Living in a rural mountain community in the US it’s actually really hard to find any sort of grab and go snacks or meals that aren’t loaded with junk. I know because I’ve been practicing the ketogenic way of eating since October 2017. Yes, I’ve become one of those people who walks through the grocery store reading every single label, checking the ingredient list and nutrition facts and then 99.9% of the time putting the product back on the shelf where it belongs. Really, I just stick to the produce, deli and frozen meat sections of the stores now.
But as you can imagine it gets a little tricky to find food to take hiking and backpacking that will pack out well and isn’t too perishable.
That’s why I was so excited to hear about Nutberg drinkable meals.
This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience, see my full disclosure for more info.
This is a sponsored post which means I received free product in exchange for review, but don’t worry, I only recommend things I use and love. Read on to find out the pros and cons and if Nutberg is right for you.
What is Nutberg?
Nutberg’s goal is simple – to provide vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, ultralight food to keep us fueled on the go, whether that’s a long day working, running errands, or out on the trail. The ingredients are delicious and recognizable, not overly processed, and easy to prepare. All you need is Nutberg and water, but you could add in some extra goodies if you want to.
The meals:
Nutberg meals currently come in 3 flavors –
Classic which has coconut, oats, rice protein, almonds, tapioca, almond protein, hazelnut protein, coconut sugar, chia seeds, cocoa, cinnamon, guar gum, and himalayan salt in it.
Cocoa which has coconut, oats, rice protein, almonds, tapioca, almond protein, hazelnut protein, coconut sugar, cocoa, chia seeds, coffee, guar gum, and himalayan salt in it.
Banana which has coconut, oats, rice protein, almonds, banana, tapioca, almond protein, hazelnut protein, coconut sugar, chia seeds, cinnamon, guar gum, and himalayan salt in it.
Each pack is 500 calories, which I think is worthy of a meal replacement shake. Did you ever notice some prepackaged backpacking meals or meal bars only have 100-200 calories in them?? Haha! That’s not a meal in my book, especially for active hikers and backpackers. Make sure you keep an eye on that as you’re shopping around for food for your summer adventures. You can see the full nutrition facts for Nutberg on their website here.
What I liked about Nutberg:
The meal pouches are very lightweight, compact, easy to use, and easy to pack the trash out. They made the perfect lunches on my two day hiking trip!
The price is on point. Each meal costs between $3.48-4.60 USD and is totally worth it.
The shakes are also easy to clean up. At first glance, they are kind of ‘chunky’ for example, you can see flakes of coconut or tiny pieces of nut all on the inside of the bottle after mixing and drinking. My husband even said right away, that’s gonna be a bitch to clean!
But it wasn’t at all! None of the ingredients are actually sticky or gooey, so I just added a little bit more water to my bottle when I was done, shook it up again, drank it, then rinsed one more time and dispersed any remaining food bits.
Before trying Nutberg, I was a little skeptical about the taste. If you’ve ever been on the search for any sort of meal replacement shakes, you probably know there are some pretty odd and down right bad tasting shakes out there!
But they really did take me by surprise and have created a great tasting backpacking meal out of real food. Although, full disclaimer, all three flavors are pretty coconut-y, which I love! But if you don’t like coconut – Nutberg might not be for you.
I tried each flavor on its own, just with water – they were great and super easy to prepare that way, but I’m already dreaming up ways to add in a little pizzazz and up the fat content a little bit. If you’re not familiar with the keto way of eating, we burn fat for energy instead of carbs, so I usually need to add a little extra fat to my meals and snacks.
If you’re looking to add a little variety to your Nutberg, because let’s face it, even eating the same delicious thing every day on a long distance hike can get a little boring sometimes, try any of these:
- 1 Tbs cocoa powder
- 1Tbs powdered peanut butter (Nutberg is created in the EU, and I understand it’s an American thing to want to add peanut butter to everything, but I can’t help it!)
- 1 Tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tbs MCT oil, coconut oil, ghee or butter (if you’re a fat burner, or just want extra calories)
- Powdered milk or powdered heavy whipping cream
What I didn’t like about Nutberg:
I can’t say I didn’t like them – because I did! But I do wish they didn’t have any added sugar. There is some coconut sugar in there, not a huge amount, and it’s technically better than plain old white table sugar, but at the end of the day, it’s still sugar.
I can’t complain too much though, because especially while backpacking, our bodies will burn through that pretty quickly, but I’d rather the meal be sugar free and just have it plain or add in my own monkfruit sweetener instead.
All in all, that is not a deal breaker for me, I would just eat these meals in moderation like anything else with sugar and carbs.
How to get Nutberg for yourself
You can order these drinkable meals directly from Nutberg here, with free 2-4 day shipping. Plus they have a money-back good taste guarantee, so if you’re even a little bit interested in adding these meals to your camping and backpacking menu – just try them out!
Then let us know in the comments, what’s your favorite way to use Nutberg?
For more hiking snack and meal ideas, check out:
- Tasty keto beef jerky recipes
- Hiking snacks to add variety to your pack
- Cheesy bacon and grits for backpackers
- Best backpacker’s Pad Thai
Very interested in trying Nutberg. Can use hiking and doing my geology field work. Should be very handy