Destroying GCN's "Rocket Fuel" drink mix - We make a drink you can ACTUALLY afford

This video stemmed from a GCN video a few years back that makes a ridiculously overprice drink. With the cost of living skyrocketing, we set to create a similar drink for a fraction of the price.

Useful Info
A few important points to help understand the total calorie count of both recipes:

- There are approx 17kj (almost 4.1 Calories) per gram of carbs
- There are approx 38kj (almost 9.1 Calories) per gram of fats
- Depending on the exact source of the salt there is a roughly 1:1 ratio of sodium to chloride in table salt which is important when calculating electrolyte intake

The use of two carbs and a fat provides three absorption pathways and a two layer energy release. The body takes longer to produce ATP (energy) from fats than carbs. Carbs to cover the intense efforts and fats provide a baseline energy release throughout the ride. One bottle of the above and one bottle of water to take alternate sips as you are riding along.

Bonus Info
Glucose and fructose are absorbed through different channels and via different mechanisms. When you max out your glucose absorption rate (I think about 60g per hour) you can add fructose up to about a 1:1 mix to nearly double the potential energy absorption. Fructose is metabolised a little more slowly than glucose to help spread out the energy release.

Ghetto Recipe
My recipe for 900 Calories in a 750ml bottle is:

- 100g or 1/2 a metric cup of regular sugar (approx 1700kj or 407 Calories)
- 50g (typically one packet depending on brand. I use Ayam brand) coconut milk powder (approx 1350kj or 323Calories)
- 35g or 1/3rd metric cup of full cream milk powder (approx 750kj or 180
Calories from mix of carbs and fats, approx 300mg calcium, 120mg sodium and 9g protein although the protein isn't important in this context)
- up to 250ml of coconut water (for up to 500mg of potassium)
- 1.25g or 1/4 metric teaspoon of table salt (approx 500mg of sodium and
roughly the same chloride) - enough water to fill your bottle.

Sodium: Adjust salt quantity to taste to counter the sugar and also to meet your electrolyte needs.

Sugar: is the ingredient most likely to be manipulated to suit the ride and energy demands, but can get very sweet. Always test sugar and salt in increments before committing to large increases. Not necessarily a bad thing if you're a salty sweater and caked in salt on a stupidly hot Summer's day and in prime condition for cramps.

Coconut milk powder: is about 45% MCT, which means 55% is saturated fat. Not ideal, but we're making a ghetto drink and as long as you burn it off it’s not a concern. Just do a test run before using in a big event in case all the extra fat doesn't agree with you.

Other fats: Can reduce the saturated fat content without messing about too much by using skim milk powder instead of full cream milk powder.
Still has the calcium and sodium for electrolytes, but a lot less energy at approx 380kj because you lose the fat. You need to account for that in the overall energy total.

Coconut water: is an excellent source of potassium as an additional electrolyte with a touch of magnesium.
You'd need magnesium powder if you wanted to create a complete electrolyte drink.
Coconut water also enhances the flavour of the coconut milk.
Get the flavour balance right and you can chug it down, which is another benefit as it promotes hydration by encouraging you to drink.

Remember to Experiment
As long as you know how many KJs are in carbs and fats you can adjust my mix easily to cater for the duration and type of ride you are doing.
So not only how much total energy, but also whether it's biased towards carbs for hard efforts or fats for a longer Z2 ish kinda ride. Or anything in between.
Also important to know that regular sugar (white or raw is the same) has a roughly 1:1 ratio of glucose to fructose.

Key Links:
https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/scie...
Www.healthdirect.gov.au and search for the nutrition topic you are interested in, eg, sodium.