Dense Energy

Overview

Dense Energy is a food product I developed and this page serves as the landing page and where the URL www.denseenergy.earth resolves.

This project started in 2018, when I was desiring a shelf stable food product that was healthy, with high quality ingredients and packed with calories. I have to follow a no/low fodmap diet and everything on the market, generally categorized as a bar product, is not acceptable.

I wanted a product that is a source of dense energy that can sustain me in whatever activity, whether it was a day in the wilderness, a day of airplane travel or a day of sitting at a desk , which is easy to transport, does not require refrigeration and easy to consume.

Product Ingredients

What I developed provides approximately 70% of the calories from animal fats and the remaining 30% from animal protein. This combination provides even, long-term, sustainable energy, in a small footprint. For me, a 16-oz jar can give me 2-days of food for any medium-to-low aerobic activity.

The Dense Energy Base Layer product is composed of animal and fat-based proteins and salt. It qualifies under a variety of food designations and diets: grass-fed, free-range, pasture-raised, organic, cage-free, humanely raised, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, non-GMO, natural sustainably-raised, cruelty-free, certified-humane, keto, paleo, ancestral, carnivore, zero-carb, Atkins, primal, gluten-free, GAPS, Whole30, Autoimmune protocol, Weston Price, low-glycemic, diabetic-friendly, dairy-free, elimination, no/low-fodmap, specific carbohydrate and bi-phase.

Sometimes I can source my ingredients where biodynamic applies as well.

In addition to the base layer, additional layers can be added to achieve desired nutritional goals. For example, I have experimented with maple syrup, honey and sugar to add simple carbohydrates. The product is easy to eat and spread onto additional foods, such as complex carbs like grains and root vegetables. But mostly the base layer works for me as is and when I am in the wilderness, traveling or can’t cook regular meals, I have the product available to serve as snacks and meals.

Product Variations

Beef is lean beef muscle meat and tallow.
Chicken is lean chicken meat, usually chicken breasts and duck fat (which is shelf stable).

To derive my base layer, I dry the meats to shelf stability, then process them into a powder and mix the fat and salt. To add mid-layers, I mix those ingredients as well. The simple carbohydrate mid layer is with maple syrup. Honey is not low-fodmap and people can react to it in other ways. For my personal stash, I use cane sugar because it is zero fodmap, whereas maple syrup contains low fodmaps.

People can experiment with their own mid-layers or combine with complex carbohydrates on their own.

Packaging Variations

I am experimenting with food-safe tins in 3 sizes:

Block: equivalent to about 4 ounces of animal protein meat. This would be a snack or equivalent to many food bars sold on the market.
Brick: equivalent to about 16 ounces of animal protein and 4x block. This is more like two meals, depending on the person and their caloric needs.
Slab: equivalent to about 32 ounces of animal protein and 2x bricks. This is more like 4 meals, depending on the person and their caloric needs.

Tins are lightweight, environmentally friendly and reusable/recyclable. Glass is ideal but heavier and more expensive.

Samples And Testing

I am creating samples and testing the product. If it proves out, I may bring it to market.

Connected Product

I am experimenting with tokenizing the products, adding a QR code and including “Connected Product” to the packaging. A connected product links the offline product to its online counterpart via a unique QR code. The online counterpart is a container of data that contains information about the product, which can include its provenance (history, ingredients sources, production and logistical information), composition, warranty information, how to use the product, care for it, repair it and recycle it. The container can also include software that makes the online counterpart dynamic, where consumers can communicate through it, share it, transact it and more. More about tokenized products here.