Snacking is one of my favorite pastimes, so I was super excited to write this post (and equally surprised it took me this long to get to it). Outdoors activities open up a glorious new world of snacking. What other reason could possibly justify the purchase of Sports Beans? Yes,
those are a thing. And yes, they’re just as awesome as they sound.
As a self-proclaimed snack connoisseur, getting outside has not only
provided me the opportunity to see and do amazing things, but also to eat
amazing things. Here are my favorite snacks to get me through a few hours of
hiking (let’s be real, a hike of any length justifies bringing along any of these items). Some are outdoors specific, some are "real world" food, all are delicious.
Sports Beans
Yep, sporty jelly beans. I have to admire Jelly Belly’s efforts to expand their
product line with sports beans. If you don’t like jelly beans, I don’t like you you're missing out and should try these anyways. Honestly, the main reason I like them is because of how
hilarious the concept of a sport bean is. And the packaging was hot pink. And it's an excuse to basically eat candy.
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| Apparently I've been buying the EXTREME version. Sports Beans gettin' crazy! |
Sports Beans are more of a pre-activity fuel, since they’re
basically all sugar and caffeine. There are people that are out for long enough that they need them during long hikes/bike
rides/runs to keep going, but I simply turn for home when I’m that exhausted. The beans do
genuinely give you an energy boost, which has been nice on mornings when I’m
dragging a little bit (like the time we slept on the ground after our air mattress pump broke...). The pomegranate flavor is the only one I’ve tried
because I didn’t feel the need to attempt to improve on perfection. However, do not eat them immediately after brushing your teeth. They are much less delicious then.
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| Get in my belly! Sports Beans are larger than your average jelly bean. |
Beef Jerky
Somehow, I managed to live my entire life without ever eating beef jerky, 100% sure of the
fact that it was completely disgusting. I have been a
picky eater my entire life, but as I’ve gotten older I have had more trouble
refusing to try new things in social situations. So if someone I don’t know very
well shoves a food item in my face, I will politely choke it down. Usually, this actually has a positive result - me finding out I love something that my boyfriend has been trying to
get me to try for years, much to his annoyance (falafel, tofu, and in this case beef jerky).
After discovering how delicious beef jerky actually is, I’ve
become completely enamored with it as a hiking snack. It doesn’t take up much
room in your backpack, it’s very filling thanks to high protein levels, and
I’m fairly certain it is impossible for jerky to ever go bad. Edit: I recently found a bag of what was formerly beef jerky in the bottom of my horseback riding trainer's trunk at the barn. It CAN go bad, and when it does, it's VERY bad.
My favorite kind is Jack Links peppered jerky, but my
boyfriend also enjoys honey BBQ (this tasted too mustard-ey for me) and
teriyaki. Amazon even offers a SUBSCRIPTION for beef jerky. That's a real thing. A beef jerky subscription. Thank you Jeff Bezos.
Trail Mix
Last summer, I fell in love with the sweet and salty
Rite-Aid brand trail mix. You can buy it in massive bags, usually for fairly cheap
and very often on a buy one get one free sale. Denver’s only flaw is that there
are no Rite-Aids near my house, so my hunt began in the fall for my replacement mix.
Sidenote: my mother legitimately offered to buy bags of Rite-Aid trail mix and
ship it to me from Maryland. That’s commitment. Or the love only possessed by the
mother of an only child.
Anyways, once Trader Joe’s opened in Denver, I was
introduced to their massive trail mix selection. It is impossible to not find a
blend that you like. I personally enjoy creating my own by combining the "Simply Almonds, Cashews, and Chocolate" mix (guess what's in it?) with a more traditional
raisin-ey mix like the "Go Raw" mix, which has almonds, walnuts, cashews, and raisins. The chocolate mix on its own is chocolate overload (yes, it does
exist. I was surprised too!), so doing a little mix and match produced the
perfect blend for me.
ProBars
I’m fully convinced that ProBars descended straight
from heaven. One bar will fill you up like an entire meal normally would, and
all of their flavors are amazing. They’re made with only high-quality ingredients,
and while the $3-ish price tag per bar may give you sticker shock, keep in mind
that the bars legitimately serve as an entire meal. If you buy them in person at REI, you get 10% off when you buy 10 at once, but I'm not totally sure how long the bars are good for.
My favorite flavors are Superfruit Slam and Chocolate Mint, but
all of them are good. Plus, I only break out
the ProBars for weekend adventures, so that also helps make them even more
endearing. Delicious, keeps you full, symbolize outdoorsy time – what’s not to
love?
Clementines
As a friend of mine recently said, clementines are oranges
without all the bullshit. Easy to peel and eat, clementines are another of my
favorite hiking snacks. Clementines are another great source of fuel that are easy to pack,
relatively mess-free, and are obviously good for you too.
If you’re still not feeling any of the snacks I recommended,
just pack something that is filling but not too heavy (both literally
and figuratively). Food with high protein counts are good for long-term energy,
but bring something that can give your blood sugar a boost as well so you don’t
fade on the trail. Finding what works for you is what is most important!
