THE MEAL: In 2011, Copeland spent 81 days cross-country-skiing over the Antarctic ice cap, pulling 400 pounds of supplies on a sled鈥攁 feat that had him ripping through 10,000 calories per day. 鈥淵ou start burning more than you can ingest,鈥 says Copeland, 48, a British and French national who also kite-skied 1,400 miles across Greenland in 2010. 鈥淲hen that happens, your body starts consuming muscle for energy.鈥 Enter pemmican, essentially an energy bar made of bacon, cranberries, and sesame seeds. 鈥淚鈥檒l put it on my oatmeal in the morning or eat it on the trail,鈥 he says of the sweet-and-salty concoction. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pure fat calories, and it keeps me going. The harder you鈥檙e working, and the more salt you鈥檙e losing through sweating, the better it tastes.鈥
WHY IT WORKS: Bacon has a bad reputation, thanks to all the heart-clogging saturated fat it contains, but Adam Korzun says there are times when it鈥檚 perfectly acceptable, like a weekend skiing mission in the backcountry. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going hard all day in cold temperatures, saturated fat is an efficient, slow-burning fuel source,鈥 he says.
SECRET INGREDIENTS: Sesame seeds and cranberries contain antioxidants that reduce muscle inflammation.
BACON AND CRANBERRY PEMMICAN
1. Cook 1/4 pound of bacon on low until the fat renders. (Make sure the meat remains soft.)聽
2. Let it cool slightly, then transfer the bacon and fat to a blender, add 1/2 cup of dried cranberries, 1/4 cup of sesame seeds, and one tablespoon of brown sugar. Puree.
3. Pour the mix onto a cookie sheet and freeze.
4. Cut into bars or cubes that can be added to porridge in the morning or eaten on the trail.
SERVINGS: Eight
CALORIES PER SERVING: 100