We’ve been using Freedom Fuel (FF) with great success for years now here at TNN, so it was about time we dedicated a page of the website to its awesomeness.
The natural carbohydrates from rice malt syrup and raspberries make it extremely low fructose and a great alternative for those who experience gastro-intestinal (GI) distress with conventional sports gels. The medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil provides five grams of fat per serve, contributing to a stable energy supply, satiety and beautifully consistent running or cycling splits. Most importantly, the natural and refined sugar free nature means you stay away from inflammatory ingredients and promote recovery and subsequent performance.
For running, simply carry in a hand held gel flask, which also easily fits into the zip pocket of your running tights or tri suit. For cycling, you can carry flasks in your pockets, or make a multi-hour water bottle and if you wish, dilute to your desired consistency.
Give it a try, and as always, post below as we’d love to hear your success stories.
Freedom Fuel
Ingredients (Serves 1)
- 2 heaped teaspoons Pure Harvest rice malt syrup
- 1 teaspoon medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil*
- ¼ cup raspberries, fresh or frozen, organic
- The juice from ¼ lemon
- A pinch of sea salt
- A dash of hot water
Method
- Blend all ingredients until smooth.
- Pour through a strainer to remove pips. Transfer carefully into a gel flask/water bottle and seal well.
Note: One serve is ~20g of carbohydrates, so please start to experiment with FF as per your current fuelling requirements. Over time, especially if you are overhauling your day-today nutrition, you may find that you need less. Sports nutrition is not constant, but an evolution you should adapt race-to-race and year-to-year.
If you are just getting started, we recommend 30g-40g/hour or 1.5-2 serves/hour. For a two hour run, for example, train fasted for the first hour, then sip your 1.5/2 serves over the course of the second hour. Make notes on energy, digestion, performance and recovery so you/we can continue to develop your fuelling strategy. For assistance, please book your Initial Consultation with us at TNN here.
*A brand such as Melrose Health will suffice, available here. Coconut oil can be used in summer, but in the cooler weather it will solidify and clog up the pop-top of your flask or water bottle.
Have you tried Freedom Fuel? Share your successes below!
Images by Sarah Craven Photography.
[…] – 1/2 on the half hour and a full one on the hour, to 30km. For electrolytes I had Blueberry Freedom Fuel, with a portion to be consumed every hour (my fuel belt bottles fit 2 portions in each). [Note: I […]
Saw this and had to try it. Been following LCHF for last 2 months. Ran this morning after 15hr fast. Took 1 serve at 8 km with a total of 16km. Great run felt fresh the whole time. Will definitely incorporate into training for upcoming events. Thanks heaps.
Amazing! So glad to hear you love Freedom Fuel as much as we do. Thanks Peter.
I’m 1 month into following your advice on lower carb to induce greater fat burning as I prepare for a 50K in July. Since I know that it’s going to take me 5 hours to complete I don’t know if I’ll be able to subsist on just 2 servings of freedom fuel per hour without feeling like I’m starving. Any advice on using the freedom fuels and select real food to ward of the hunger that I know comes from 5 hours of running? Thank you for a wonderful resource, I come here very often to read new articles and try out recipes.
Just came across this, will definitely give a try. Quick question, how long do you think this would store? Would it need to be made the night before/morning of long run/event?
The night before is fine and it freezes well. We hope you enjoy Luke.
Great work Darryl. FF works really well in combination with our No Bake Energy Bars (NBEB):
https://thenaturalnutritionist.com.au/no-bake-energy-bars-v2/ You can alternate or choose 1xFF + 1xNBEB/hr. I hope you enjoy.
Just made this last night and first test run this morning on tempo run (practicing fueling at race pace) and have been great. Put into Salomon softflask with 50ml of water to help get it out of flask. Can’t believe how awesome it tasted. I normally experience gut pains when taking on gels after intense exercise. Next test is long run on Sunday.
Made up 4 serves (the maths was easier) and have frozen the balance into ice cubes. Conveniently 1 ice cube is half a serve so will make easy for making up when required.
