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Whether you are hiking or taking a snack to the office, choose real food not processed packaged foods. Stay fueled and energized on your next hiking trip with healthy and nutrient-packed “real food” hiking foods that will keep hiking all day long!

Choosing “real food” will provide your body with more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants that help your body recover.

Whole Wheat Tortilla with pesto and Swiss cheese, small amount of chicken, banana, and a mandarin orange.

VERSUS

Protein Bar and 3 tablespoons trail mix.

Compare the nutrition of the snacks  in the table below.

For roughly the same amount of calories and protein, the real food snack provides more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber (12 g versus only 2 g). The real food meal is more nutrient dense. The real food meal provides more actual amount of food and will be more filling. The processed meal has more fat and sugars.

Foods

Calories

Carbs

Fat

Protein

Sugars

Fiber

1.5 oz. Chicken Breast

60

1g

1g

11g

0g

0g

1 Multi-grain Tortilla

150

23g

4g

4g

2g

5g

1.5 Tbsp Basil Pesto

66

2g

6g

1g

0g

1g

1 oz. Swiss Cheese

80

1g

6g

7g

0g

1g

1 Banana

105

27g

0g

1g

14g

3g

1 Cuties  Mandarin Oranges

40

8g

0g

1g

7g

2g

TOTAL:

501

62g

17g

25g

23g

12g

Foods

Calories

Carbs

Fat

Protein

Sugars

Fiber

Gatorade Whey Protein Bar

360

42g

13g

20g

31g

1g

3 Tbsp Kirkland Trail Mix

160

12g

10g

5g

9g

1g

TOTAL:

520

54g

23g

25g

40g

2g