While I feel like I’ve covered a pretty wide berth of hiking topics throughout my years on Youtube and now with this website, there is still a category in which I’ve been egregiously lacking. A category that is extremely important to enjoying hiking and backpacking, yet one that is often overlooked for the shiny gear write-ups. This topic, which is undoubtedly the number one topic discussed among thru-hikers, is FOOD! More specifically: trail food. Yeah, it’s really that simple.
To correct the error of my ways, I’m introducing a new series on the website. It’s going to be a frequent (weekly or monthly depending on popularity) post featuring the greatest (In my opinion) hiking foods available. My hope is that I can inspire you to stray from the traditional oatmeal and trail mix choices and find your way into a tasty new world of calorie-filled joy.
So… with that out of the way, let’s jump into this weeks food of choice. It’s by far my favorite food to eat on trail, though not something I always take with me. I am talking this week about: Nutella.
Nutella is a chocolatey, hazelnut flavored spread similar in consistency to peanut butter (creamy PB that is). It’s a sweet spread that goes good on just about anything you can find in your pack (Ritz crackers, tortillas, a spoon, your finger, dehydrated fruit, granola bars, trail mix, etc.). Because it comes in a 13 ounce plastic jar similar to peanut butter, I tend to think of it as a peanut butter substitute (It’s not really a perfect substitute due to lower protein levels though). In other words, I’m not going to carry a jar of peanut butter and a jar of Nutella, it’s going to be one or the other. Optimally, since PB and Nutella go amazingly well together on a tortilla, I’d carry a jar half full with peanut butter and half full with Nutella. Unfortunately, this isn’t really possible when thru-hiking (But for weekend trips… just give this a try).
Nutella is one of the very few foods that I never tired of on my thru-hikes. In my eyes it’s like having ice cream available to you at all times on trail. It’s a smooth, sweet treat that you can just eat straight out of the jar. It’s a great accessory food too. Not quite full from your tuna salad lunch? Add a couple spoonfuls of Nutella for dessert. Worried that your granola bar doesn’t quite have enough calories to fuel you up this mountain? Dip it in Nutella for a boost. I can always rely on my energy levels staying high after eating Nutella, it’s got a great balance of energy from carbs and fat so that you’ll be sustained in both the short and long term periods of your hike.
Let’s break the nutrition down a little further. In 2 tablespoons, Nutella contains 200 calories. 110 of these calories are from fat, leaving the other 90 calories from carbohydrates. This is a great balance of short and long term energy for hiking. By comparison, energy dense olive oil tends to have around 240 calories per 2 tablespoons, all of which are from fat. This means that Nutella is almost as energy dense as olive oil, yet much better balanced in terms of calories from carbs/fats. On a less exciting note, Nutella only contains 2 grams of protein per 2 tablespoons, much less than the 6-10 grams of protein you’ll likely find in your 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. When I choose to pack Nutella over PB, I tend to bolster my protein intake with other foods, maybe even just a couple bags of peanuts.
So while Nutella may not be an ideal substitute for peanut butter, it is a great way to shake up your hum-drum backpacking snack/meal cycle. Give it a try and I’m sure you’ll be wondering why you hadn’t thought of it before.
Like the new series? Let me know in the comments below so I can keep it coming! Have any backcountry recipes that use Nutella in them? Let’s hear about them!
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