Food For Hiking
At Hillwalk Tours, we know that the most important part of hiking is preparation, and the most important part of preparation is food! The food you choose to bring with you on a hike will fuel you throughout the day. Lunches, hiking snacks and comfort food should all be considered when preparing.
It’s important to fuel up before going on a hike. Slow-release energy foods such as porridge, muesli and bananas are a good option. Why not consider combining them into one tasty pre-hike meal?
Hiking snacks are a must-have on the trail. They’ll keep you going throughout the day and provide you with that much needed energy required to get to where you’re going.
Hiking Snacks
Trail Mix
As far as hiking snacks go, it doesn’t get much better than trail mix. Trail mix should be ever-present in every hikers backpack as it’s a tasty, high-energy and convenient snack to have on the go. It consists of a combination of nuts, granola, dried fruit and, as an added treat, chocolate.
Dried Fruit
Dried fruit, as opposed to it’s un-dried counterpart, is a great option for hiking snacks. Drying your fruit removes water, making them lighter in your backpack. It also removes the possibility of bananas, oranges or apples get squashed and bruised by the rest of the contents of your backpack.
Energy Balls
Concentrated balls of energy are great hiking snacks. One tiny snack can have as much as 150 calories, giving you fuel to push through the hardest part of your hike. Energy balls are very easy to make – combine nuts, dates, protein powder and cacao powder in a food processor. Roll into small balls and voila, you’re done!
Protein bars
Another great, high-energy hiking snack is the protein bar. Enough energy to keep you going, and protein to repair those leg muscles – what’s not to like?
And now a word from our Head of Route Development…
FOOD: Depending on the length of the walk I recommend something nice for a lunch break that can be eaten without plate or fork, so a tasty sandwich is ideal. Always consider that you might have to eat that in the rain, so don’t make it too ‘messy’ to eat. Additionally it is always a good idea to bring some high energy/calorie food in case you run ‘out of steam’, such as energy bars, an apple or banana, trail mix, chocolate or good muesli bars.
PRE-HIKE FOOD: In my opinion nothing can beat a good bowl of porridge with some muesli and fruit to set you up for a hike in the morning.
POST-HIKE FOOD: Anything you want. I always love a good beef stew after a hike
We hope that you enjoyed this Food For Hiking & Hiking Snacks Guide. If you’d like any additional information on food or snacks for hiking or the hiking tours that we offer in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales & on The Camino, just let us know.
