Whether you’re embarking on a short outdoorsy hike in your area or a lengthy excursion to challenge your muscles and endurance, bringing along the right snacks for hiking is crucial to ensure that you properly fuel your body. Pack foods that’ll deliver energy, essential vitamins, minerals and proteins. Read on to learn more about our top snacks for hiking that are both nutritious, easy to carry, and delicious, too.
Raw Pumpkin Seeds
These are no ordinary seeds! Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of zinc, an essential for a healthy immune system—which is why they made of our list of the top snacks for hiking. You can eat them from the shell by themselves or you can choose to add them to your own trail mix.
Roasted Chickpeas
If you’re tired of packing peanuts or almonds on your next trip (or if you simply have a nut allergy), roasted chickpeas are a great option for to much while you’re walking. You can either find a pack in your local grocery store or make some yourself! Here is an easy-to-make roasted chickpeas recipe from TheKitchn.
Pretzels
Looking for snacks for hiking that don’t require any prep work? Pretzels are a good choice because they’re super lightweight and easy to carry. Be sure to select the ones with salt, which helps to replenish your body when you’re on a long hike. You can even find multigrain pretzels that would pack an additional healthy punch!
Freeze Dried Fruit
While embarking on your next hike, you’ll need all the vitamins from fruit that you can get to power you through. The question is, how do you take fruit with you when you’re braving the elements? How to you prevent a banana from getting smushed in your backpack? In comes freeze dried Crispy Fruit, which comes in seven different fruit varieties, including Apple, Banana, Mango, Asian Pear, Pineapple, Tangerine and Cantaloupe. Nearly all of the moisture is removed from the fresh fruit, and it results in a light and crispy texture that snacks like a chip. The fruit still contains nearly all of its original nutritional benefits, but it becomes portable when you’re out and about.
Peanut Butter and Crackers
This no-fuss option is great because it gives you tons of essential protein from the peanut butter and a good dose of carbohydrates from the crackers. If crackers aren’t exactly your thing, use two rice crackers with peanut butter in between for a crunchy sandwich! Even better, add banana slices—yum! You can also find grab-and-go packages of peanut butter, like Justin’s Nut Butter packets, to make this snack easily packable.
Beef Jerky
We’re not talking about your average Slim Jim here! Beef jerky is one of the greatest snacks for hiking because it is a great combination of fat, carbohydrates, and protein that help you to power through your hike. It’s also easy to transport and doesn’t need to be refrigerated, unlike traditional meats. Try Krave Jerky’s variety of flavors.