Maple Products for Athletes

​It won't be long before the sap rises and maple syrup season arrives. I tried a few maple themed products from New England that can be used for sports fueling and hydration.

Drink Maple is described as "pure maple water, straight from the tree." It is from Concord, MA and is marketed as a sports drink. An 8 ounce portion has 25 Calories, 6 grams of carbohydrate, and 40% of the daily manganese requirement. (Manganese does not have any particular known benefit for athletic performance.) This product has a little more body and sweetness than plain water.

Untapped, based in Richmond, VT, offers maple waffles and 1 ounce packets of maple syrup. The waffles are made with organic maple syrup and have 140 Calories and 20 grams of carbohydrate. They are a little drier and crumblier than I expected, but the maple flavor was pleasant. The Slopeside Syrup is billed as "all natural athletic fuel" and has 100 Calories, 26 grams of carbohydrate, and 60% of the daily manganese requirement. These could be used as carb sources during cross-country skiing, running,  cycling, or other activity.

Brown Cow maple whole milk yogurt is distributed by Stonyfield yogurt in Londonderry, NH. It provides 130 Calories, 23 grams carbohydrate, and 5 g protein. It is a "cream top" yogurt with a pleasant mpale flavor. It would make a good recovery snack.

If you are looking for a change from standard sports drinks and gels give one of these a try!

​© 2017 Kathleen Searles, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN