Don’t see anything new up above? That’s because Honey Stinger’s samples didn’t arrive in time for Sea Otter’s sample snack frenzy, but they did give us the down low on what’s coming: Look for new chocolate mint and vanilla & chocolate waffles in May, both gluten free, followed by strawberry chews in June.
Mouth watering? Check out more new energy bars, drinks and gels below…
GU had two of three new Stroopwafel flavors on hand -Hot Chocolate and Gingerade- with a gluten-free Coconut coming. Both of the available flavors were delicious, and the Hot Chocolate tasted pretty much like they mixed a Swiss Miss packet into a paste and smeared it between chocolate waffles…delicious. Their gels continue to expand with new Tutti Frutti and Gingerade flavors, too, which I didn’t try.
Bard Valley was sampling their Medjool Dates and new Natural Delights bars made with them. Fun fact: According to their rep, dates need 100+ days of 100º+ temps to grow properly, so there are limited places that meet that description. The bars come in four flavors: Cinnamon Almond, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Pineapple Coconut and Mixed Berries. They all taste good, and I took a few home for post-Sea Otter rides where they provided some energy without being filling…which can be good or bad depending on how you feel about during-ride food.
If simplicity is your game, it doesn’t get any simpler than Natti Bar. Ingredients: Bananas. Or more specifically, partially dried bananas. They taste like (wait for it)… bananas.
One of our favorites over the years is Picky Bars, and their delicious new Chai and Catch Me is the latest in the semi-savory flavor category. It’s still sweet, but not as much as a fruit flavored option. It’s one of the more filling bars, and ingredients are solid with minimal vegetable oil (something I’m trying to stay away from after reading this…go ahead, you’ll hate me, but you’ll thank me).
Science In Sport’s new energy bars are tiny, packing just 138 calories from mostly carbs, a hit of protein and a smidgen of fat. They’re very easy to eat, but you may find yourself wanting a second, then a third, then…
With OSMO under new ownership and original co-founder and formulator Stacy Sims out on her own, Nuun borrowed her expertise to develop their own hydration sports drink. The concept is similar, focusing on hydration, but there’s some talk of having the drink also serve as fuel here. Their website dives a lot deeper, but the back panel provides a solid overview:
Based on body weight, you’ll get recommended serving sizes and hourly ingestion suggestions to keep you both hydrated and operating above a caloric deficit. It fits in Nuun’s line above the effervescent tabs that are purely for hydration, giving you that little something extra on longer rides or workouts. What stands out is the lack of any additional flavorings, using only dried fruit. In theory it’s great for clean living, in practice it yields a very light flavored beverage that lacks the sweetness of what we’re all used to, so it’ll take trusting the measurements versus your tongue to know you’ve made it strong enough.
Taking the opposite approach of simple fluid replacement, Ryno Power’s new Hydration Fuel adds a few welcome ingredients like BCAAs to prevent muscle catabolism and Ribose for cellular energy.
It also adds Glutamine to help with recovery. Flavor was light, a mashup of raspberry lemonade and a little bit of other fruit flavors, that seemed to me something that would remain palatable three bottles in. Seen in the top photo, they also now have single serve packets available for this and their whey protein powders. Get it here.
If your definition of sports nutrition is a little looser, then Smoking’ Mary is worth a look. They’re based in CA, but you can order online, and it’s a delicious take on the Bloody Mary mix by adding a little smoke flavor to the fresh tomatoes and seasonings.
