Nutrition Alternatives

August 9, 2011

Nutrition, aka “eating,” is important for our enjoyment of sports and outdoor activities. In the words of a wise man I know, “food makes you happy” and can mean the difference between a fun, action-packed, exciting trip and a total slog of a sufferfest. If you bring the food you like, you’ll have a better time; it’s proven science. Or something.

If today’s industry has anything to say about it, the foods you like will be very expensive bits of sugary goodness that, while very tasty, immolate themselves immediately upon consumption, so that in approximately ten minutes you need another hit of sugar gel, sugar nuggets, fancy expensive wafers (which are actually just cookies), or some other type of food usually only found in nature by hummingbirds or maybe honey bees. Now, I like those little snacks, like Gu gels or Honey Stinger cookies, just as much as anyone else does, but I don’t like spending $2 per every 100 calories that I stuff in my craw when I’m working so hard that I can’t remember the taste of anything I eat. Personally, I don’t like spending that much on food that is basically just fuel, and I really balk at it when I know there are other alternatives that don’t break my wallet.

I know there are those for whom Honey Stinger waffle boxes flow like water without requiring a second mortage, but for the rest of us, here are my suggestions for inexpensive and tasty treats to keep you fueled on your adventures:

1. Nutella Delivery System

This is something I invented myself. Now, I’m never one to tell you that a chocolatey, sugary, fatty confection like Nutella is healthy, no, not at all. I think we’d all do well to note that many of the so-called “nutritious” energy foods are just sugar and fat anyway. They aren’t “good for you” either. Still, while it’s not healthy, Nutella is calories, and a LOT of them. I had thought Nutella would be a no-brainer energy food, but that didn’t work at first. Eating Nutella straight didn’t help me much; it just gave me a tummy ache. Loathe to give up such a good source of pure caloric intake, though, I randomly spread a giant glop of Nutella on a flour tortilla and the NDS was born. For some reason this snack; Nutella on a folded tortilla, gives me hours worth of energy without the accompanying gut ache. Maybe some nutrition person can tell me why. In the meantime, I find this a great snack for skiing, cycling, mountaineering, and basically anything that calls for endless calories. If you are lucky enough to have a Costco in your community, you can get the Nutella fairly cheap, making this a great endurance fuel alternative.

2. Fig Newmans

I got a tip on Twitter that Fig Newtons were the original energy food. I was disappointed to find, though, that Fig Newtons contain all manner of nasty stuff. For instance, they contain not only regular old corn syrup, but also High Fructose Corn Syrup, a revolting substance that is a total dealbreaker for me for any food at all, especially food which is intended to give me energy. Just in case you are confused about this stuff, lab rats fed HFCS instead of table sugar gained significantly more fat than rats supplied with the same amount of calories via table sugar. If you care about your body, don’t purchase or eat anything with HFCS in it, seriously. I credit removal of this substance from my diet for allowing me to eat pretty much anything I want without getting fat – everything I eat is useable for my body. I put zero amount of this particular poison into my own earthly temple (everything else = fair game, lest you think I’m no fun at all).

So anyway, Fig Newtons were out. Not only are they made with poison, but they also seem to go stale in about five minutes. Lame! So, while looking for snacks the other day, my other half made mention of the organic, Paul Newman-endorsed version, Fig Newmans. We went to fetch them in the fancy expensive section of the grocery store, and I was hooked. They not only taste better, with less overly gooey sweetness, no nasty additives, and no tendency to go stale in thirty seconds. At 140 calories per two Fig Newmans, they are a perfect snack for mountain biking, hiking, or climbing. Not that they ever make it in my house long enough to be taken out on the trail or anything.

3. Pitted Dates

Admittedly these are new to my energy food lexicon. I was wandering around Costco, looking for a sugary, calorie-full snack that wasn’t also full of HFCS and other garbage. Sadly, my search wasn’t too productive until I realized I was standing right next to a display full of bags of pitted dates. Dates are great food. They are full of simple carbs and are high calorie. not so different than any expensive “energy snack” eh? The difference is that they are whole foods without additives and, you know, poison. I tested a few by eating them, and of course they taste good. I fueled a long ride today on pure dates, with great success. They are sweet and tasty enough to want to eat, but not cloying. They don’t coat your mouth with sticky residue like energy gels and chews and the taste doesn’t come back to haunt you after a few gut-wrenching hill climbs. It takes about 5 or 6 dates to put down about 200 calories, which to me is just right.

Dates aren’t cheap, but they’re way cheaper than individual packets of processed, flavored molded sugar goo. They aren’t vile for your body and what other whole food can you think of that is this great for endurance sports?

4. Super Cereal Snacks

I have no idea what to call these. I didn’t invent the recipe. It was in a kid’s cookbook I had when I was a wee lass. The recipes were simple, sweet, and easy to make, just the thing for a child under nine years old – and just the thing for a 37 year old woman who doesn’t cook. Somehow this recipe stuck with me; or rather, I think it’s a combination of two recipes that I merged to form one of my favorite high energy snacks. This is how you make it (roughly):

1 part honey
1 part peanut butter (errr, maybe like 2/3 part peanut butter, I dunno…just experiment)
1 part powdered milk
A whole bunch of Multi-Grain Cheerios. Or regular Cheerios if you don’t like the extra sweet flavor.

Mix it all together (not all that easy, I’ll warn you) and then smash it all in a pan, as tight as you can make it. Then chill it for at least an hour. Then cut up into delicious, tasty chunks and inhale. My recommendation is to do this right before a very, very long mountain bike trip, because these little calorie bombs are not to be messed with. If you need the energy, they do the trick, and they taste awesome, if you ask me. Perhaps I have the culinary tastes of a nine year old, but whatevs. You won’t be lacking for calories with these things.

5. Trader Joe’s bag o’ waffles

OK, listen, if you seriously can’t live without those Honey Stinger waffle cookies but you can only afford to buy one per week, then try this bag of the EXACT SAME THING from Trader Joe’s, in a big bag purchaseable for a few dollars. Those same few dollars would purchase maybe 1.5 Honey Stinger waffle cookies (yes, they are cookies. Not a health food. Cookies. I like cookies, I’m all for cookies, but let’s call a spade a spade, and while we’re doing that, let’s not go broke over cookies you can get for 1/8 the price at Trader Joe’s).

The thing about this item is that there is actually no Trader Joe’s in Alaska, so I can’t read the ingredients on the package and tell you what’s in it. Maybe one of my readers can? If there’s any nasty stuff in them, I’ll take them off the list. But I have it on good authority that my impression of them being identical in taste, nutrition, and appearance to Honey Stinger waffles is right on (extra points to readers who send me a bag of these instead of just the nutrition information).

So there you have it, my favorite ways to feed myself in the backcountry while still being able to afford the gas to drive to the trailhead. I hope you enjoy some of these snacks and, most importantly, have plenty of fun to justify eating them!