One of the things that’s strange, funny, or totally normal – depending on your perspective – is the sheer number of calories that one begins to consume on a regular basis when they regularly get into the backcountry. Me? I tend to eat numerous heaping plate(s!) of food for dinner during the ‘with snow’ months. Breakfast is large as well, often consisting of a stack of plate-covering pancakes. Lunch is no more modest than the other meals. All this eating might get embarrassing, except that my pants don’t get any tighter.
That’s because I’m typically burning calories at a pretty high rate. In my experience, spending time in the mountains tends to speed up one’s metabolism significantly, both during and after exercise.
As a person who likes to get into the backcountry with light ski gear – including my backpack and its contents – I prefer to get the most energy bang for the size and weight of the food that I bring along. You won’t find puffed rice in my backpack, ever, because it’s a food suitable for people who like to sit down a lot. Puffed rice takes up far too much space for its caloric content.
A food item that is likely to be found in my backpack is a ProBar or two, however. That’s because a ProBar is packed with 360 to 390 calories in each 3 ounce bar, depending on flavor. Compare that to a McDonald’s Big Mac at 540 calories. If it gets a bit smashed inside my pack, it still tastes exactly as it does straight off the store shelf. That’s not something that can necessarily be said about a Big Mac.
Ah, ‘taste,’ I hear you say. Energy bars have been providing energy in compact packages and tasting terrible for a looong time. As someone who has searched far and wide for the holy grail – tastiness and substantial energy density (calories) in the same package, I’ve tried many, many energy bars in my time. And in my view, one of the top choices available comes from ProBar. They offer a plethora of interesting flavors – how about Kettle Corn, Cocoa Pistachio, Cherry Pretzel, Apple Cinnamon Crunch, Cran-Lemon Twister, or even Art’s Original Blend? Sounds about as good as the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream selection, huh? Fortunately, ProBars don’t disappoint. They taste as good as each name implies!
ProBar has more awesome flavors than one can eat in a day...
That’s because Art Eggertsen, the company founder, chose to use all natural, organic, non-genetically modified (non-GMO), plant sourced (vegan) ingredients in each bar. Each bite, from the first to the last, is comprised of real food. Not food that’s been ground into a paste and then formed into a bar-like shape, either. Nope, just chunks of identifiable goodness. When I’m eating a ProBar, it’s easy to see the bits of chocolate, or pretzel, or pistachios, or flax seeds, or dried cherries, or raw almonds, etc., that are being consumed.
Largely due to this approach, ProBars don’t suffer nearly as much from that drawback that many other bars present: the chipped tooth factor. If you’ve ever tried to bite into a frozen energy bar in the mountains, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Cold energy bars typically become nearly impossible to bite into. I’ve skipped far too many snack breaks in the mountains because the bars I’d brought along were frozen, and breaking off a corner to chew on seemed likely to create irreparable dental harm. Not cool. If I bring food along, I want to be able to eat it. It’s a lot easier to bite into the real food in a cold ProBar than any other bar I can think of.
That means the nutrients keep flowing in, which helps to keep the energy levels high, where they’re needed. Also helping in this regard is the use of organic brown rice syrup instead of sugar. With a low glycemic index, brown rice syrup creates a much lower insulin spike than sugar, while also offering a longer energy supply. Sweet!
In the weight to calories ratio, ProBars provide even more calories than do energy gels. As a bonus, they’re solid food, which can satiate a hunger pang much more readily than a gel. If you’re not acquainted with ProBars, check them out. With their wide range of flavors, you’re sure to find one that makes your taste buds happy!
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