Adventures: Snacking

There is no denying that food ends up being a big part of all this adventure having. Perhaps it is the main feature if you are picking fruit or pickling everything in sight. Or maybe it’s the fuel you need to get through the long hike. Whether it’s a road trip, picnic or beach day, I’m all about the snacks (of course!).

I’m sure you have your go to items. But let’s shake things up for a minute. We are all about getting adventurous here and I wanna get weird. Forget the obvious chips, cookies, hummus dip and veggies. Sure they are great, but what’s the point of always doing the same thing.

I thought about what makes a worthy snack and realized there are some classic categories. I then decided to try out new treats for a recent beach trip I went on with friends from each of these categories. Not all were a hit, but it was certainly worth trying.

Sweet: Everyone’s had candied nuts, right? For me, I’ve only ever eaten them around the holidays. But why not year around? These were a winner on the trip. They have so much going for them as a snack. Easy and cheap to make. Won’t create a mess if you bust them out in the car and semi-healthy with the protein from the nuts.

Recipe: Smitten Kitchen

Refreshing: It’s likely hot where ever this magical day is taking you. While cold drinks will quench your thirst, I like the way citrus flavored foods can also make you feel more refreshed. These lemon cookies were another easy treat to whip up the day before. They make a lot of cookies in one batch, which is good because they will go quickly.

Recipe: Pinch My Salt

Crunchy: Roasted chickpeas. These little guys are getting quite trendy. I’ve been seeing recipes for them popping up everywhere. It made sense to me once I made a batch (which I, hem, slightly burned, but that happens, right?). Just like the candied nuts, these are cheap and easy to make and even healthier. I seasoned mine with savory flavors, but really the possibility are endless. You could make them sweet or spicy, or get real wild and do both! Oh yeah.

Recipe: How Sweet It Is

Salty: This was by far the most popular snack of the day, homemade cheez its. Don’t groan. I promise I’m not being a totally over the top DIYer suggesting you do tons of extra work just to eat crackers. These are easy to make and so yummy. Mariko started bringing homemade crackers as a snack on beach trips a couple of years ago and they were always a hit. I finally decided to try a version and I love them! It took a bit of searching to find a simple recipe that did not involve using a food processor, but now I have the simplest recipe for cheese crackers. If you make these, double your batch, trust me.

Recipe: Homemade Cheez Its

Strange: Do you pick up oddly packaged snacks you have never seen before at gas stations? Me too. It made me think, bake something just totally random for this trip. That’s when I stumbled across a recipe for Apple Gouda Oatmeal cookies. All those things sound good. Melted cheese in cookie form, why not? It wasn’t that these cookies were bad…they just weren’t exactly good either. Surprisingly the biggest problem with them was that they were bland. Now you know.

Recipes: Apple Gouda Oatmeal cookies

Filling: Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is in fact a peanut butter, pickle and honey sandwich. It was delicious, I promise. This might be considered more than just a snack, but I still had to share it. My friend brought a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, while I brought the jar of pickles and container of honey. It was the perfect thing to assemble while lounging in the sand. I told you I wanted to get weird.