Eating Like a Hobbit
As I’ve indicated in an earlier post, I can’t ever eat enough. It’s not that I’m always hungry, but I usually can eat more. And more. On a cross-country bicycle trek, three square meals a day won’t cut it. So, I realize that I need to eat like a Hobbit. If you’re not a Tolkien geek like me, you should know that Hobbits eat six meals a day:
Breakfast
Elevenses
Luncheon
Tea
Dinner
Supper
(In his film, The Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson added a seventh meal – Second Breakfast. Though I am a Tolkien purist, and prefer to use the source material, I find that on this trek, I do actually eat two breakfasts.)
So, what do I eat on a typical riding day?
Breakfast: I start with a bowl of yogurt loaded with fruit or a bowl of Grape Nuts cereal and some fruit, moistened with cold water. (What about milk in the cereal? Milk?!? Milk is for calves. And, I must add, used judiciously to prepare cappuccino.)
Second breakfast: After the yogurt or cereal, I will prepare a cup of coffee and fry some eggs, mixed with chicken sausage.
Elevenses: Hobbits have tea or coffee with biscuits for this 11 a.m. meal. If I can find a diner-like establishment on the road I will stop for an omelet, hash browns, and toast. If no diner, I will look for gas station food such as a burrito or a grilled chicken sandwich. If I’m riding with long stretches between towns, I will make due with a Clif Bar or a mix of cashews, almonds, and raisins that I keep in my pannier.
Luncheon: I usually take a couple of sandwiches (nut butter and honey) or the previous night’s dinner (fish and rice; hamburgers).
Tea: Remember, in the UK, tea is a meal as much as it is a drink. In the afternoon, I will try to find some coffee and gas station food (a piece of pizza or burrito). If no such “luck,” I will have another Clif Bar. Or a package of salty toasted seaweed.
Dinner: If we cook, we prepare a protein (fish, chicken, or burgers) with rice, quinoa, maybe mixed with lentils and coconut milk, or potatoes and green beans, and a salad (always). If we eat out, well, there aren’t a lot of options in most small towns, but we are always game for Mexican food (where I will order beef or chicken enchilada or maybe carne asada) or pizza.
Supper: There are times when I will still be hungry an hour after dinner and will open the refrigerator and scrounge. Or eat another portion of what we prepared for dinner.
(By the way, per Meriam-Webster, dinner and supper both refer to the main meal of the day, eaten in the evening. Dinner is more a formal meal (sometimes in a restaurant) while supper is the main meal of the day, eaten informally at home.)
Though not one of Tolkien’s six Hobbit meals, there’s always dessert. Like the blue Jim Henson monster says, “Me like cookies.”