Summer Snacks for Outdoor Adventures

In my opinion, the best summer adventures are accompanied by delicious snacks. From hiking mountains and summit sandwiches to swimming and sweet treats to trail running and trail mix, here are some of my favorite summer activities and accompanying snacks I love packing to fuel my journey! Best part of it all? All of the options are vegan!

Summit Sandwiches

If you’re craving something savory try an everything breakfast bagel sandwich topped with vegan cheese, a bean patty, lettuce, tomato, and vegan mayo or pesto. This hearty meal will get you going! If you’re a bread over bagel person, try a hummus veggie sandwich on multigrain bread with sun dried tomato hummus, spinach, tomatoes, and avocado. Want something sweeter? Make a classic pb & j and add a drizzle of honey.

Trail Mix for Trail Running

If I’m going for a longer run I like having some food in me before heading out, but eating anything on the heavier side upsets my stomach so I normally reach for nuts, trail mix, or granola to get the energy I need without feeling stuffed. I recently had the pleasure of trying some of Nature’s Heart snacks and would recommend them! If you want something savory try Nature’s Heart Golden Chai Pecan Crunch or their Everything Bagel Cashew Crunch. Other favorite mixes on the sweeter side I get at the store or make by hand are roasted pecans, cranberries (or raisins/blueberries/etc), chocolate chips, and almonds. Sometimes I’ll throw in cashews, coconut flakes, or peanuts if I feel like it.

Swimming Sweets

For post water sports or just chillin’ by the pool I love having fruit like strawberries, apples, clementines, watermelon, cherries, or whatever else is in season at the time. I know it’s stereotypical, but you can’t really go wrong with carrots and hummus either. If you want something salty, try a brand of vegan popcorn or chips. Check out this vegan popcorn guide for some great recommendations!

Biking Energy Bites

I absolutely love going on long bike rides in the summer! While I find it easier to digest food when biking rather than running I still prefer to go on the lighter side of snacks for this sport as well. Energy bites, granola bars, and peanut butter banana tortilla wraps are my favorite packable snacks! There are a ton of great recipes out their for your own chocolate chip energy bites or homemade chewy granola bars, so make whatever sounds best to you!

Hydrate or Die-drate

Hydration is sooooo important in general, but especially when you’re exercising and even more so in the summer underneath the beating sun in high temperatures. Your body looses more water, salts and minerals when sweating so it’s important to refresh those electrolytes during and after a workout. I’m not a huge fan of Gatorade or other sports drinks, though those do the drink. I like adding Propel’s powered pack of raspberry lemonade into a water bottle and drinking that. Other good brands are nuun or you can replenish electrolytes through eating or drinking foods with sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium as recommended in this article by Medical News Today.

I hope this article provides some inspiration for fun snacks and that you have an amazing summer with lots of outdoor adventures!