Vegan Protein Bars for Hiking
Since I prefer to eat vegan and hike hard, I've been looking for a way to get a little extra protein into my dinners, to help muscle recovery. What better way than to have a protein bar for dessert? So I bought a bunch of protein bars from a variety of sources, and tasted them over the last few months. The main parameters I was interested in were:
- Caloric Efficiency - since I don't want to carry any more food weight than necessary.
- Protein Density - since the goal is to get some extra protein, what percentage of the bar weight is protein?
- Taste - at the end of a hard day, it has to taste good.
This was a completely unscientific test, and reflects my personal taste, but you are welcome to check out the spreadsheet. A couple of observations:
- The bars I found tastier tended to have a lower % protein
- The bars that were generally more 'wholesome' tended to have a lower % protein
- Eating peanuts (or almonds) does a pretty good job in terms of extra protein
Those of you that eat protein bars, do you have a favorite I've missed? Any other supplemental protein strategies not involving animal products?