Endurance Athletes Archives

10 backpacking food mistakes

When it comes to trip planning, backpacking food is one of the easiest things to mess up. Beginners are prone to epic mistakes. For example, I once packed five pounds of pancake mix. Don’t ask. And intermediate and experienced backpackers often fall into sub-optimal packing routines simply out of laziness or lack of time. Are you dissatisfied with your adventure fuel, hoping to lighten your load, or just looking to improve an important backcountry skill?

Below are 10 backpacking food mistakes and how to correct them.

But first, what makes a good backpacking diet? I believe there are six key traits: lightweight, calorie dense, low volume, varied (in flavor and texture), reasonably healthy, and easy to eat/prepare. Beyond those, you should also strive for food that tastes good, and supports your daily mileage and itinerary goals.

#1: Not enough variety
My dream backpacking meal plan consists entirely of unique food items, with no two snacks being the same. While I may never achieve that perfectly, I believe variety makes everything taste better. If you’ve ever been on a longer trip and packed the same things to eat every day, you’ll understand the soul-crushing feeling of looking into a food bag and realizing that you already hate all the options. One way to correct this is to buy a wide variety of foods in bulk at the start of backpacking season, then store them well and dip into each for one or two serving per trip.

#2: Too much trail mix, too many bars
The most common way to fail the variety test is by overpacking in these two specific categories. I shudder to recall the times I’ve seen my partners snack game consisting exclusively of bars and nut mixes. Every bulk, health and junk food section will offer a wide variety of good snack options that are not those. Especially Trader Joe’s, if you have them around. For maximum salivation, I personally recommend no more than one bar and two trail mixes per day. Real Food Bars are an excellent option for maximum energy on a long day hike. I usually like to get an early start to cover as much ground in the morning so a Real Food Bar is a great option since it’ll keep you satisfied until you’re ready to break for lunch.

RELATED: What to Pack on a Day Hike

Here are a few of my personal favorites: Half Pops, peanut butter filled pretzels, sesame sticks, Aztec trail mix, toasted coconut, dried cherries, dried mango, cinnamon candied almonds, white chocolate pretzels, Korean BBQ flavored dried chick peas, chipotle smoked gouda, Twix, fiber rich Real Food Bars, mozzarella cheese sticks, fig newtons, salted sunflower seeds, fruit ropes and veggie chips.

#3: Not enough salty food
Hiking is a sweaty business, especially in summer, and you’re going to need to maintain a steady intake of electrolytes. You’ll be especially hard pressed to find salts if you fall for Mistake #2. Plus, who—besides 6-year-olds—wants to eat sugary food literally all day long? To correct this, while laying out your food at home, make sure to pair each sugary snack with a savory snack and you’ll guarantee an even mix.

#4: Too bulky
We only have so much room in our backpacks, so it’s important to bring things that don’t absorb all the space. There are three common worst offenders: hard-sided or inflated packaging, freeze-dried meals and fluffy stuff (bagels, bread, popcorn, etc). To solve this problem, make sure to decant all your food into sandwich-sized Ziploc bags, learn to pre-make your own dinners, and shop space-consciously (i.e. tortillas over bread).

#5: Too much food
Packing the exact right amount of food is exceedingly difficult and most people prefer to err on the side of caution and overpack. Often to the detriment of our legs. On numerous occasions, I’ve exited the trail with an entire extra day’s worth of munchies. To correct for this, learn how many calories your body requires on short, medium and long hiking days, and use nutrition labels to pack approximately the right amount according to your itinerary. For the average hiker, I recommend ~3000-4000 calories on <10 mile days, ~4000-5000 on 10-20 mile days, and ~5000-6000 on 20+ mile days.

#6: Overpacking the last day’s food
Speaking of overpacking, the most common way to screw up is packing too much food on the last day of the trip. Having learned this lesson, I rarely pack more than a breakfast, instead relying on consuming any overage from other days of the trip, plus fueling up immediately after with a monstrous brunch or burrito. Most people end their trip with a half day plus a drive, so unless your itinerary differs, I recommend keeping your end-game victuals to a minimum.

#7: Too little food
Beginners rarely pack too little food (see Mistake #6). This problem usually comes from the fast-and-light crowd, looking to cover maximum distance with minimal packs. That’s all good and fine, but if you’ve ever run out of food, you know the risk-to-reward-ratio just isn’t worth it. To prevent this problem while going ultralight, make sure you lay out your daily rations while packing at home, count calories, and focus on super rich options like meat, oil, cheeses, nuts, and seeds.

#8: No veggies
Most people desire to eat a complete diet, but when it comes to fruits and veggies, everyone skimps on the latter. The problem is mainly that dried veggies are simply less available than dried fruits. To solve for this, stock your pantry online. I recommend things like freeze dried veggies or Real Food Bars. The chewy texture of the bar can be incredibly satisfying while not overbearingly sweetened by artificial sweeteners like other bars. At the grocery store, you can usually find wasabi peas, seasoned dried chickpeas, or veggie chips, or kale chips (too crumbly for snacking, add into dinners).

RELATED: Shop Real Food Bars HERE

#9: Too bland
If you cook your own breakfasts or dinners, there’s probably room to add more flavor and ingredients to spice things up. Here are a few of my favorite additives: olive oil packets, sriracha packets, jerk seasoning, salt and pepper, dried veggies, cheese, bacon bits, salami, pepperoni, summer sausage (or flavored soy protein if you’re vegetarian).

