Walker, runner or climber; pretty much everyone snacks on bars. Easy to carry and quick to eat, they are a convenient source of calories. But nutrition, taste and value all vary a lot. Fliss Freeborn field-tests some of the most commonly available options. If you assume that more expensive means better, then the winners might surprise you.

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In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Enjoyed that, thanks…I’ve always got a crushed out of date Nakd bar somewhere in my rucksack….

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I tried one of those Chia Charge bars (leftover from daughter's DofE) expecting it to be as chewy and tasty as chipboard. Actually it was very nice and gave a good long lasting energy boost. The price is a drawback though. I am usually in the Home Bargains flapjack camp.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Cheers for this, enjoyed your opinions! 

Kind bars in Tesco on offer (Clubcard holders) for £2 per 3 until 21st Nov, by the way...

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

As a relatively longtime advocate of home bargains flapjacks after an ill fated discovery that my choice of afternoon snack was actually 500kcal, it was good to see them come top of the rankings.  And it’s always nice to have a sub 40p breakfast over a £9 porridge pouch that some brands seem to sell for camping.

the next step in oat related hill food must be a ‘ready to eat’ white pudding - which would be a nice main course to a home bargains flapjack for desert.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Normally make my own, mix oats, unflavoured whey protein powder, nut butter, honey, cocoa, takes a bit of practice to get the combination of wet/dry ingredients just right 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Now try and redo this imaging you’re allergic to all nuts like me!

I end up going with dried fruit like cranberries, or reverting to the more traditional mars bar!

The aldi bar with 43 ingredients. That's quite mind boggling. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Great article. More of this please UKC/H.

Really interesting and insightful information wrapped up in Fliss' excellent prose. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Enjoyable article. I'm with you in my revulsion of 'Putrigrain' bars, and my liking of Stoats, although I was dismayed when they suffered from shrinkflation a couple of years ago. Despite this, still my favourite, although will check out the Home Bargains flapkjack.

In reply to J72:

Oatcakes and squirty cheese. Stockan's Orkney oatcakes pack an impressive 450kcal/100g.

In reply to WildAboutWalking:

That is a helpful tip indeed!  I usually (to counter balance the budget flapjacks) carry a saucisson, I’d imagine that squidgy cheese and saucisson oatcakes would be a fairly excellent hill food.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

A nice piece. Happy to see the top 2 are my go-to options when buying. As mentioned the cost of some of them is eye watering! 

I tend to buy Clif bars by the box, often means getting them for under £1 per bar. 

I do favour diy options though. Easy to make, easy to vary ingredients and very friendly on the pocket. No glycerol either unlike most of the shelf ones, means you can eat more without the fear of gut issues.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Excellent: a nutritious blend of humour and useful information.

However I think you've made a mistake in bit on Velforte bars. Rather than '...designed for cyclists who need a shedload of carbs' shouldn't that be '...are suckers for anything with an eyewatering price that claims to give a 0.0001% increase in performance'?

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

In general the Lidl offerings are a bit ming. I tried the fruit bars; crumbly, oddly flavoured, protein bars; tasteless, like chewing an inner tube, and protein balls; may well have been actual testicles.

In reply to pasbury:

I use the Chia bars as do a number of my friends (cyclists rather than climbers) and we all think they are amazing.  If you buy them online in bulk they are cheaper and last for ages.  You always get a 20% off next order when you get them online too.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Blimey do people no longer bake their own flapjacks, and other hill food snacks?  I might grab something like a bar from a shop occasionally…..

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Informative and amusing.  But I favour the crumble bars you gave the recipe for in a previous article.  If only I could find a way to get proper custard up a hill with them, I'd never get anything done.

T.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I’m a long-time Stoats fan, the more so since trying some of the other contestants on the Pennine Way recently.  
 

Sadly, nothing comes close to Rondebosch Bakery’s nutty bars that were my standard crag food long ago…

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I'm pretty sure the Tunnock's caramel wafer is a cereal bar, and surely wins by a street (especially the dark version).

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

You chose the wrong Nature Valley bars: the oat-based ones are mediocre, but the peanut and dark chocolate ones are good.

In reply to ScraggyGoat:

You're actually surprised to find out that people often buy ready-made snacks?! Where have you been living for the last few decades?

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Interestingly I'm not sure I do. Occasionally chocolate bars - normally Aldi mars or snickers copies. I quite like Lidl granola bars, but I'm rarely organised to have some to take them on the hill.

Big days out in winter? Mini pork pies, peanuts in one snappy bag, Aldi jelly babies or Aldi jelly beans in another snappy bag. Stilton and pickle sandwiches if I'm really organised.  

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Thanks for the prompt.

Just sent an order off to Mobberley Cakes for a selection box of their flapjacks.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Surely this statement is a bit of of date, as more and more people are avoiding ultra processed foods?

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

On the bike I like M&S mini flapjack bites (£3.70 for a bucket) and fig rolls (About 60p for a packet) and throw a few of each into a re sealing freezer bag for long rides. Never felt the need for all the "extras"

I did treat myself to a box of Guava Luchos for cycling trips to the Alps - they are very good yum

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Fantastic piece, had me laughing out loud.

