Walking on a trail for long hours can make you hungry.
What do you do about your hunger pangs while walking on the trail? For times like these, you crave for something handy to keep your energy bars full on the trek.
Trail snack isn’t some junk you consume just like you do while you are traveling. Therefore, bags of chips won’t do on the trek. You need something that provides you a quick boost of energy to keep you going and also fills your stomach during recurring hunger pangs.
When choosing what snacks to take on the trek, you should think about these factors:
- Nutritional Value: carbohydrates
- Not Voluminous enough: Make sure it does not occupy much space of your rucksack. Ideally, if you are going for 6-7 days of the trek, 500-700 gm of snack is enough.
- Season: It also depends upon in which season you are going for your trek. Winter treks require you to consume more calories than in summer treks since the body temperature keeps regulating even in the night when the temperature falls. Your requirement should be well-met as per the season.
Chocolate and energy bars are the first things which come to anyone’s mind. But there are plenty of healthy snacks for the trail that can be consumed to replenish your strength and kill those hunger pangs.
Here is a list of healthy snacks and munchies with calories mentioned per 100 gm of serving that you can pack for your trek next time:
Jaggery coated Roasted Gram
Gud chana, in desi language.
Confess it!
Every Indian kid just cannot get enough of it because that’s how great (and super-healthy) the combination is. Even add dry fruits to it, if you may.
Total Calories- 200 calories
Carbohydrates 56 g
Fats- 3 g
Proteins- 9 g
Peanut Butter & Nutella
What else would you want amidst the mountains than a spoonful goodness of peanut butter?
PB fans, amirite?
I like crunchy Peanut Butter more. But you can go for Creamy too.
There is Nutella too, for Nutella lovers. It is all sugar, chocolate, and hazelnut. Yummy in the jar!
Peanut butter- 588 calories
Total Fat- 50 g
Carbohydrates- 20 g
Proteins- 25 g
Nutella- 546 calories
Carbohydrates- 22 g
Total Fat- 11 g
Protein- 3 g
Nut Mix
Just throw a handful of nuts of all kind in a box and voila! your trail mix is ready. Cashews, pistachio, almonds, raisins, walnuts, peanuts, add all your favorite nuts in the box. Needless to mention the health benefits of nuts. They are a good source of fiber and essential nutrients.
Total Calories- 600 calories per 100 g
Carbohydrates- 21 g
Proteins- 20 g
Total Fat-54 g
Dried fruits & Amla Candy
Dried fruits like figs, dates, and chhuhare are all about handsome amounts of fiber, proteins, and carbs. Also, they don’t take much space in the bag.
And since they are already dried, there is no chance of them getting foul or rancid.
Another great option is Amla candy. A great source of essential vitamins and minerals.
Total Calories- 359 calories
Carbohydrates- 83 g
Proteins- 1g
Fats- 2.7 g
Energy bars
Yes, just like snickers.
Or granola bars, cereal bars, muesli bars. For whenever you feel hunger pangs while walking on the trail, energy bars make a handy option.
Total calories- 350 calories
Carbohydrates- 70 g
Fats- 10 g
Proteins- 5 g
Roasted Fox Nuts a.k.a Phool Makhana
Phool Makhana or fox nut, when roasted with spice is a snack for bonfire what popcorn is for movies. It makes an interesting munching snack for a day hike or short treks. Add this to your nut mix to make it more interesting.
it is rich in calcium which is required for your bones.
Total calories- 189 calories per serving
Carbohydrates- 39 g
Fats- 1 g
Proteins- 6 g
Canned Tuna (184 calories)
A solution for your non-veg cravings.
A good source of protein, it is also rich in Vitamins- A, C, & B-12.
Just spread it on bread slice or eat straight from the can. It’s up to you. A small can is compact enough to fit in your bag. Make sure it has a lid or consume all at once because leftover would be difficult to maintain.
Prefer brine tuna over oiled.
Total calories- 184 g
Proteins- 30 g
Fats- 6 g
Chikki & Gajjak
Made with jaggery and groundnut and other various assortments, chikki & gajjak are a healthy munch for you hunger pangs on the trek. High on carb and energy and also easy to carry, shove it in your snack pack.
What else do you need to conquer a summit?
Total calories- 150-200 calories per serving
Carbohydrates- 17 g
Fats- 8 g
Proteins- 4 g
These items are heavy on nutrition and light on your backpack. Next time, your stomach growls midway through the trail, you just gotta pull one of these healthy munchies out of your backpack.
Don’t forget to share goodies with your trek-mates.