Any thought on different flavours by using different fruits…? Might get a bit the same same in a longer race…
Thanks for the great recipe. Just going through the backlog of episodes of Real Food Reel after finding it from a Peter Defty search in iTunes…
Where do you get the plastic pocket things from?
It’s much easier to use a hand-held gel flask, available online from sites such as Wiggle.
Fantastic Nic! Other berries will work, but the raspberries offer a fanatic tartiness to offset the sweetness which most people much prefer, particularly to standard gels.
Nice idea about diluting into the soft flask, thanks for sharing!
Do you have any energy gel recipes that include caffeine? Cheers
Not at this stage but that’s a fantastic idea for future recipes – thanks Chris!
Thank you for the recipe. I really wanted something that was not full of artificial ingredients.
Used this gel in training with no ill side affects and have now used it in races with great effect.
Any variations or new recipes for homemade gels would be most welcome 🙂
I’ve just popped this into my food database software and it only equals ~10g carbohydrate per serve. 8 grams from rice malt syrup and 2g from raspberries. Can you comment?
Hi TNN
I’ve been using FF for a few years now, it works really really well. Are you able to suggest other flavours which give the same or similar benefits as raspberries? I’m doing an ultra soon (50k run) & would really like to mix up flavours, I’ll be carrying No bake bars as well for just in case.
Any suggestions would be great
Thanks
Naomi
Hi Naomi, blueberries and lemon do work but the tartness of raspberries really offsets the sweetness perfectly so it is by far the best option!
Use heaped teaspoons and you’ll get close to 20g CHO/serve. It’s really just a guide and you can personalise based on your palate, personal fuelling requirements and the logistics of your activity.
Once prepared for how long can they be stored?
2-3 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer – enjoy!
Hi Stef! Just wondering what’s the difference between FF 1.0 and 2.0 other than just the higher carbs in 2.0 due to cashew butter? Would you consider 2.0 more of a ‘food’ in place of a LCHF bar and 1.0 more of a ‘gel’ for ‘sweet’ energy? Have tried both running and love them but unsure which one is what purpose. Also I found some reusable food pouches on Amazon which work great for carrying FF.
That’s correct April. Keep FF 1.0 for higher intensity and FF 2.0 for more food based calories when the intensity is lower. I hope that helps.
Ok great thanks! I did my 30k long run this past weekend with first hour fasted, sipped on FF 2.0 from hours 1-2 when intensity/HR was lower, then sipped FF 1.0 from hours 2-3 as higher intensity was happening with increased fatigue over longer distance. The tartness of the lemon was a nice change after 2 hours 🙂
Why would you had the MCT oil? Is it possible not to use it?
Hello Ana, MCT is a coconut derived medium chain triglyceride which is easily absorbed and converted in the liver to ketones which help fuel the brain and body for mental and physical performance. We use MCT oil in our Freedom Fuel as it is a liquid and unlike coconut oil does not harden when cooled.
Used these for the first time in a race in Challenge Melbourne 1/2 Ironman distance. I generally train and live LCHF and race at a higher carb level.
This is the first time I have raced on Freedom Fuel I have normally just used the race day nutrition provided on course. I am a heavy sweater so I was able to up the sodium content.
I used 1 serve in T1. 3 serves on the bike and 3 serves on the run.
I had no gut issues no bloating and great stable energy the whole race even though my power levels on the bike and pace on the run was up higher than previous races by quite a lot.
Thanks Steph.
Congratulations on your 1/2 ironman Michael and thank you so much for the fabulous feedback on our Freedom Fuel. It is wonderful to read that you experienced no bloating and had great stable energy.
Hi Steph! I have a few longer trial runs (25km +) coming up and bike sportives and am planning to use this recipe- should I also consider no bake bars for the bike? Also, should I be topping up with protein, also (ie. as something like the VESPA gels do?)
Hi Louise, this information is best discussed in a consultation format as there are a number of key variables that need to be considered. I will speak to you very soon.