on at least one occasion this has become a little extreme.

If we have food left over from breakfast or lunch it can be difficult or impossible to carry, so don't buy too many foods which can't be carried or which might spill in the trailer.

Economics

There is a limited budget for food. There are a few guidelines to help stick with this:

• Don't buy tinned food if a dry version is available. Beans can be soaked in plastic bottles whilst they are being carried in the trailer, which saves on money and packaging.
• Avoid exotic and out-­of-­season fruit and vegetables.
• Less processed food is generally cheaper
• Try to buy more filling food rather than treats which people can buy themselves.

Waste

• Don't buy anything packaged if an unpackaged version is available
• Buy glass bottles (preferably returnable) rather than plastic and try to avoid tetra ­paks altogether as they can only be recycled to a small percentage.
• You can empty the contents of returnable bottles into your own water container and return the bottle straight away.
• Paper packaging is better than plastic because it biodegrades.
• Try to avoid getting plastic bags with your shopping.

Vegans

Anything that is bought by communal Biketour money should be vegan. Also other dietary requests should be taken into account as far as possible. Vegans don’t eat meat, fish, eggs, ham, milk, cream, cheese, or yogurt, and many of them eat no honey. In certain products it is necessary to look out for less obvious ingredients such as whey powder eg. in vegetable margarine.

Avoid spoiling

Often, there is packed lunch on the Biketour, so people pack food which has been prepared in the morning or the night before and eat it on the way. Particularly on hot days, food can easily spoil, so here are some tips to avoid that:

• Keep cooked and uncooked food separate. Cooked food is sterile and provides a delicious diet for the bacteria that live in the raw food. They will eat it really fast and it will ferment.

Nutrition

Some basic information about nutrition, what vitamins and minerals we need and in what vegan food they can be found.