Since I've come to the conclusion that I can't handle gels, I'm on a mission to find something that doesn't upset my stomach during my long runs.
Clif Bar recently sent me some goodies to try out so I thought I'd compare the
LUNA moons to the Clif Shot Bloks. If you haven't tried LUNA products, it's a line of nutrition products geared towards women athletes. I tried the Pomegranate flavor during my 15 mile run the other day and I have to say, I wasn't a fan. While they are smaller bites than the Clif shot bloks, I thought they were really hard to chew and the flavor reminded me of medicine. Nutritionally, they provided what I needed during the run with 100 calories, 70mg sodium, and 24g carbohydrates. The nice thing about the LUNA moons is that each flavor has an added benefit. The pomegranate contains 50% of your daily value of vitamin C. Blueberry has antioxidant vitamins A, C and E while watermelon contains your B vitamins.
I then tried the orange flavored Clif shot bloks with 1/2 shot (25mg) caffeine during my 16 mile run this past weekend. I thought these were a lot easier to chew than the moons, even though they are bigger, and the taste was much better. The packet contains 2 servings so I emptied them into a ziploc prior to the run so I had only what I needed. For 3 bloks, they contain the same nutritional values as stated above for the moons, minus the added benefit of vitamin C.
Both of these products use organic ingredients I am happy to report that neither of these upset my stomach. However, I personally did not like the moons as much as the bloks.
25 comments:
I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend checking out Honey Stinger Energy Chews! You may have seen them on my blog, and they are amazing! Shot Bloks feel like they're going to pull out my fillings, and I wasn't that big of a fan of the Luna Moons either. The Honey Stingers taste really good and they're not hard to chew at all! I chomped right through them on my last long run, especially because I had them right next to my body, making them extra soft and easy to chew.
While I like Clif and Luna for other products, Honey Stinger is definitely my top choice for gel alternatives. They're also organic, if you're into that!
Kudos to you for being able to chew and run - all of the gummy items hurt my jaw too much to eat and run (no idea why)!
I've heard good things about fig neutons for sensitive stomached runners, but you have to not smash them in the process and they don't have caffine.
great review of some pretty cool products. Not sure we have that much of a selection up here, but i'll have to check it out!
I love shot blok raspberry. LOVE. Although I did try some Sharkies this weekend, and they were pretty good too.
i'm right there w/ u... i liked the luna moons but prefer clif shot blox way better!
I tried the Carb Boom gels on my past long run and actually 'enjoyed' them. The Cliff gels are just too gooey for me but the CB's were much better. I actually made it through 2 gels - a record for me and I have the worst sensitive stomach in the world.
I've had the ClifBloks before and they work really well as long as it doesn't get too cold and they become really hard. Another thing I've tried that are really easy on the stomach are Sportbeans.
Good to know! I tend to like clif bars but I haven't tried the bloks or gels.
Shot Blok rasberry is the best :)
Glad you are finding what works. I don't like gels much either- I only ever use Tri-Berry GU, everything else makes me yucky.
I like the Moons better than the Bloks (I haven't tried raspberry, yet, so maybe I'll change my mind). I like the consistency of the Moons. The Bloks are almost too gooey for me.
I agree with Rookie on the Run about moons over blocks, though I did have a pack of strawberry blocks during the adventure race yesterday, and they definitely hit the spot.
I like the moons myself, have you tried blueberry flavoured? I usually go with gels but towards the end of runs I like a switch and pull out the soft chewable energy.
ILOVE the Luna lemon bars, but I am not sure how the bar would work on the run...
I finally tried shot blocks a couple of weeks ago. I ate them before my run and really liked how easily I could chew them. Last year all I used were Gu and sports beans(very hard to chew and would get stuck in my teeth). I will have to try the Luna products. I also just bought Hammer gels because I heard such great things about them.
I have moons and bloks at home, and by far the bloks beat the moons! I have the exact same critique as you - the moons are too tough and chewy. The bloks are much easier to chew even though they are bigger, and they just taste sooo good. I found myself craving them the other day just doing housework - I wanted to pop one for a boost of energy while dusting. ha
I have the same issue with stomach upset (if you read my blog about my race this weekend, you'll see how gross it can get!!) I'm going to take Susan's advice and try the Honey Stingers.
I recommend Jelly Belly sport beans!
I bought a bag of everything at REI a few weeks ago. It's a bit of an adventure every long run to see what I get to sample. . . and I liked all of it so far! Maybe I'm easy.
I used to use the luna moons... I tried the blocks but I was the opposite, thought the moons were easier to chew and I LOVED the flavor :) yum. But I went back to gels after I couldnt take the chewing anymore and almost gagged them up on a 20 miler :)
I've recently tried Power Bar Gel Blasts in Cola flavor and I ws able to stomach them much better than I could some of the other options out there. I have a very sensitive stomach and run to the bathroom more often than not when trying new options. Check them out, I got them at my local running store here in Orlando.
http://www.powerbar.com/products/18/POWERBAR_GEL_BLAST_Cola.aspx
I'm glad you found something that works for you! I thought the Moons were hard to chew as well.
I love the new packaging of the Bloks - so much easier to run with. Powerbar makes a similar chewy energy source too. I didnt like them at first but recently had some sample packs and now I love them.
I've used Clif before - too big... Can someone actually make something that tastes good, doesn't get stomach upset, and is good for energy?
hmmm..
good to hear about your blocks versus moons!
I'll have to try the bloks. I like the moons but they get stuck in my teeth! I like something chewy, but not THAT chewy!
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