Mistake #10: Too expensive
Let’s be honest, backpacking gear is expensive enough already. Nobody wants to break the bank on food. The easiest ways to cut costs are buying in bulk and avoiding particularly expensive foods like freeze dried meals, jerky (always overpriced and not high in calories), and the archetypical chia-based energy bars. Instead of buying individual bars, buy in bulk. Pro Tip: Get 3 free Real Food Bars with Coupon Code: 3FREE on any variety pack. Instead of buying jerky, buy summer sausage. Instead of freeze dried meals, eat couscous, mashed potatoes, ramen, or stove-top stuffing. Backpacking food doesn’t need to be expensive! $20 per day is a reasonable target.

Behind only hiking and sleeping, eating is the third most common ways to spend time on a backpacking trip, so it pays oodles of lifetime value to master the art. Are you an aspiring backcountry gourmand? Then the challenge of packing delicious lightweight food should inspire you to keep perfecting a menu. Do you view food purely as fuel? Then finding the most calorically dense options will certainly appeal. No matter your style, there’s lots to be gained in upgrading your pantry. Happy hiking!

3 Training Hacks Using Honey

Article at a Glance

Organic honey has been proven to be a superior carb for endurance athletes
Not all carbs are created equal, but honey is a great carb that is easily digested and sustained for tough workouts
The honey sleep hack
Don’t get sick honey hack
The hydration hack

What does Honey have to do with a better workout? Well, it can help you sleep better, stop you from getting sick, and ⚡️ supercharge your muscle recovery (the last one is my favorite, don’t cheat and skip ahead).

Here are my 3 Athlete Honey Hacks for you:

1) Honey Sleep Hack.

I tend to fall asleep easily but then wake up after a few hours, especially when in a hard training block. A trainer I was working with suggested I take one teaspoon of raw honey to get back to sleep. I thought it was crazy, but it worked.

Honey contains both glucose and fructose, two types of carbohydrate, that provide your brain and body with the energy they need to keep you sound asleep for the night, without causing a spike in blood sugar. It will help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep! I usually take it preemptively 20 minutes before going to bed.

2) Don’t get Sick Hack.

Athletes live in fear of getting sick. Our immunity is weakened by hard training and racing, so we are are more vulnerable. Not to mention, any illness can throw a wrench in our training and racing plans.

It turns out Bees are the same way. They protect their hive by using a “bee glue” called Propolis as a doormat for the entrance to their hives to help keep out unwanted germs. Propolis is anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial.

A honey throat spray helps prevent germs from getting in through your airway while also giving you an immune boost from over 300 beneficial vitamins, minerals, and compounds.

We like to take 3-4 sprays of propolis once or twice daily. During periods of increased stress or fatigue, you can take 4-5 sprays up to 5 times daily. But it doesn’t have to be just a throat spray, it can be used to add some immune boosting power to smoothies or can even be used as a topical spray for minor cuts, burns, or blemishes to promote healthy skin. These are a must for us when we’re about to board a plane, feel a cold coming on, or want to make sure we stay healthy for an upcoming race.

3) ⚡️Supercharged Hydration Hack.

Pro cycling teams have these magical people called Soigneurs, and sometimes they come up with unique concoctions to treat their riders, this is one of them.

Brew up a large pot of green tea. I make 24 to 32 oz.
While it is warm mix in 2 to 3 Tablespoons of honey
Pour 4 to 6 oz. of your Green Tea + Raw Honey into your bottle
Add in Skratch Lemon Lime and fill your bottle and shake.
Keep the rest of the green tea + honey in your fridge for your next workout.

You have now supercharged your Skratch. It is now caffeinated + energized with raw honey.

Science is strongly supporting honey as one of the best sugar sources available for endurance athletes. If you’re really aiming to keep your athletic level high in a healthy way, then, you no longer need to rely on sports drinks which are full of highly-refined sugars or bars with sugar alcohols that can cause bloating, nausea, weight gain and indigestion. Choosing organic honey to replace all kinds of carbs unhealthy sport drinks or bars contain, is a smart thing to do. With organic honey, you get to consume inexpensive and yet healthy carbs.

Why athletes should consider honey as their best carb source?

We all know how important a well-balanced diet is for athletes to be able to give their best and increase their performance level. You cannot be a professional athlete without first knowing the basics of the food you should consume before and after each training session or competition.

Science has already approved the importance of carbs into an athlete’s diet. Consuming high-in-carbs food before and also during you training or competition period, is vital for improving your athletic performance and keeping your muscles in great condition. Experts advise before each exercises routine, you should consume carbs in a snack or small meal form. During your training routine, the best version of taking your carbs is through fluids. After the training is finished, within 1.5 hours you should always consume a normal high-in-carbs and high-in-protein meal. This should be done in order to replenish your energy stores and keep your muscles and bones healthy such as a Real Food Bar which has 15g of protein and 25g of carbs. Pro tip: eat half-to-a full bar for sustained energy without digestive issues.

But, did you know that there are many different types of carbs that do not deliver the same effects and serve to the same proposes on your muscles? The different carbs types have the potential to elicit different responses from your hormones.

Honey has proved to make athletes perform faster and be more efficient in time trials. Especially when compared to different sport’s gels. Athletes choosing to consume honey as their primary carbohydrate source are able to generate more power and endurance. Especially during the last part of a competition or training session. Only one tablespoon of organic honey contains around 60 calories and 17.5 grams of carbohydrates. 16.5 Of these carbs come from sugar. The best part: Our body can easily absorb and process honey.

Final thoughts…

Many studies have indicated the amazing nutritional values honey contains. Its antibiotic features are extraordinary and cannot be underestimated. By including honey in your daily diet, especially if you’re an athlete always in need for healthy energy sources, is a must. Honey should always be your first choice!

Turning to more natural and wholesome alternatives and skipping the chemical “tastes” is what many athletes are doing today. They have simply found out that using honey as a sports gel, adding it on their sports drinks or water and homemade bars, is actually a more efficient and healthier way to replenish their carb needs, so, why not?

Endurance Athletes