Food choice mistake

[Pathfinder]

Yesterday I was on an all day outing near the Bankhead NF.  When we stopped to eat, all I ate was a Chocolate Moon Pie and a Little Debbie Apple Pie.  At the same time I washed my junk food down with a Mello Yello.  A short while after we ate, we were hiking around and I became very exhausted.  I mentioned to Pulley and Casey that I didn't remember feeling so tired on an outing.  I am convinced that my foolish selection of sugary junk foods and pop was the reason I experience such a major letdown in energy levels.  From now on I will make sure I make better choices of foods and drinks with proper amounts of  protein and carbs.  I honestly didn't think it would make such a huge impact on me while on a 1-day outing.  I've learned my lesson.  Being 55 years old probably had a little to do with it also.

[SmokeDiver]

I understand the desire for packaged convenience; candy snacks ain't gonna cut it though! Try Clif Bars, they come in some sweet tooth soothing varieties. You can also try Shot Bloks, they're like little gummy candies designed to be eaten while on the move, giving you a little gluco shot every half mile or so. I've used them on long bike rides. Be warned, the lemon flavor is awful. Orange for the win!

I was holding out on the energy food scene, but after trying Clif's products I've changed my stance. I also grab dehydrated fruit at the local health food store. Pineapple is a delish sweet delight and provides a heck of an energy boost. Easy to pack and no prep.

[Cuffs]

he he, you said pop!  You're from the north (me too!)

Grab The Gold... Similar to Clif but not nearly as dry, balanced but cures the sweet tooth

[SmokeDiver]

he he, you said pop!  You're from the north (me too!)

Grab The Gold... Similar to Clif but not nearly as dry, balanced but cures the sweet tooth

You ought not throw insults around like that!

JK- my mother is a Yankee. They don't get much farther north than Maine. Crazy grandma is Canada born.  We don't talk about them much though.

[Cuffs]

I still say pop, people look at me like "huh?  What?" apparently everything here is a Coke...  I got mine from Michigan.

[SmokeDiver]

Haha, well, it figures since Cola was born in the south. The name Coke just stuck. I've heard old timers call it "So-Dee Wut-er" as in soda water. I know when I lived in Charlotte it was usually called a soft drink or soda. Further south it would go towards coke. Head towards Maryland and it became a soda pop. Talk to someone from New England and it was just a pop.

[Joshua Szulecki]

I don't know, where I grew up (central/western MD) is was soda, not pop or soda pop. Same in New York, although a few people I knew added an R to the end of soda, to becom so-der. Pronounced like an Amish name. Northern Jersey and E. PA, too. I think pop may be more common in W. PA.

Pop is more midwest/Canada from my experience, with a heavy dose of New England, too.  

Calling everything a Coke is pretty much a southern phenomenon, and I was baffled when shortly after arriving in Alabama, a professor indicated that we would be having a "Coke party" after some event.

[JC785]

We were in Saskatchewan (SP?) Canada on a trip and they called it pop.

[Lostsheep]

Ya'll need to get with the program.... IT'S COKE FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!

[SmokeDiver]

I think the name Coke stuck because so many soft drinks came from that extract back in the day. It just stuck round here.

If you want to nitpick a southern drink though, sweet tea is way too sweet for my taste. Unsweet rocks!

[WolfVanZandt]

Actually, the correct term is R-O-C Cola as in "I'm gonna get myself a Moonpie and an R-O-C Cola."
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Don't feel too bad, Pathfinder. I have a friend who thought that Eagle Brand milk would be a perfect trail food. It didn't stay down too long.

[jcramin]

I don't know, where I grew up (central/western MD) is was soda, not pop or soda pop. Same in New York, although a few people I knew added an R to the end of soda, to becom so-der. Pronounced like an Amish name. Northern Jersey and E. PA, too. I think pop may be more common in W. PA.

Pop is more midwest/Canada from my experience, with a heavy dose of New England, too.  

