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I've been called a hippie lately. This won't help. I've been eating really healthy. Here's a little head-to-head I put together of 1 Medjool Date vs 3 Clif Shot Blocks:

Food....... 1 Date.... 3 Shot Blocks
Mass....... 24g........ 30g
Calories... 66.......... 100
Fat......... 0............ 0
Sodium.... 0............ 70mg
Potassium. 167mg..... 20mg
Carb....... 18g........ 24g
Fiber....... 1.6g....... 0
Sugar...... 16g........ 12g
Protein.... .4g......... 0
Vit A....... 35 IU....... 0
Vit C....... 0............ 0
Calcium... 15mg...... 0
Iron........ 1mg...... 0

And here's the best part:
Price....... $.25....... $1.00

Hmm... I think the hippie food wins.

Haha sweet. Obv the date owns in potassium. But where the fuck do I buy these? Are dates like big raisins?

I'm getting "hippie" too. I just dropped $250 on a juicer. It rocks!

I'm a Tri-berry GU fan myself. GU>>>>Clif

Nutrition
GU

Serv. Size 1 pack (32g)
Amount Per Serving 0
Calories 100
Calories from Fat 0
% DV*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Sodium 50mg 2%
Potassium 35mg 1%
Total Carb 25g 8%
Sugars 5g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 170%
Vitamin E 100%
Calcium 2%

I'm not surprised... A friend of mine told me that in Taiwan he and his friends put a prunes in their water bottles for hiking because they work like recovery drinks.

I also prefer fruit to candy, especially dried figs. I don't know what their nutritional value is but they taste great. Processed sugar gives me a boost but the sugar crash always comes at some later point. I don't get that from fruit, it's just good fuel.

trader joes dried mangos!

Yup, dates are a good source of carbs. One thing is that GU contains BCAAs, and these should really help fight long term fatigue, also, I need about 300-500 mg. of sodium per hour to keep up my electrolyte balance, so if using dates one may have to add an additional source of sodium-or risk debilitating cramps.
The +$ version of GU (Roctane) includes a higher percentage of BCAAs, and should work better for longer efforts at high output. I really like EFS liquid from First Endurance as a high performance all day type of fuel-high in electrolytes and BCAAs.
Sugar crash should not really be a concern while one is working, as one should be continuously raising the blood sugar levels by taking in fuel. The predominately long chain carbs in GU will not produce a crash, but recent research tends to show that a higher level of calories can be absorbed with a higher percentage of simple sugars are in the mix. The EFS liquid uses the higher simple sugar approach, and has worked well for me for 9 hour bike races, no crash, and really good long term energy production.
Adding dates or figs to the mix can be a nice change form engineered fuels, but one should also note the diuretic affect of these fruits, they will affect different folks differently, I stay away from them while on the bike, as urgent bowel movements are inconvenient.

All this talk of prunes and dates sounds like a good way to
soil your drawers. Snickers and peanuts will keep you going until you hit your cold frostys at the bottom

Preaching to the choir here. Another vote for TJ's mangoes and TJ's coconut date rolls!

I go with dried Banana chips and dried Appricots. I'm pretty sure that combo (+ water) has got just about everything one needs for an active day. Plus, you can't compare the flavor of dried fruit to the flavor of slimy goo and plastic. Some of that stuff just makes me laugh. A couple of bucks for a wierd pouch of slime that most folks instantly wash down with water?? No thanks.

TJ's dried pineapple! I drop $300 every time I'm in CA at TJ's to bring home, and have family send me care packs.

My favourite? "Rockets" hallowe'en candy! Get a cart load for a few bucks and they're all dextrose! Cheap and straight into the bloodstream.
Buy too many for the little kids at hallowe'en and you have enough for the whole season.

Cashew nuts for me!

Noticed it on a long MTB ride a few years ago. There were about 8 of us, and we stopped every now and then for snacks, breather and regroup. We always offered round what we had and it took me a little while to realise that the most enjoyable "ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK!! POW!!" climbs came after the stops where I'd had Sarah's cashews. Mix of raisins and cashews - perfect.

I get a crash from mars bars and similar, maybe because it's tidier to have the whole thing, rather than have a bite/square like you would with anything else.

Having dry snacks also lets you know earlier if you're getting a bit dehydrated. Trying to force-feed myself cashews and raisins in the morning of a 24hr race, dehydrated > hardly any saliva > mouthful of sticky gak > dry heaves > downed whole bottle of water > started to be able to eat again.

And these guys:

Fresh ones not much cop when it's cold though. dry chips, though:

Enough of this hippy shit.
I'll leave you with the bottom line in nutrutional wisdom,from our very own bcrider,