Aug 4, 20213 min read

5 Easy Hiking Lunch Ideas While Intermittent Fasting

If you're Intermittent Fasting and you're planning on going on a hike, what should you plan to bring with you for when you break your fast? Today, I'm sharing what to consider when packing your lunch for a hike plus 5 easy hiking lunch ideas.

What Should You Eat On A Long Hike While Intermittent Fasting?

If you are hiking in the morning during your fast, it's important to break your fast with high quality sources of protein and fat. Protein is needed to provide amino acids for muscle recovery. Fat is used as your energy source to keep you feeling satisfied without having to stop and eat every hour of your workout. Ideally, getting in a source of fiber will also help to keep you feeling full and satisfied, however this isn't always realistic while hiking.

5 Easy Hiking Lunch Ideas

Below are 5 super simple lunch (or "break-fast") options that you can bring with you on a hike to make sure you feel satisfied and energized.

Protein Packed Smoothie

Blending a smoothie and stashing it in a thermos is a super simple way to get all of the protein, fat and fiber you need in one meal. You can test out my Chocolate Covered Almond Smoothie with THIS recipe.

Jerky, Beef Sticks and Nuts/Seeds

For a non-perishable option that's lightweight and requires zero prep, you can opt for jerky or beef sticks paired with nuts and seeds. This gets straight to the point with your protein and fat needs in order to ensure you have the amino acids to aid in recovery from your hike. I love pairing jerky/beef sticks with a mix of macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and almonds. You can also throw some pumpkin seeds in their for a boost of magnesium.

Here are my jerky and beef stick recommendations:

Country Archer Zero Sugar Grass-fed Beef Jerky (found on Amazon HERE)
Chomps Grass-fed Beef Sticks (found on Amazon HERE)
Paleo Valley Grass-fed Beef Sticks (found on Amazon HERE)

Single Serve Tuna Packets With Olives

For a convenient on-the-go option, you can now buy individual packets of tuna and olives. This means all you have to do is tear off the top of the bag and dig in! Tuna helps provide a huge boost of high quality protein and the olives bring the satiating monounsaturated fats.

Here are my single serve tuna and olive recommendations:

Safe Catch Low Mercury Tuna (found on Amazon HERE)
Frutto d'Italia Green Pitted Olives (found on Amazon HERE)

Flax Bread Sandwich

If you have a little bit of time to prep, this flax bread sandwich option is gluten-free, grain-free and extremely simple to make. You can pair your flax bread with a protein and fat of your choice plus some zero-sugar condiments and lettuce. Depending on how long your hike is, you may want to store this with a bag of ice in your backpack.

You can find the Flax Bread recipe on my blog HERE.

Here are zero-sugar condiments that I love:

Primal Kitchens Chipotle Lime Mayo (found on Amazon HERE)
Primal Kitchens Dijon or Spicy Brown Mustards (found on Amazon HERE)

Chia Brekky Bowl

Chia seeds are absolutely packed with fiber to help keep you satisfied. Chia Brekky Bowls can be loaded up with high quality proteins like greek yogurt or protein powder as well as fats such as coconut cream and peanut butter to get the amino acids and fatty acids to fuel your hike. Pack this in a small thermos to keep it cool throughout your journey.

You can test out my favorite Chia Brekky Bowl featured from my cookbook "Autumn's Nerdy Kitchen Cookbook" with the video below.