My friends often wonder how I can consume so many sweets and not weigh a million pounds. Well, I run. But here’s something they might not know – I eat candy when I run! Back when I trained with some ultrarunners, I learned to eat while running. Typical endurance foods such as PowerBars just didn’t taste that great to a Candy Addict like me, so I started taking more appealing yet equally energy-boosting treats, such as Snickers bars, red licorice, M&Ms, gummi bears, and ooh, Jelly Belly jellybeans!
Well, manufacturers of energy foods have gotten smarter, and they’ve started producing endurance treats that actually taste good (that means they taste like candy). Clif, the makers of Clif Bar, have developed a carbohydrate and electrolyte replacement product called Shot Bloks that are rather like gummi candies. Offered in a number of flavors, including strawberry, cola, orange, lemon lime, and cran razz, these little cubes are designed to give the athlete a boost of energy. Some of them contain caffeine, but all boast organic brown rice syrup and are sweetened with organic evaporated cane juice.
I have tried several of the flavors, but I think my favorite is black cherry (hmm, it’s one of the caffeinated ones!). Here’s a breakdown of the flavors I have tried:
Black Cherry: As I mentioned, I like this flavor a lot! After I’ve been running for 13 miles or so, I tend to want something that is pretty strong in flavor, perhaps to distract me from the fatigue! Black Cherry is very flavorful, and they really do taste like black cherry – fruity and full flavored but not cloyingly sweet. Black Cherry has 50 mg of caffeine, which is pretty welcome after a couple hours of running.
Strawberry: I love strawberries and, yes, strawberry flavors, so the Strawberry Shot Bloks should be among my favorites. While they aren’t bad and do have a nice, true strawberry flavor, I find them to be a little too subtle and a tad too sweet to really satisfy me. This flavor is not caffeinated.
Cran Razz: I also really like cranberry-raspberry combinations, but similar to the Strawberry Shot Bloks, these Cran Razz Shot Bloks lean a bit too strongly in the sweet camp, and the flavors don’t pack a punch like the Black Cherry Shot Bloks. And again like the strawberry flavor, Cran Razz is not caffeinated.
Margarita: I am not a drinker, so I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought a package of these. Maybe I was hoping I would become impaired enough that I wouldn’t have to think about how much farther I had to run! But, the main draw of the Margarita Shot Bloks is that they contain triple the amount of sodium compared to the other Shot Bloks. The salt is supposed to stave off muscle cramps. The flavor is definitely reminiscent of margaritas, though I am no expert. They don’t really taste like tequila, but imagine something that is “margarita flavor,” and you’ll know what these are like (maybe it’s the triple sec and lime flavor?). They do not taste extraordinarily salty. In fact, this flavor is pretty tasty!
So, if you’re looking for something to give you a boost and satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these little treats. Just leave some Black Cherry for me!
Buy Clif Shot Bloks online:
- at Amazon.com
Um…..you know “evaporated cane juice” is just plain old sugar, right?
June 24th, 2008 at 3:02 pmLisa, but it is organic!
I can’t wait to find these where I live!
June 24th, 2008 at 5:11 pmI saw these and were scared to try them, I even got as close to putting them on the counter, but chickened out in the end. Maybe I’ll try again.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:20 pm