Training & Nutrition - bulk snack

i'm sure there are tons of "what snack" threads, but here are my requirements:
i'm looking for an individually wrapped snack food that i can buy a bulk box of over the summer so that i have something around for a good snack all next semester. the problem now is that when i want a snack i go out and buy one thing at a time, and one, it gets expensive, and two, never ends up being of any nutritional value.

so what's a snack that i can snack on maybe once a day, take cycling, find at your usual bulk shopping store, and not get fat off of? i'm thinking maybe pretzels? too much salt there?

what do you all think?

See if you can find dates or figs or dried fruits in bulk at a hippie grocery store/co-op/health food store. Along with some nuts (easily found in bulk), this can be made into a solid snack.

that is one that i like. i'm a very big fan of dried bananas.

thanks!

Another good one is granola, it can also be bought in bulk at many health oriented stores.

Just look in your supermarket in the family-size area - Fig Newtons and Granola Bars come to mind.

thanks much! i may end up with several small packages like that instead to get some variety. i guess i'll see what jumps out when i get there. thanks!

Health food stores also often have their own fig bars in bulk.

Bottom line: go check out some bulk food bins and see what you can find. I think you'll be surprised at all the cycling snacks you can find - granola, fig bars, dried fruits, nuts, energy balls/chunks, coconut rolled dates, etc.

Puffins cereal...eat it dry.

Bagels always worked for me, though you can't stuff too many in your jersey pockets. They have a halfway decent carb/protein balance, and no salt or refined sugar issues.

trail mix. Planters has some good fruit/nut combos as do Emerald Nuts. Packaged in indidual bags in half dozen or so per box. Wal-Mart best place I've found for $ wise. The Emerald Nut ones for some reason are in the Breakfast/cereal aisle, prolly because many contain fruit/granola and are packaged as "Breakfast to go"

if you want energy on a ride, go with poptarts

granola, dried fruit, nuts, and snack mixes (raisins, nuts, dried fruit, etc) are usually available in bulk. In my area, Whole Foods has a decent selection. You could probably buy a lot at once and store it in one of those mason jars with the wire clamp, then just pack a bit as needed in a zip-lock baggie.

Dried fruit & nuts work well for me.

I have different foods for snacks at home or work vs on the bike. When I am riding I want easily digested food that's easy to carry and relatively dense so I can get 5 hours' worth in my jersey pockets. Clif bars and Hammer gel is what I use.

But those are lousy snacks the rest of the time... too much sugar, too expensive and not very tasty. For snacks I like whole wheat or multigrain pretzels, whole wheat bagels with low fat cream cheese, fruit, homemade whole wheat banana bread, nuts, any leftovers in the fridge, etc.

If you have to have one food that's both a snack and on-the-bike food, then whole wheat fig bars from the bulk bin would be a good choice. For rides, wrap them individually in foil so they are easy to unwrap with one hand.