Sunday, October 20, 2013

Salty Balls!

Many of you have emailed and asked for the secret recipe for the infamously named Salty Balls that I used as my bike nutrition in Kona this year.  These were developed by friend and AMAZING mad scientist, Stacy Sims of Osmo Nutrition.  This woman knows her stuff and then some, and we as women are lucky to have her in our corner changing the nutrition scene for women.

Stacy advocates REAL nutrition, even though I kept telling her that I have done Kona and been successful on ONLY gels in the past.  She says that you may feel OK on only gels but that you will perform better if you stay the hell away from them.  So, tested in Vineman and put to the ultimate test in Kona these balls were prepped by uber sherpas, Robyn and Kebby.

The balls were the only thing I ate on the bike along with Active Hydration in Mango and one bottle of Coke.....mmmmm, coke!



Here's the recipe...let me know if you love it!

Salty Balls:
Makes 10 balls, ~140kcal/ball

1/2 cup nutbutter (peanut or almond, natural kind)
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup whey protein isolate ( I had Muscle Milk Chocolate powder on hand, OSMO Active recovery would be bomber too)
1/2 cup dry oatmeal or 2/3 cup Perky's Rice Crisps- I went with the crisps
1/4 cup shredded coconut (Stacy used raisins but knows I love coconut so tailored for me)

Pop the PB and rice syrup in the microwave for about 30 seconds so that they are melty and able to be combined well.  Then combine all ingredients.  If you need a bit more holding power (we did), add more protein powder.
Then add a sprinkle-ly of salt on top.




17 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the recipe, i enjoy reading your blog! I love eating real food on the bike too and am a big fan of Osmo. Now, what I need to know is how do you store/carry real food on the bike during an Ironman race??? Do they crumble/melt? And, can you pocket enough of them for the whole 112 mile ride? Congrats on your race!!

Stack said...

Hiya-
What she didn't say is that you need to microwave the nutbutter and brown rice syrup for about a minute (until the syrup bubbles) then stir in everything else- this gives it a bit more shape staying power.

Ririnette said...

Just made my first batch tonight! Mine are not as brown (did you use chocolate protein powder?), but I bet they are just as tasty! Can't wait to try them tomorrow during my 4h trainer ride. I just hope that I won't eat them all at once! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Chris said...

Made a batch tonight for long ride tomorrow. Found I needed to add about 1/4 cup more rice syrup and 1/4 cup more almond butter..otherwise too dry and crumbly. Taste delicious so far. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thank you soo soo much. I used these on back to back long rides and they were amazing. I've been trying to find a food that is satiating, doesn't cause cramps, crap or a goey mouth and stabilizes my blood sugar (I'm a type one diabetic). The salt balls nailed it. My blood sugar was the same on and off the bike both days. And I felt like a total cheater eating something that tasted like cookie dough. Totally amazing!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you soo soo much. I used these on back to back long rides and they were amazing. I've been trying to find a food that is satiating, doesn't cause cramps, crap or a goey mouth and stabilizes my blood sugar (I'm a type one diabetic). The salt balls nailed it. My blood sugar was the same on and off the bike both days. And I felt like a total cheater eating something that tasted like cookie dough. Totally amazing!!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
hailey said...

Amanda, I absolutely LOVE hearing this and SO rad that it helped control the diabetes!! Good luck this season!

hailey said...

Jennifer, so sorry to be SO delayed...i put them in a ziploc bad in my bento box and for the extras, wrap them in saran wrap and put in my back pocket and just kind of "pop" out as needed. They get a bit messy, but OH so worth it!!

Unknown said...

SO good! Thank you for sharing!

PandaRN said...

Hailey- I've been making these since last July and just wanted to thank you and Stacy for the great recipe! They have gotten me through thousands of miles :)

Brittaney McGary DC, MS said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brittaney McGary DC, MS said...

Hey Hailey! Wondering what you recommend fueling with while running (1/2 and full distance ironman)? Do you suggest gels and if so- which brand? Trying to make some homemade ones and I'm totally brain-dead on recipes and portability. :-(

hailey said...

PandaRN this is AWESOME to hear, so glad that you are loving them!!

hailey said...

Brittaney- For running during IM, I use coke, water and then some energy chews like Cytomax Energy drops...these are tummy! The last 10k, i will go to glucose tabs in grape, these are my fave!

For long training runs, I will use dried dates filled with a walnut and topped with chunks of salt to taste.

Stacy from Osmo really doesn't like gels from a gut emptying perspective, so go with the chews if you can eat them as well as water and coke. Email me if you need more help at hailey at coeursports dot com

TriHardChris said...

HI Hailey! Making my first batch this weekend. Do you refrigerate these? What's the shelf life of these? Thanks!

trimomsdjk said...

Dear Hailey, I have been to Kona 5x but nutrition for me is always guess work. I am not a peanut or peanut butter person. anything I can substiute?
thanks
Barbara