Before you head out onto the trails this fall, you may want to consider giving your trailside snack menu a makeover. After all, Mother Nature is changing things up a bit so why shouldn’t you? Personally, I find that changing snacks to suit the season staves off boredom. With all the great fall foods on offer, it also just makes good sense. With that said, here’s a quick look at five snacks that will be finding their way into my backpack this fall:
In my opinion, of the greatest snacks to take on a fall hike is no-bake peanut butter bars. In order to make no-bake peanut butter bars, you will need peanut butter (1 cup), instant oatmeal (3 cups) and honey (3/4 cup). You can use any instant oatmeal flavor that you like. I prefer using chocolate chip or raisin and spice.
Once you have your ingredients on hand, simply heat the honey and peanut butter up into a sauce pan. Then add the instant oatmeal and press the mixture into an ungreased pan. As it cools, the peanut butter bars will solidify. Once that happens, cut them up and put them into a re-sealable plastic bag. As long as your family doesn’t gobble them up too fast, one batch of bars should last you about a week.
Spiced Yucca Chips
During the fall months, spiced yucca chips also manage to find their way into my backpack. In order to make spiced yucca chips, you’ll need chili powder (1 tablespoon) and fresh yucca (3 pounds) as well as cayenne pepper and sea salt to taste. You’ll also need vegetable oil to fry the chips in. Start by cutting the yucca into thin slices. I have found that using a mandolin makes cutting the yucca easier. Next, fry the yucca slices in hot oil until they are nice and crispy. Afterwards, place the fried yucca in a bowl and toss them around in the seasonings. Once that is done, place the yucca chips into a re-sealable plastic bag. The spiced yucca chips tend to stay crispy for a week if kept in an air-tight container.
Granny Smith Apples
For me, fall also means apples. As such, I just love to carry an apple related snack with me on a hike. I will typically stuff whole Granny Smith apples or Granny Smith apple chips into my backpack. Although there are companies that make good apple chips, I prefer to make my own. One of my favorite apple chip recipes may be found on the Epicurious website. You may want to consider checking it out for yourself. In my experience, a batch of homemade apple chips is likely to stay tasty for about 10 days.
Roasted Chestnuts
Roasted chestnuts are another snack that I’d recommend to fall hikers. There are companies that sell bags of ready-to-eat roasted chestnuts for a modest fee. One company that sells ready-to-eat roasted chestnuts is Galil. Of course you could opt to roast your own chestnuts. It isn’t that hard to do. All you need in order to get the job done are chestnuts, water, a bit of vegetable oil and a pan. There are instructions for roasting chestnuts available online should you be interested in giving it a try.
Last but not least, fall is also the perfect time to add roasted pumpkin seeds to your trailside snack list. You can even gussy the pumpkin seeds up a bit by adding such things as cinnamon, sugar and raisins into the roasting process. There are also companies that sell yogurt and chocolate coated pumpkin seeds if you really want to get fancy about it. Personally, I tend to favor the plain roasted pumpkin seeds over the coated ones. To me, they just taste better that way.
