Fueling for Winter

Luckily winter is my favorite activity time of the year. We are lucky to have skiing, snowy road runs, sledding, nordic skiing, hockey and my absolute most favorite sport, backcountry skiing! 

The hard thing is what to eat and how to stay hydrated. When you are out in the cold you are burning more kcals and need to bring a little more food on your adventure. Keeping your energy load up helps keep you warm and ward off frost nip and bite. I like to plan with foods that won't freeze in low temps. My typical go to is a nutrient-dense bag of gorp with dried fruit, nuts and coconut, complete with all the macros (carbohydrate, protein, and fat).

Other great winter food ideas are:

• cured meats- tasty, salty, high in protein 

• donuts-yup they are delicious and sometimes when you are cold and working hard up at higher elevations you can lose the signal for your appetite. Make sure you pack enticing foods that you can coax yourself into eating.

• crackers, pretzels, and chips: they also won't freeze and the salt helps you stay balanced if you’re sweating and will also stimulate the thirst signal to help with hydration.

Hydration is critical in the winter because it tends to be dryer and we are constantly losing moisture. It’s also often unappealing to drink ice cold water, so my favorite is tea. Since I also have a hard time staying fueled with enough energy I add extra kcals to my fluids as well. I make ski tea or fatty tea for my adventures.

Caffeinated Ski Tea

Chai tea or green tea (the caffeine if you tolerate it well can give you a boost) 

milk of whatever kind you enjoy (I use oat milk with fat)

Butter or coconut oil 2-3 TBS

Honey 

Non-caffeinated Ski Tea

mint 

milk

butter 2 -3 Tbs 

coco powder 

maple syrup

Enjoy playing this winter! What are your winter favorites?