Gear Review: GU Salted Caramel Energy Gel
Posted on July 18, 2013 by
UPDATE: Salted Caramel is now available in stores. See below to find where it is available!
If you're like me, you are very picky about what sports energy products you choose. The flavors can range from nasty to tolerable, to the rare "holy crap, that's awesome!" flavor, henceforth to be abbreviated HCTA. Then there's my friend Mike, who insists on eating the GU "Just Plain" energy gel flavorless flavor. That's just weird. I'd say it's nasty, but I guess technically it doesn't have a flavor so it can't be nasty. Anyway, I digress. So you find your HCTA flavor, and as luck would have it for me, it's frequently only available for a limited time. Why do these companies do this to me?? But either way, I tend to stick with the HCTA flavor until I am almost sick of it. Periodically, I will have to try a different flavor just to remind myself that my HCTA is actually quite good compared to the others. And once in awhile, a new flavor comes along that supplants the old HCTA.
My new HCTA? GU's new Salted Caramel energy gel. There's a frozen yogurt place near me that has a salty caramel yogurt, and the GU gel tastes a lot like that. It also reminds me of those chewy caramel candies you used to be able to find in the supermarket bulk food aisle. The packaging hints at this being a limited edition flavor (says "Mid-Winter 8 Pack" on the box), but I sure hope it is here to stay. I still haven't conducted the Ferris Bueller test yet, so hopefully the Salted Caramel flavor maintains HCTA status as long as possible. What's the Ferris Bueller test? How it tastes after it's been sitting in your pocket all day.
GU suggests eating one energy gel 15 minutes before a workout and one every 30 to 45 minutes during training... or one gel 45 minutes before, one gel 15 minutes before, and one every 30 to 45 minutes during a race. Make sure to try new nutrition products while training - never try something new during a race!
Nutritional info below. The Salted Caramel flavor has 20mg of Caffeine, and "Elevated Electrolytes" compared to previous flavors.
Available from:
If you're like me, you are very picky about what sports energy products you choose. The flavors can range from nasty to tolerable, to the rare "holy crap, that's awesome!" flavor, henceforth to be abbreviated HCTA. Then there's my friend Mike, who insists on eating the GU "Just Plain" energy gel flavorless flavor. That's just weird. I'd say it's nasty, but I guess technically it doesn't have a flavor so it can't be nasty. Anyway, I digress. So you find your HCTA flavor, and as luck would have it for me, it's frequently only available for a limited time. Why do these companies do this to me?? But either way, I tend to stick with the HCTA flavor until I am almost sick of it. Periodically, I will have to try a different flavor just to remind myself that my HCTA is actually quite good compared to the others. And once in awhile, a new flavor comes along that supplants the old HCTA.
My new HCTA? GU's new Salted Caramel energy gel. There's a frozen yogurt place near me that has a salty caramel yogurt, and the GU gel tastes a lot like that. It also reminds me of those chewy caramel candies you used to be able to find in the supermarket bulk food aisle. The packaging hints at this being a limited edition flavor (says "Mid-Winter 8 Pack" on the box), but I sure hope it is here to stay. I still haven't conducted the Ferris Bueller test yet, so hopefully the Salted Caramel flavor maintains HCTA status as long as possible. What's the Ferris Bueller test? How it tastes after it's been sitting in your pocket all day.
GU suggests eating one energy gel 15 minutes before a workout and one every 30 to 45 minutes during training... or one gel 45 minutes before, one gel 15 minutes before, and one every 30 to 45 minutes during a race. Make sure to try new nutrition products while training - never try something new during a race!
Nutritional info below. The Salted Caramel flavor has 20mg of Caffeine, and "Elevated Electrolytes" compared to previous flavors.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serv. Size 1 Pack (32g) | |
| Servings Per Container 8 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| Calories 100 | |
| Calories from Fat 0 | |
| %DV* | |
| Total Fat 0g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
| Trans Fat 0g | 0% |
| Potassium 45mg | 1% |
| Sodium 125mg | 5% |
| Total Carb 22g | 7% |
| Sugars 7g | |
| Protein 0g | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 40% |
| Vitamin E | 60% |
| Calcium | 2% |
| *Percent daily values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. **DV not established |
|
Ingredients: Maltodextrin, Water, Fructose, Leucine, Sea Salt, Natural Flavor,Potassium citrate, Sodium Citrate, Ascorbic Acid, (Vitamin C), Citric Acid, Calcium Carbonate, Valine, Histidine, Green Tea Leaf Extract (contins caffeine), sodium benzoate, (preservative), potassium sorbate (preservative), D-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Gellan Gum, Fumaric Acid, Isoleucine, Pectin Powder, Chamomile Extract, Ginger Extract.
Available from:
