Huma Chia Energy Gels

So I have finally gone through all the Huma Chia Energy Gels that I got.  Sorry I'm a bonk runner who loves to run on an empty tank, it hard for me to eat on junk mile runs.  

Let me start by saying that being on an empty tank and bonking is not a worry with Huma.

Chia is a real super fuel and Huma does a great job of packing that power into portable packets.

Much easier to eat than this...

Or this

Great long lasting energy that also gives you an initial bump too. Fast and long acting energy!   Power up!

Goes down easy, and doesn't want to come back up on a run.  What more could you want? Superior to GU in that it tastes like a human could have made it, not some Terminator machine

So question? Do you like fig Newtons?

Me too!  Love em! Have you tried all their flavors?

No?  Because they all taste the same...fig is just a super distinct flavor and texture that you can't overcome.  

This is my one grip I can make about Huma.  The Chocolate is the only one that really tastes different.  The rest are like flavored raisins. I love raisins but I don't need different flavors.  They really should just make a Chia Fresca flavor, just lemon or lime and simple syrup.

That would be the perfect Chia gel flavor for me.  

Final thoughts are easy…

Buy and try Huma Chia Gels!!!

They are great. Find a gel with a Chia accent flavor you like and enjoy the miles.  It's the propane of energy gels. Clean burning and efficient.

It will be a permanent addition to my fuel tackle box.  GU for the little ones, Huma for the long runs!

Thanks for reading everyone.  I really appreciate it. Would love to tell you more about how awesome Huma is but I gotta run!

Huma Chia Energy Gel: Apple Cinnamon Review

Apple Cinnamon Chia Energy Gel?  I like all those words! So just like the other Huma gels they have that nice real food nutrition profile.

This one has not fat or caffeine.  So let's start the Apple Cinnamon Challenge!

This one really tastes like…

And I love apple pie, a lot, maybe too much.

Apple pie shame…

No shame with these gels!  Tastes like homemade apple pie filling.  The apple has a cooked apple puree flavor with sharp cinnamon notes.  Most apple gels taste about as natural as this

This is where the fig Newtons flavor of the Chia seeds becomes an asset to the flavor rather than something that detracts from the experience.

It fueled the run great.  No crash. No belly issues.  I did notice the lack of caffeine this time but I think I'm becoming an addict so I need help…

Where does this one stand up in the rankings for the other flavors?

Number one is Chocolate, but Apple Cinnamon is the current second with Cafe Mocha taking up the rear.

Many flavors left!  Who will be the Victor?  The question isn't should you use Huma Chia Energy Gel, the question is which flavor!

Keep checking back for more flavors!

Gotta run...

Huma Chia Energy Gel: Cafe Mocha Review

Ch-ch-ch-chia!  I am an unabashed Chia seed fan.  And we are right in the beginning of the Huma Chia energy Gel taste test off!

I also love mochas!

So what's not to love about cafe mocha energy gels?  And with double caffeine!!

I love their nutrition profile.  Carbs, fat, and protein it's almost real food that you can eat on the go.  And again the Chia Magic really does give you that nice long lasting energy, no crash and burn.  

So as an energy gel product this stuff is awesome as an endurance nutrition product.  But how does it stack up tastewise to the chocolate?

Chia can impart a weird kind of fig taste.  Like fig Newtons.

I love fig Newtons.  But I don't want chocolate fig Newtons.  The cafe mocha doesn't have enough chocolate to overcome that figgy taste for me.  Now would I still grab one of these over a non Chia containing gel?  Most likely.  But would I grab a chocolate flavor over mocha?  Yes!

But the question is what order should you grab the flavors?  Stay tuned to find out!

Gotta run!

Huma Chia Energy Gel: Chocolate Review

So the fine folks at Huma sent me a sampling of their Chia gels.  This video is.from their site.  Watch it!  It's actually funny.

https://youtu.be/XCXyx2hKOec

So everyone who knows me knows that I love Chia seeds.  I’ve been on the Chia band wagon since Born to Run.  Chiahead  life!

And Bob Ross is awesome!  No mistakes only happy accidents.

So the packaging looks like every other gel. With caffeine!

Fat, protein, and fiber!  Almost sounds like real food.  So my biggest wonder was what was it going to look like inside.  Seeds and jelly?  Nope...

