A Delicious Homemade Energy Gel Recipe
Following is a recipe from ROCKET FUEL, a new recipe book for athletes by James Beard Award-winning food journalist and registered dietitian, Matt Kadey.
Many athletes turn to sticky gels when in need of a quick hit of sugary energy. And I’ll admit that I used to rely heavily on these products until I discovered how easy it is to make my own concentrated sugar rush using dried fruit. Which is why I included a few recipes in ROCKET FUEL that require little more than soaking some dried fruit like raisins or apricots and then blending with a few flavorings. The combination of glucose and fructose present in dried fruit increases carbohydrate absorption rates during exercise, while the added water not found in packaged gels encourages better digestion and hydration.
This energy shot featuring dried mango has become one of my favorite things to bring along when I’m on the saddle for the long haul.
Often, I add a touch of salt to my energy shots to help replace what is lost in sweat. But I recently discovered a great new electrolyte product produced by EnduroPacks. It’s essentially a spray bottle filled with liquid electrolytes like sodium, magnesium and potassium. No sugar calories, lab created colors or mystery flavors. I like to squirt it into my water bottles when I’m not interested in adding calories to my liquid but feel like there is a need for a little boost of electrolytes. And it’s also a great product to elevate DIY energy shots like this mango lime version.
Ingredients
1/3 cup chopped dried mango
2/3 cup boiled water
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/8 teaspoon salt or about 10 pumps of EnduroPacks electrolyte spray
Directions
Place mango and boiled water in a blender container and let soak for 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend until as smooth as possible. Let cool and then transfer to one large gel flask or two smaller ones. This can be made a day or two in advance if kept chilled.
See video below for easy to follow steps on making this healthy and delicious electrolyte energy gel recipe.
Suggestions
During exercise, divide into 2 servings or suck back the whole thing if you need a big energy boost.
Give it a try and let us know what you think!
IMG_1656 from EnduroPacks on Vimeo.
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