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My husband and I LOVE to hike. We met while he was stationed at Fort Drum and spent a lot of time exploring nearby parks and camping. Now, at Fort Belvoir, we’re still spending a lot of time outside exploring and enjoying everything Virginia has to offer!
Our snack of choice while hiking is a tasty granola bar.
It’s so easy to handle in just one hand and all the different ingredients are held together by chewy goodness that keeps it mess-free. In celebration of National Trail Mix Day (Sunday), I thought I would share our favorite homemade granola bar recipe and tips on making an easy trail mix.
Quick No-Bake Granola Bars
What you’re going to need:
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper or Wax paper
- large sauce pot
- Spatula
Ingredients
-⅔ cup honey
-¾ cup creamy peanut butter (if allergic, you can use almond butter)
-¼ cup light brown sugar
-1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
-2 cups quick or instant cook oats
-2 cups rice cereal
Optional
-½ cup chocolate morsels
-½ cup shredded coconut
I add in chocolate and coconut! If you don’t like chocolate or coconut (or both), just leave it out of the recipe for a chewy on-the-go treat that’s still very tasty. Feel free to add any of your families’ favorite treats to nibble (i.e. M&Ms, Pretzel bits, or anything else you can think of) instead of chocolate or coconut.
Instructions
1. Line parchment paper or wax paper on the bottom of your cookie sheet.
2. Heat large sauce pot and add honey, peanut butter and brown sugar till all combined.
3. Mix in vanilla extract then add oats.
4. Add the chocolate morsels and just half of the shredded coconut (¼ cup).
-If desired, add ingredients of your choice instead of chocolate and coconut.
5. Slowly fold in rice cereal with spatula to avoid smashing.
6. When everything is combined together, pour mixture on the parchment paper or wax paper and mold it into a rectangle that is about half an inch thick. Press down the rest of the shredded coconut on top.
7. Cool in fridge for an hour or until it’s solid. Then slice it up in your desired size and wrap in plastic wrap.
*Important note: if you want to add more of your choice ingredients (in addition to chocolate and coconut or instead of) than what the recipe yields, use a little more honey and peanut butter to make sure it holds together nicely. I really like it when everything is stuck together, so it doesn’t break apart while you’re hiking.
Easy Trail Mix
There is so much freedom in putting together your own trail mix. Depending on your family-size or preference, just add equal amounts of each ingredient. Here are some of the most commonly used items that can help you mix together the best trail mix for your family!
- Nuts
- Favorite cereal
- Pretzels
- Dried fruit
- Seeds (pumpkin or sunflower)
- Popcorn
- Something for your sweet tooth (i.e. mini marshmallows, chocolate chip, M&Ms and/or peanut butter chips)
*Only add a fraction of the ingredients for your sweet tooth. If you add a cup of everything, just add ½ cup of the sweets.
