Home made "gu"

BrianSharpe

I recently decided to stop using the prepackaged gels for my longer runs,my new fuel belt included a gel flask and was given the following recipe:

"Take one of those gel bottles. fill it to the #3 line with honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, or any combination of a natural energizer of your choosing. put in a small squeeze of molassus and a pinch of salt. fill the bottle the rest of the way with water and shake it to thoroughly mix it. result = 350-400 calories at a fraction of the cost of 4 gels and all-natural"

The version I've been making uses a bit more molasses - I fill the honey to the 3 line and then top it up to about 4 1/2 with molasses, a bit of salt and some water. My variation is a bit thicker( which I like) and tastes more like Halloween candy. But certainly feel free to experiment with what suits you palette.

The home made brew is a fraction of the cost of prepackaged gels (I estimated it cost me about $1 for the equivalent of 4 gels) and you're not tossing out the little wrappers.

Scott_P

Nice post. I will try this.

Aperture_Science

Bump for later

MoreBean13

Thanks again for this. Bumping to try later.

After looking in to your suggestion on my post about this, I would add a pinch of "no salt" to the mix for the potassium chloride electrolytes in addition to the salt.

janf15

@BrianSharpe - great recipe. I would not use corn syrup. - You could use it in your fuel belt as well - then it will be 'shaken' all the time. - I use Maltodextrin in my water. Depending on the distance - 25-50 gram in a bottle = 100 - 200 cal. Squeeze a little lemon for taste.

MNchick

Ooooh...this sounds like a great idea!

BrianSharpe

Thanks again for this. Bumping to try later.

After looking in to your suggestion on my post about this, I would add a pinch of "no salt" to the mix for the potassium chloride electrolytes in addition to the salt.

I think that's one of the reasons the molasses is added (other than cutting the sweetness of the honey) it contains a fair bit of potassium.

@BrianSharpe - great recipe. I would not use corn syrup. - You could use it in your fuel belt as well - then it will be 'shaken' all the time. -

I don't think I'd use corn syrup either, it takes a pretty vigorous shaking to mix it, I don't think I jiggle quite that much when I run (any more.....:laugh: :laugh: )

MoreBean13

I think that's one of the reasons the molasses is added (other than cutting the sweetness of the honey) it contains a fair bit of potassium.

Ahhh....that makes sense. I don't think I like the taste of molasses, I will have to give it another shot.

itsmedicinalbacon

thank you Brian!!

muddyventures

I have been wondering about this not because I've used gu a million times, but because I'm just now reaching the point where I need to use it. I'm always looking for budget friendly items and the few versions I've bought I thought were expensive and have wondered how I could get around this..someone said to hijack honey packets from a resturaunt and candy corn etc, etc. Thank you for sharing.

srmikes

Sounds great. I'll have to try it.

scheeri

bump

Pebble321

Thanks for this, I've been wondering about an alternative to buying gel packs - $3-4 for about 100 cals makes it stupidly expensive and I'm not convinced there is anything magic in it that you couldn't replicate at home.
I was toying with the idea of the little honey packets but that wouldn't cover the electrolytes, seems as though this combo should do that. Now I just need to get a little flask that could add onto an existing belt - does anyone have something small that would carry just about 2 gels worth? Or would I use something a bit larger and add extra water?