If you look for high-quality nutrition while hiking and have a hard time then I have some good news for you today! I have been preparing for my thru-hike on the LSHT in the next month or two, I love cold-soaking foods but snacks are where I go wrong along with I’m not a huge breakfast fan, enter Greenbelly Meal2Go bars.
I came across them in a much different way from most people, from what I read most who know of the brand learn that he wrote a book on thru-hiking, I found the bars through reading the awesome book on thru-hiking!
Who Are Greenbelly?
Greenbelly sprung onto the scene in 2014 and they have created no ordinary protein bar but instead a highly rated energy bar full of dense nutrition which is in a small package. Exactly what thru-hikers look for when they need to carry food, as many calories in as small a weight as possible, this, in addition, packs a good amount of nutrients also!
What Makes Greenbelly Unique?
Unlike their competitors, a Greenbelly bar provides ⅓ of daily nutrition which actually makes them more of a meal replacement instead of an energy or protein bar. This massive dose of nutrition allows you to better hike at full strength while helping to minimize food weight in your backpack.
How is Greenbelly unique?
- Nutritionally Complete – These bars are a 650 calorie meal, not a 250 calorie “supplemental” bar
- Ready-To-Eat – Meal2Go needs no preparation and no clean up afterward
- Healthy – 100% Natural and Gluten-Free with a taste almost like the bar came from heaven itself
Complete Quality Nutrition In a Bar
When you are hiking the food you carry can be a significant weight if you are carrying the necessary calories. This can get even more out of control when you think about the fact that most of the foods hikers carry are nutritionally garbage.
The typical hiker carrying foods like Snickers and other foods that are calorically dense but nutritionally deficient. This deficiency can slowly but surely impact your body physically as you lose nutrients and your body has to start stealing from itself.
Below I have added the nutrition facts from each bar and it works out to a very good volume to calorie density while maintaining much better nutrition.
Each Meal2Go bag is equal to .35 pounds which means a full set of 3 a day for about 1900 calories would only weigh in just over a pound. That would mean you could carry 6 of these for 2 pounds and nearly 3800 calories a day which would help you maintain much better overall health on the trail.
Perfect For On The Go Life
The benefits to them being high in calories mean that for anyone with hardcore on the god lifestyle is able to bring them for little extra weight. Whether you are a day, section, or thru-hiker, or a bikepacker or even a climber, this can provide you light and easy fuel for your exploration!
Why Is Greenbelly Meal2Go Good For Backpacking?
As I stated in the nutritional information above, backpackers are always looking to maximize the calories for weight on any foods they carry with them. This is why Greenbelly being developed by someone who has done a thru-hike helps, he knows what is required for someone to make the decision to carry a bar and he perfectly fulfills it here.
The Founder: Chris Cage
Chris was a big bike tourist and has put serious miles on numerous countries exploring via a bike. When he came back he heard about the Appalachian Trail and fell in love with the concept of a long-distance hike.
While hiking he came across the same limitations that most thru-hikers hit which is that nutrition is a constant struggle to maintain. As a thru-hiker you can on many days use 3-5k calories in energy each day, without refueling properly this can be a detriment over time.
When he completed the trail he set about the mission to make a perfect meal replacement which would be helpful to those on high energy use sports and hobbies so it wouldn’t be as hard.
Final Thoughts on Greenbelly Meal2Go
While there are a great many options available for hikers for food, having the Meal2Go option helps to provide you more complete nutrition while you hike and ensures you don’t leave due to poor nutrition causing bodily issues over time.
I love to take them even on a day hike as it limits the weight I need to bring with me down to less than .7 of a pound, this allows me to carry more water, which in Texas with humidity can be very sapping if not controlled and managed.
I received a pkg of a MEAL2GO in a Battlbox Mission #54 and I’ve been looking the pkg over and I cannot find any expiration date. Is there an expiration date on these pkgs?
According to their own website up to a year after shipping, people have reported up to 2 years later. I believe I have had some around a year that are still yummy on the trail but once opening a package I wouldn’t let it sit.