Take the best flavors of your favorite trail mix and turn them into an extra portable, gluten free snack - great for lunchboxes or hikes! Now only if I had remembered to bring them with me to Big Sur last weekend…
Sigh…I wasn’t fibbing when I said I forgot these last weekend on our big trip to Big Sur. Since I travel every week for work and I wasn’t getting in until Friday night last week, I had to rely on my fellow hikers to pull together all of the food for the trip. Let’s just say that this food blogger was very upset that she couldn’t have all the control over what was brought on the trip, so she made a bunch of snacks to bring the week prior, froze them, and then promptly forgot ’em. However, for once it was kind of nice having someone else make all of my food decisions for me and there really is nothing better than a PB&J on the trail. I couldn’t have planned it better myself!
These snack balls/bites pack the best of a solid trail mix into one chewy mouthful. They are full of nuts, whole grains, dried fruits, and the addition of dark chocolate is simply a must. Rolling these babies in coconut or cocoa powder just kind of elevates them to the next (delicious) level. They would have been perfect for the trail, but they are also awesome all of the time. For a snack, for dessert, before a workout, after a workout, scarfing a few before bed, you know, whatever works. And lucky for me, we are doing an overnight sailing trip this weekend in the SF bay and I know these are going to be the perfect grab and go snack option in between tacking (…and mimosas).
These balls/bites/truffles are food processed to perfection, meaning that there are still big nuggets of almond and chocolate and date - they aren’t too blended at all. Up to you though if you prefer a smoother consistency however! Bah - I just realized that a lot of these photos with the black background kind of look like the truffles are spread out in a starry night sky. Guess I was already thinking of the wilderness and being on the trail in my subconscious! Although we drank enough wine during our camping trip to not even really pay attention to the constellations. Truth.
On a different note, I started using Adobe Lightroom to edit my photos for the first time with these truffles. I had been using the free program GIMP before, and it’s definitely taking some getting used to with using this new program. Any advice for lightroom or tutorials that you like? Google is certainly my best friend when it comes to anything technology-related when it comes to the blog!
- ⅓ cup rolled oats
- ⅓ cup chopped dried dates
- ⅓ cup almonds
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- Optional: Cocoa powder and/or coconut flakes
- Optional, if needed: Warm water and/or honey
- Put all ingredients into a food processor, and pulse until a ball starts to form
- If the mixture is having trouble sticking together, you can add a little warm water or honey
- Roll into a ball and cover with plastic wrap
- Stick into the freezer for 10 minutes
- Remove and roll into bite size balls
- Dust on cocoa powder or coconut flakes for variety!
If you like this, you’ll love: Coconut Almond Energy Bars
Thanks for stopping by! 
