Energy Bars & Gel

I wrote before about El Tour de Tucson and how I had problems because of the Cliff Bar I tried to eat.
Some of the energy gel packs are good and some aren't and some affect my stomach and some don't. One of my nutrition books suggested trying several and seeing which work. So I went to the store and I was reading the ingredients of different brands and they are all the same. They're all almost completely maltodextrose. Some have caffeine and some have electrolytes and some have some simple sugars in them but the majority of the gels are all the same complex sugar.
I found a recipe for the energy gels but I didn't know where to buy the maltodextrose. I called my brother Kirk who runs a food manufacturing operation in Chicago. He asked me if I need a 5 lb or a 50 lb bag of it. At 100mg / serving I told him 5 lb would be enough.