I can't stand those nature bars, every one I've had had the texture of baked carpet tile, exploding on contact with the molars to leave the mouth full of sugary gritty dust. Boak.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Another Stoat vote here. Also those Eat Natural apricot and yoghurt things. Bit tooth-twangling but they rev you up.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Stoats are good. I can also recommend the "Deliciously Ella" bars which you can often get with a Nectar card discount in Sainsbury's. "Eat Natural" bars are nice too

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

No! I think all cereal bars are fossilized dinosaur turds. I love Tunnocks but would opt for buttered malt loaf if given a choice of hill snacks.

In reply to Tony Buckley:

Getting custard up the hill should be simple enough, check our reusable baby food pouches.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Why the focus on cereal bars?

We aren't all closet squirrels

Aldi Jive bars are my go to snack for walking and running.

In reply to Tony Buckley:

Rice pudding is at least as nice as custard (and I love custard)

perhaps in a sachet that could be heated by being put between your back and your rucsack

I feel that a missed category for scoring should be likelihood of breaking a tooth or losing a filling

In reply to WildAboutWalking:

I’ve also just realised we had a very similar exchange on UKH where I post as JWCW2014 (if this is your username there).

I think that’s my cue to stop thinking quite so much about food! 

In reply to J72:

Ah yes, we were discussing pies on WalkHighlands! It would appear that I am far too food focussed too.

I post on WalkHighlands under the same name, and on walkingforum.co.uk as Richardh1905.

In reply to Paddy_nolan:

I have the luck of being able to eat almonds and the Jaffa cake flavoured chia charge bars are the only thing I can find which has a decent wedge of protein and doesn’t taste completely vile, after much experimentation, don’t envy you at all!

In reply to WildAboutWalking:

I love Stockan's oatcakes, and actually go to Waitrose to buy them, as they seem to be the only place which consistently stocks them. Every so often they have them on offer at a reduced price. I also buy their slim/light weight version, to keep me from eating too much at home. (I also find Finn crisp is good to shut up my pseudo-hunger as well.

In reply to WildAboutWalking:

I hadn’t seen that forum, I’ll certainly take a look. 

In reply to wercat:

I have a brilliant recipe for rice pudding made with eggs that ends up like a mix between baked custard and rice pudding. Just more-ish. Whose recipe? It's in Ena Baxter's recipe book. (Matron of the family that does Baxter's soups etc).

If you want the recipe, email me, and I can send a copy to you.

Rob

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I'm also a fan of Stoats, and they appear with a reduction in price, every so often.

My sadness, is that Nine-Bars seem to have died a death after Covid (unless someone knows where I can buy them).

I avoid anything with too much sugar, due to pre-diabetes; and yet I feel released to some extent on the hill, to eat some more sugary snacks.

I also eat peanut butter sandwiches, mixed with home made bramble jam/compote, as an energy device.

Finally, am I the only one who cannot eat pork based preserved products during exercise? I find that ham, and salami, and sausage rolls, and Scotch eggs, all tend to attract all my blood supply to my stomach, and I am not so energetic after such food.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

The best ever article ever on UKC. Ta, like.

In reply to WildAboutWalking:

And if you buy your Stockans oatcakes in Sainsbury's, you can get them in a handy Stockans tin which stops them crumbling and learning oatcake dust all over your rucksack!

I spend most of my summer guiding French groups in the hills, and they have usually never even heard of oatcakes. I buy them as part of the lunches (with the best Scottish cheeses, salmon pâtes, venison salami etc!) and they tend to really love them. Some have even gone home to France and found a recipe and made their own oatcakes!

Oatcakes are a winner for me!

In reply to girlymonkey:

But you can buy oatcakes (& shortbread) in some French supermarkets, including one fairly close to us. If not I'd have to learn to bake them.

In reply to Doug:

I find the French can be a bit funny about trying unfamiliar foods. I find they often wait for one person in the group to be "courageous" and watch their reaction before trying things. So maybe they just glance past them in the supermarket as they are unfamiliar? Or maybe your local supermarket just knows to cater to your needs? 😀

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I have to mention Tesco Pumpkin Seed and Almond bars... These have become my number 1, and are amazing value compared to the alternatives. Think they would rank quite highly on this scale.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Great article, many thanks. I particularly enjoyed my prejudices being reinforced about those godawful "cereal based" abominations. Happily in NZ we have some really good options including Em's Power Cookies and the fabled OSM bars (two of which constitutes a full meal, allegedly). Available from pretty much every garage/shop throughout the country.  

However: I'd like to bring to the metaphorical table the emperor of all hill foods, chocolate sesame halva. 

