When you read the title of today’s post, what came to mind? Perhaps you thought of a Tiger Bar, which is really more candy bar than anything for your fitness. There are plenty of choices out there, ranging from ones loaded with protein and ingredients you can only find in a lab to ones as simple as the Lara Bar (nuts and fruit).

In the Intrepid store, we have Lara Bars and these are even Whole30 compliant, but note — these are more akin to nature’s candy bar, as we’ve mentioned before. We also carry the OMB, which isn’t okay on the Whole30 due to the artificially sweetened protein powder it has, but this is a little more well-rounded choice than the Lara Bar since it has some protein. The convenience factor for these bars is that they travel well and prep time is only as long as it takes you to tear through the wrapper.

However, you may be surprised to find out that the concept of a shelf-stable, easily portable nutrition source is nothing new. North American Indians would take extremely dry beef jerky, grind it into a fine powder and add beef tallow and sometimes add a small amount of fruit. This concoction is known by the Cree word pemmican.

The wonderful thing about pemmican is that by its nature, it is fully Whole30 compliant. When made with grass-fed beef and tallow, you’re getting an ideal mixture of protein and the “good” fats to go along with it. You can read more about it here on the U.S. Wellness Meats blog. I finally got around to ordering some and I like it, but I tend to have a higher tolerance for “weird” food than the average person.

With summer upon us, many of you will be traveling, camping and/or hiking and looking for food to take with you. While the Lara Bar is an easy option, pemmican packs a nutritional punch and will keep you satiated for a much longer time. It will keep at room temperature for 7 to 10 days, which is plenty for all but the most hardcore backpacker.

If you’re curious to give it a try, you can get it in a bulk form or packaged in convenient bars. Beware that it frequently sells out, which is what I ran into every time I wanted to give it a try in the past. For the slightly more adventurous, Mark’s Daily Apple featured a recipe to make your own.

WOD 06.26.13

Bench Press 3×5 or Wendler 5/3/1

Then, 4 rounds for time:

• 5 – Burpee shuttle runs
• 30 Medball Situps
• 10 Overhead Lunges