Call me weird, but one of my favorite things in life is packing the perfect snacks for any adventure. There is an intangible feeling of satisfaction that comes when I have prepared all the snacks my body will need after a day of physical exertion. Needless to say, I take my hiking snack game very seriously. At the same time, most snacks tend to be pretty wasteful, especially when picking them up at a grocery store. They often come in single-use plastic packaging that gets discarded immediately after consumption. For this reason alone, I like to make my own snacks in large batches so that I can pack them myself in reusable storage containers, and have enough left over for future snacks to consume later in the week.

I believe that adventuring outside is a gift and not a given, and that bringing store-bought food sealed in wrappers or plastic into a pristine environment (whether it gets taken back out, “recycled” or left behind) adds insult to injury. Every piece of plastic created is still around today, and we can no longer afford to dissociate our consumption with the problems of plastic pollution. It is now everywhere, from overcrowded landfills to our oceans. Luckily, we can start making simple changes to reduce our plastic consumption with items like our snacks, by thinking about them ahead of time and being prepared with some basic ingredients.

My go-to hiking snacks are vegan protein bars, which can be easy and quick to make. The recipe listed below is seriously versatile. It can be combined and transformed with countless ingredients, so have fun and play around with flavors you enjoy. This mixture could be rolled out into actual bar shapes or formed into small balls, depending on which is more convenient for you. I typically wrap them in beeswax wrappers when I bring them hiking and or put them into small containers.

Here are two variations of the same recipe:‍

No Bake Almond Vanilla Protein Bars

Makes 8 Bars

½ cup all-natural almond butter
½ cup maple syrup

½ cup oat flour

2 scoops vegan protein powder (I use Moon Juice vanilla mushroom)

Add ins optional: flax seeds, hemp seeds, chocolate chips, chopped up nuts‍

‍No Bake PB Cacao Protein Bars

Makes 8 Bars‍

½ cup all-natural peanut butter

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup oat flour

2 scoops cacao magic protein powder (I use Philosophie Cacao Magic)

A note on protein powders: check your proteins ingredients list; there are so many clean options on the market, be sure yours doesn't have loads of added sugars and additives.‍

Instructions:
In a large bowl combine ingredients together, until it forms a smooth dough.

Using a rolling pin roll out dough on parchment paper, until it is about a half an inch thick.

Cut into 8 pieces or roll into tiny balls.

Place finished bars (on the parchment paper) onto a baking sheet and leave in the refrigerator for one hour to harden.

Take out, wrap in beeswax, and enjoy!

Have fun experimenting. These bars will fuel hours of outdoor adventures, and keep you filled up enough so you can continue to explore.

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