You can make your own if desired but the combo of chocolate, honey, vanilla, tahini and maybe some pistachios is extraordinary. It's calorie dense, resistant to freezing, indestructible and can be tied off for aid in winter cracks if needs be. I first had it just prior to the long trundle out from the triple buttresses of Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair. It had an effect like putting on the afterburners to the extent that there were some jokes about the heels of my Asolo 101s (kids - ask your parents) melting. The calories come available quickly and hang around longer (more so if you add some slow burners to it too). It is also delicious if a little cloying if you overdo the honey or the mouthful size. Admittedly when it wears off you feel like you have just come out of a 3 day ketamine bender with a thirst that can only be slaked by pints of heavy or, possibly, blood.  But my god it's good. Also lasts forever and so can live in the bottom of the sack for just the right moment to be unleashed on the unsuspecting, hung over or hypothermic. 

b

In reply to Paddy_nolan:

Give Stoats bars a try. No nuts in their Apple and Cinnamon, just checked, and that is their best flavour, IMO.

In reply to ben b:

Ooh, I do like halva, but I can't remember seeing chocolate covered halva, must hunt some out.

..and thanks for making me smile first thing in the morning.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

https://philmaffetone.com/phils-bars-revisited/

I swap the egg white powder for whey powder, works well

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Nice article.

I would be interested to know how the expensive "high5 slow release" score in your taxonomy of bars, are they really slow release compared to your oaty options? I treated myself to some for an alpine ascent this summer, but they were very hard to eat when low on water supplies (dry mouth edibility would be a useful extension to the article!). Lidl's clone of the nakd bar won hands down for being easy to eat when thirsty.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I keep my Nakd bars in small black plastic bags, and (especially on busy footpaths), hang them from a tree twig for later. It means that I don't have the faff of carrying them home or up the hill.

Oddly, presumably having exited a wormhole reality warp in spacetime, their ingredients, taste and consistency changed markedly when I returned to them.

In reply to Stone Muppet:

Its High5 Marketing BS. Their slow release bars actually contain more sugar per 100g than Stoats oaty bars. Whats worse is a significant portion of the extra sugar will be fructose because the main ingredient is dried fruit.

It doesn't really matter, whether you consume high or low GI food during exercise because the extra sugar absorbed into your blood from sugary snacks is getting "burnt" in your muscles. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

We make our own now but in the not too distant past Ma Bakers giant flapjacks were our go to hill snack. And caramel wafers.

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

Stands to reason, but I wonder is this true regardless of whether or not you're above the aerobic threshold? and whether you're trying to train or perform?

In reply to Stone Muppet:

Even during low intensity exercise below the 1st aerobic threshold we're still burning carbs. 

Training or performing it doesn't matter, your body doesn't know the difference it just needs fuelled.

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

You've lost me here, how can fruit be good for you if fructose is not?

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

On the face of it that seems wrong to me, as you have different goals with each activity. For example if you ate less when training you might not go as fast as you could, but develop a metabolism that is better at using your fat reserves? No idea if that's true, point is you don't care about going slower today if it makes you faster for your big summit in X months time. Also of course a chap of my habits may need to *cough* lose some weight during the training phase...

On summit day it's all about how good you can be on the day. Big difference in needs.

In reply to Stone Muppet:

At any one time you are using a mix of your body's energy systems - you are never only using your aerobic on anaerobic energy systems in isolation.

You just use more of one than the other depending on intensity.

In reply to timjones:

Because in whole fruit, you get all the fibre and lots of liquid too. So fructose content proportionally is much lower than in dried fruit. 

In reply to timjones:

Fructose has to be processed by the liver to be used by the body, converted to glucose if needed for exercise, any excess is converted to glycogen or fat. 
 

everything in moderation.

In reply to Stone Muppet: A common misconception, starving yourself of carbohydrates does not promote fat burning. What does determine the proportion of fat vs carb burned is intensity, mostly fats at rest, almost all carbs at vo2max.

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

Agreed - that is how I understand it works. So fat burn on a level walk, mostly carb when plodding uphill under a heavy pack.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Not just Kind bars but also Stoats on offer in Tesco - stocked up without testing but fortunately I am in full agreement with all the Stoats fans out there - cheers!

In reply to ben b:

When Lidl have their 'Greek Special' week, I often stock up on halva, thinking I will take it walking. But then I scoff it all before I get out...

In reply to girlymonkey:

I'm not sure that cereal bars are low in fibre?

Eating dried fruit during hard exercise when you need the energy doesn't seem like a bad thing to my.mind. I even mix fructose with maltodextrin in my soft flasks when racing in order to get a good level delivery of energy without any intense sugar spikes.  I find fructose a lot more palatable than  any other sugar when working hard.

In reply to petemeads:

On offer are they cheaper than the Aldi/Lidl alternative. (Which technically aren't knock-offs, Stoats make them for Aldi/Lidl).

In reply to nathan79:

Yes and no - offer at £1.75 per box is superficially cheaper but 4x42g Stoats v 4x50g Aldi at £1.99 full price, so not really.

Aldi gets rapeseed oil rather than butter as major fat so Tesco has a higher sat fat content, which suits me, but slightly fewer calories due to lower mass. Swings and roundabouts...