5 Healthy Cycling Snacks You Need On Your Next Ride
Snacks are one of the most important things to pack when you’re heading out on a ride, especially a long-distance ride. They’re essential to have as it helps give you enough energy to keep you going throughout the day.
Whilst energy bars and gel sachets are a good option, they aren’t as healthy as you think. The truth is, a lot of ‘healthy’ bars and snacks contain a lot of refined sugar, which makes them as healthy as a chocolate bar. Now, if you wanna eat a chocolate bar have a chocolate bar, and if a slice of cake is our favourite mid-ride snack, then who are we to stop you but if you're trying to be more conscious about what you're putting in your body then maybe gels and energy bars aren't the best choice, therefore here are some healthy alternatives that we love:
Banana:
You can never go wrong with a good old banana. Famous for being packed with potassium and containing carbohydrates, bananas provide advantages to your muscles' ability to use fuel more efficiently. More fuel reaching your muscles means more pedal power for you. Here’s to the power of the peel.
- Trail Mix:
Trail Mix consists of dried fruits and nuts, which are a great source of concentrated carbohydrates and healthy fats. Dried fruits such as apricots, prunes and raisins have added benefits of potassium. Mix your favourite dried fruits with some nuts and seeds to keep your body supplied with energy, vitamin E and magnesium. If you have a heavy sweat rate, you may want to choose salted nuts and seeds such as sunflower seeds, peanuts and almonds, to help control your water levels.
Energy Boost Balls:
A good alternative to energy bars is boost balls. Similar to energy bars, boost balls are a great way of satisfying your hunger pangs and they are full of dietary fibre. You can add everything in your cupboard from chia seeds to cashews – all you need is a working food blender and a bit of creativity. Homemade is always better than shop bought as you have control and awareness over what goes into them.
Nut Butter:
Nut Butter is the perfect cycling fuel, offering protein and healthy fats. You can choose any nut that your heart desires from peanut butter to cashew butter. Our pro tip is spreading it in a tortilla wrap as opposed to spreading it in a sandwich that will likely get crushed up in your bag or pocket. A squidgy wrap on the other hand is pretty delish!
- Jelly Babies:
Yes, we’re aware that jelly babies aren’t the healthiest snack on this list but hear us out on this one. Whilst jelly babies really hit the sweet tooth craving unlike bananas and dried fruit, jelly babies are another great source of carbohydrates. Similarly to other snacks that contain carbohydrates, jelly babies can improve your cycling performance by providing the right amount of energy you need. The perfect thing with jelly babies is they are small enough to fit in your pocket to nibble on when you need a quick energy boost mid-way through a ride and you’re feeling a bit fatigued or bonking. Plus, they’re tasty too!