Fell running over longer distances burns a lot of calories.
On long training runs where I’m happy to slow down or stop for a moment I prefer to eat something solid rather than take a gel. There are plenty of energy bars on the market, some of which are quite pleasant but for the most part they cater for people with a sweet tooth. So I was interested to see that Mule Bar had brought out an energy bar with a difference – containing Garam Masala and Cayenne Pepper!
Eastern Express, spicy not sweet
Made in Great Britain, the Eastern Express energy bar contains a mix of natural ingredients including cashews, almonds, pistachios and various seeds, spiced up to give it a unique oriental flavour. The 56g bar provides 265 calories all packed into a compostable wrapper – not that you should drop it on the hillside mind!
not your average energy bar ingredients
Even though I knew the ingredients, psychologically my senses were expecting something sweet and it was odd to get a Bombay Mix type scent just before biting into it! I’d say the taste is subtle rather than strong so it’s not going to blow your socks off if you don’t like hot spices. It’s definitely worth a try as a change from overly sweet energy bars.
For me, consuming energy gels is a necessity rather than a pleasure. I use them on long races where chewing and breathing whilst trying to continue running at a decent pace is likely to lead to inhaling more than just air! I have also used them on endurance events such as the High Peak Marathon and the Paddy Buckley Round but to be honest the sickly sweet taste isn’t to my liking. So I was keen to try a gel that might not leave me with that sticky, sweet after-taste. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually liked the taste of Mule Bar’s Salted Caramel gel. Made with natural, organic ingredients the sweetness is counteracted by the saltiness (must be those Pink Himalayan salt crystals!)
108 calories per 37g sachet
The gels are designed to be taken with water although they are not as thick as some other gels and to be honest I just consumed one on its own half way into a two and a half hour run with no ill effects. The gel contains electrolyte too as well as carbohydrate so will be a bonus in hot weather or for runners who tend to sweat.
putting it to the test on a long run
So if you’ve had enough of sickly sweet energy products on your long fell runs or races and fancy something a little different you might want to try Mule Bars’ interesting new lines.
