Meal Planning

Looking ahead to my bicycle ride means considering the basic question which is, how will I nourish myself along the way? There are different approaches and ways cyclists can fuel themselves. One might rely on restaurants, fast food and meals/snacks that don't require a camp stove. There's dehydrated and freeze dried meals that you can buy at outdoor rec stores. That's an expensive option but might be a good option for varied flavors that are lightweight and nonperishable.
I decided this time to meal prep ahead of time so that I'm relying less on stopping in to a grocery store or dollar store (Dollar General was a common fixture in towns throughout Virginia and Kentucky) and hopefully limiting how often I'm dining in or buying take-out. Some days I might have lots of options to choose a restaurant meal but I will have stretches sometimes where there's not anywhere to dine-in or take-out. It's also expensive to rely on meals out, even at fast food places. Deciding to have camp-ready meals while also budgeting for a couple meals out a week feels like a good way to go.
I went to Aldi and found some meals that required only boiling water and some cook time. I'm planning to prepare these meals by using my camp stove to boil water, which I'll add to a container and the meal, letting it soak for 15-20 minutes. This will mean I'm only using stove fuel to boil water (this takes 2-4minutes, depending on the amount), much less than boiling/simmering it on my camp stove for 10-15 minutes.
I also borrowed a dehydrator from a local nonprofit to try my hand at dehydrating pasta and beans. Dehydrating cooked food makes for lighter weights to mail and carry. I ordered some dehydrated vegetables and black beans, as it was cost effective considering I am divvying up the ingredients into smaller snack and sandwich bags. 
So far I've prepped:

• broccoli cheese soup mix with instant rice
• couscous with dehydrated beans, dehydrated mushrooms + sliced almonds
• instant mashed potatoes, dehydrated beans, dehydrated vegetables + gravy mix
• instant rice, dehydrated beans + dehydrated vegetables 
• three-bean chili mix* with dehydrated elbow macaroni 
• quinoa to be served with tuna, sliced almonds + evoo (bonus points if I find feta along the way to add!)
• chicken noodle soup*
• oatmeal (quick cook, steel cut, chia seeds, cinnamon + dehydrated fruit)

*Aldi soup mix

I also have some pouches of food that I can reheat in hot water with instant rice to serve alongside it. And the walking tamales? Found these at Aldi and thought it'd be a nice treat. I also will have peanut or almond butter packed, which is a hiker/biker's quick way to take in calories when they're on the move. 
In addition to camp meals, I'll be adding some perishables such as tortillas, bagels, apples + other fresh fruit and salad kits or other veggies that I might pick up to enjoy that day. I'm picturing a tortilla filled with a salad kit and tuna that I can eat during a lunch break or a bagel slathered with peanut butter to eat one-handed while cycling. Having easier to eat lunch options will hopefully keep me from lingering mid-day, unless of course I want to linger!
How will I get these portioned off meals? I'm mailing them to myself along the way by way of General Delivery at the post offices. I'm planning to add some sweet treats, powdered drinks and other helpful items along the way. I won't need cold-weather clothes in Missouri and Kansas but I sure might need an extra layer for overnights in Colorado, Wyoming + Montana. 
With all that said, I'm looking forward to stopping to enjoy local cuisine, brake for ice cream and enjoy the perfect meal, otherwise known as pizza. I remember stopping and eating half a pizza easy after I crossed into Kentucky and secured the box on the back of my bike for that afternoon's snack options. It was awesome. 
I will also add, I was curious about the nutritional content in what I'm prepping. I need a healthy balance of fiber, protein and carbohydrates. I don't usually worry too much about these things but recognize that to feel good on my bike, I need to fuel my body throughout the day's ride and after the day's ride. I don't eat gels and don't tend to buy bars directed at athletes. So, I'm happy that what I've planned for my ride seems to be nutritionally balanced. 

Here's a glimpse of the pre-portioned meals. Some are single serving and some have 2 or more servings.