Looks and tastes like really good chocolate frosting!  

Can I lick the spoon?  

So seriously.  This stuff is really good.  I can taste the Chia-ness faintly in the background but only because I eat Chia all the time and you can't slip it past me.  But in general I think you could pass this off as organic frosting.  

The chocolate is rich and smooth and wonderful.  Between the caffeine and Chia magic I had a great little run with one of these as my breakfast and coffee combined.  

Maybe it's the Chia placebo effect (or the caffeine) but I really did feel a little kick in my stride.  No crash.  No stomach issues.  

Like all chocolate gels my only complaint is that I don't ever really want to eat chocolate gels in the heat.  Hot weather and a hot running belly just don't want to play with rich coco.   

So as usual I will be reviewing every flavor that I have individually and ranking them.  So as the first flavor the chocolate is of course first place right now.

So who will win the best taste test? According to their site it's going to be strawberry which is their most popular flavor.  Stay tuned to find out!  But for now... gotta run!

The Third Day of V

Happy V 3 everyone!  Take off your shirts and grab your tridents...

We start day three brought to by Vfuel an the number 3

Today's pairing is way too on the nose but we will see how it worked.

This run was fueled by Cool Lime

And Cool Citrus

So this seemed like the ultimate no brainer lime and citrus.  And Cool!  I'm not sure that is this kind of cool

Or this kind

Let's start with my pre run snack the Cool Citrus gel.

I don't know what I was expecting, mint? Lime? Lemonade? But what I got was some thing like this...

They should rename this gel Key Lime Pie.  The citrus notes are softened so it is not that sharp, tart, acidi taste.  The effect tasting very much like the cream and lime of Key Lime Pie.  Very nice...

Again time to let the belly cauldron heat up in the warm (sweltering) Carolina sun (sauna).  Once we reached our operational temperature it was time to try the liquid portion of our fueling 

I don't know what I was expecting 

But this about sums it up.  Limeade that doesn't make your teeth hurt and your face pucker.  It's like they used Nerf limes to make it.  All the flavor none of the bite and burn.  

This is probably the best pairing we will have all V Festival.  But how are the individual standing going?  

Gels:

1: Cool Citrus

2: Peach Cobbler

3: Salted Caramel Apple

Drinks:

1: Tangerine Cream

2: Cool Lime

3: Black Cherry Cola

Where will the remaining gels and drinks rank.  And what is up with the three legged thingy on the Isle of Man flag?

But for now I'm just going to chill and relax

Catch you on the flip side... Gotta run!

The First Day of V

Happy Uno de Mayo!  

So for the first day of the festival of V I chose to get out of the way what I was worried would be the low flavors...

Tangerine Cream

Peach Cobbler.

These are two favors that I would not have bought ever under normal circumstances.  But when given the bounty from the fine folks at Vfuel I will try anything once.  

So reviewing gels is pretty easy since you can eat them cold or hot. By this I mean you can eat them before you run and during a run so the taste doesn't seem to change as much.  

But drinks are another story all together!  Take Gatorage for example... It's ok to drink as a soda alternative when you are just out and about but when I am really out running in the heat Haterade just tastes nasty.  So drinks have a magical on the run flavor change that happens.  Trying drinks while just chilling and they usually taste a bit thin and watered down but once you get a few miles in the real flavor unlocks!

So back to the easy part...

I was expecting a super peachy tasting monstrosity...

But in stead I got a much more pleasant version of this...

The peach taste was fruity but not overly tart and I swear I could taste a flour like crust taste.   If you told me that they blend up grandma's peach cobbler to use as a flavoring I might believe it.  Very nicely done.

Now we come to the real challenge.  Drink on a hot running belly.  

This really tasted like an awesome melted down version of this...

The best way I can describe it is "soft orange"... By this I mean that it has all the  flavor of an orange but with out the acid and the bite.  Safety orange?  

And the pairing worked very well together . Like a fine wine and a fine meal.

So of course as of this moment these are the winners since they are the only ones but we will see how this flavor draft ends up as the days go on.  

On the first day of V, I'm going to go drive off in my Fiat Uno

Actually after the wonderful bounty of fruit today I think I'm taking this one off the lot

A little more appropriate after the super fueled up run I had. 

I'll see you all tomorrow on Dos de Mayo!  Gotta run...