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! :bananas:

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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: :bananas: :bananas: :bananas: :bananas: :bananas:

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

I just bought some organic dried dates cuz of this thread. Damn you Storn!

@bones get broke wrote:

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.

I loooooooove banana chips and apricots. Unfortunately my girlfriend (fellow splitter and partner in crime for all things outdoor- well all things in general!) has all but banned banana chips. Turns out most have a ridiculous amount of saturated fat http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-banana-chips-i19400 because they’re fried in oil or some crap….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_chips You can find them dehydrated but they’re a lot different than the banana chips I’m used to and enjoy!

So jealous. Haha