How to Choose Energy Foods

Rick McCharles

Choosing high energy foods will provide you with satisfaction, stamina and good nutrition. It is important to pack enough to get you through strenuous activity, such as an outdoor hike. Count on needing to eat a mini-meal every couple of hours, and more often if you will be hiking steep or challenging terrain.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step 1

Pack complex carbohydrates. These include dried and fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and crackers, and beans. Complex carbohydrates are high energy foods. In addition to providing you with energy, they are also high in fiber, which help you to feel satisfied and help your digestive system to run smoothly.

Step 2

Choose portable proteins. Peanut butter, nuts, cheese, protein bars and dried meats are all easy to pack and carry, and will provide energy. Proteins sit longer in your stomach than carbs, so you will feel full longer if you add some protein to your meal.

Step 3

Include foods with Vitamin C. Studies have shown that Vitamin C helps people to fight fatigue and illness. Some portable foods with Vitamin C include raw broccoli, small citrus fruits, such as clementines or mandarin oranges, grape tomatoes and orange juice pouches.

Step 4

Avoid refined sugars and other empty calories. Do not fill your stomach with foods that offer little or no nutritional value. These may give you a burst of quick energy, but as your blood sugar level plummets, you will experience a marked decrease in energy and fatigue.

Step 5

Pack water. While water is not a high energy food in itself, dehydration can cause headaches and fatigue. Avoid these maladies by drinking water before you start off on your hike and by packing enough water for your trip.

Tips & Warnings

Try to mix foods with different nutrients together in a trail mix for and easy and very portable high energy snack.

Article Written By Michelle Kulas

Michelle Kulas is a freelance writer specializing in SEO, Web content and blogging. She has worked as a certified nurses' assistant, a dental assistant and a dental insurance billing coordinator. Her areas of expertise include health and dental topics, parenting, homeschooling, education, homekeeping, natural family planning and decorating.

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