Calling everything a Coke is pretty much a southern phenomenon, and I was baffled when shortly after arriving in Alabama, a professor indicated that we would be having a "Coke party" after some event.

Im from the mid-west born and raised and lived in St Louis Missouri for 30 years, its SODA for me.

J

[Firedog]

It ain't sweet tea if it ain't sweet. It's just tea. If your from the south, and it's carbonated, it's a coke no matter what the flavor.

[Lesley]

I'm from Atlanta and grew up hearing cocola, pronounced co-cola. As in "Ya'll want a cocola?" Then it was "Coke/Sprite/Mr. Pibb," never Pepsi. Only Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper are acceptable non-Coke ^(TM) soft drinks. Surge had Mt. Dew beat for a while though, and Jolt was popular for slumber parties.

Sweet tea can be too sweet, but I find that really it's more a problem of the tea being to weak. Tea should be almost as dark as bourbon or weak coffee. Real coffee should not be transparent at all.

Food selection is critical on the trail. Personally too much sugar and I get shaky, or too little salt or water and my extremities swell up like a marshmallow in the microwave. For my sweet tooth on the trail an apple and peanut butter are the best thing I can think of, or carb it up with more hearty snacks like wheat crackers and cheeses/dry meats. You really should try to balance the sugar/carb with some protein or fiber to help temper the glucose spike. Doing that will help prevent shakes, sweats, vertigo and crashes. Milk at the end of the day isn't a bad idea. The protein might help ease some muscle soreness and it has more electrolytes in it than water. But good luck getting it in there.

[Joshua Szulecki]

These maps clear up the soda vs. pop vs. coke debate.

The long an short of it is that it is mostly "soda" from Maryland/Northern Virginia to Maine, west to the PA mountains. Soda returns in St. Louis and California. South of N. Virginia, west to Arizona, it is "coke." With the exception of coastal Wisconsin, everything else is "pop."

http://strangemaps.files..../2008/08/popvssodamap.gif
http://popvssoda.com:2998/

[SmokeDiver]

Sometimes when I'm doing an overnighter I'll go ultralight, and that includes the food. Ditch the stove and pack a jar of peanut butter and some Clif products. Dip a Clif bar in peanut butter to get one whopping energy punch. I find I don't really care about the taste of the food I"m eating when on a trip. Sometimes cooking can be more of a chore than a pleasure on the trail.

[WolfVanZandt]

I've been exposed to so many cultures, I don't know what to call it anymore - I think I've stuck pretty close to "soft drink". I have the same problem with "dinner/supper", I no longer know what to call meals so I just call them "food".

[Joshua Szulecki]

Milk at the end of the day isn't a bad idea. The protein might help ease some muscle soreness and it has more electrolytes in it than water. But good luck getting it in there.

Parmalat is okay, if you can find it. No refrigeration needed. Usually found with the juice boxes or condensed milk. Used to come in a juice box, but I haven't bought it in years, so no clue... Still heavy, but it tastes better than powdered milk.

[Joshua Szulecki]

I have the same problem with "dinner/supper", I no longer know what to call meals so I just call them "food".

That's okay, when we were at UMD, a friend and I started calling all meals "pie." It started because they started selling pie.

[ednotmilkman]

I think Nido powdered milk tastes pretty goood since it is full fat.

[mule]

pathfinder
i have found that the combo of clif bars(bluberry crisp my fave)plain almonds,a good trail mix(with dried fruit),beef jerky and shelf milk(horizon chocolate in 8 oz. size)work very well for me.this satisfies my sweet tooth and gives me plenty of energy.oh yes and water plenty of water(if you dont already have 1 then cosider a hydration pac because by the time you feel like you must stop to drink you are already dehydrated)this way you can stay wet(hydrated)all the time.keep in mind this is just for day hikes.
happy trails!
mule

[Jackalope]

Hey Mule! Good to see you on the board! Good to see some more NE Mississippi folks around here!

Now if we can just get Jeff on board........... .

[mule]

jeff does need to get on board.we will just have to badger him till he does.haha