Spring Energy Awesome Sauce 20 Pack Review

As a sports nutrition coach, on-the-run fueling is one of my specialties! Spring Energy is a go-to for me personally, and I frequently recommend it to clients for the numerous pros I have listed. 

I typically rely on Spring Energy Awesome Sauce for long days in the mountain and for ultras. I appreciate their thoughtful formulations using basmati rice, apple juice, apple sauce, yams, maple syrup, lemon juice, sea salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. The basmati rice provides a slower digesting carbohydrate source complete with starches to give longer lasting energy, but the apple juice and maple syrup provide faster digesting carbs for a quicker pick-me-up. Plus, this formulation from Spring tastes particularly great if you enjoy apple pie or apple sauce. I've found other whole-food gels to be a bit too sweet for my liking, so Awesome Sauce can be a great palate cleanser in the middle of a long run. With easy-to-open, moderately-sized pouches, I have used them in 50k races. Personally, I would not use these gels for an event lasting less than 90mins. This is because of the mixed carb sources and 2g fiber. There are better gels on the market for fast/furious events that are less likely to cause any GI upset. 

The main qualms I have with Awesome Sauce have to do with the pricing of these gels and the general lack of sodium. Depending on where you purchase these gels, you'll pay anywhere from $4 to $4.50 per gel. When you adequately fuel your long run or race, this becomes incredibly expensive. I encourage my clients to mix Awesome Sauce into their fueling plan with other gels to offset cost. As far as the sodium content goes, Awesome Sauce is rather lacking. With only 85 mg of sodium per 180 kcal and 43g net carbs, runners must rely on other products to meet salt needs.