[hikr]

Hello - Do you ever make your own trail bars for when you go hiking? Seems like you could goto Whole Foods, buy some oats and honey and what not and put something together if you wanted to. My biggest complaint about granola bars and similar wrapped bars from the supermarket and what not is that they're mass packaged and just don't taste very fresh so I generally don't enjoy eating them....

[JennieEl]

I like ProBars, but I have made some bars in the past, and may again if I see something that looks good. There are a lot of recipes for trail bars.

[BigBear]

I have made these a few times: http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/FreeResources/GranolaBarRecipe/tabid/687/Default.aspx

[hikr]

thanks bigbear - that sounds good - I'll have to try that sometime....

[mike]

This topic was recently discussed in another thread including some recipies. e.g.

[Hiker Mama]

This is the kind I make almost every time: Jo-Ann's Power Bars. I make mine gluten free by subbing out Grape Nuts and wheat flour and using Perky's Crunchy Flax and oat or rice flour instead. I also reduce the sugar by 1T and add chocolate chips. My kids also really like this one: Car Snack 3. Rich, and a bit more involved. The first one I can whip up in 20 minutes, let it cook for 30 minutes, let it cool a bit and slice it up. I can customize it and I almost always have every ingredient on hand already.

[vibramhead]

Here's a recipe that I've been very happy with, which I adapted from one I found on another forum: Tasty granola bars 1 c peanut butter 1/2 c honey 1/2 c brown rice syrup 2 tbsp sunflower (or other) oil 4 c rolled oats, toasted 1 c chopped dates ½ c shredded coconut 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 c toasted almonds, chopped 1/2 c raisins (or dried cherries) 2 tbsp chia seeds 1/2 tsp salt a few dashes of cinnamon a few dashes of nutmeg 1) toast the oats and almonds (separately) in the oven around 350º about 12 min. 2) add the oats to the other dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix around to evenly distribute everything 3) on the stove, over a low flame, heat the peanut butter, honey, brown rice syrup, and oil until warm and you can mix them together so they fully combine 4) pour the hot PB/honey/syrup/oil mixture over the dry ingredients in the bowl and stir around until everything is coated 5) press the mixture about 1/2" thick onto a lined baking sheet and stick in the fridge to set 6) after a few hours, take it out and cut it into bars

[fretglider]

I've used to this same recipe (or something very close) to make my famous Kris Bars... what, you haven't heard of Kris bars. Well, they're delicious! They are pretty fail-proof, though you can make bars a little too crunchy by cooking the sugars at too high of a temperature. Not really an issue until you try to take a bit in sub-freezing temps. I've never taken the time to dial it in with a candy thermometer, though this is probably the way to go if you're interested in a certain texture. Also, as you can imagine, once you have the base down, the combinations of additives in nearly endless. I haven't made any in a while, but now I'm feeling inspired. <recipe to come>

[Navy salad]

More trail bars than you can shake a hiking pole at on Sarbar's web site: http://www.trailcooking.com/snacks/ (Scroll down to the "snacks" section or search for "bars"). I particularly like the flexibility of her "make-them-your-way" bars at http://www.trailcooking.com/snacks/can-make-way-bars/

[hikr]

Can you recommend any locally-made trail bars that are not mass-produced? I like kind bars, but eating the perfectly rectangular bar from a cellophane wrapper, somehow detracts from the organic experience of hiking, for me. Whole Foods sells trail mix but I'm looking for something that's been put together, and can be eaten like a cookie. It seems like something like this would be pretty easy to put together, and would sell well in pnw. For example, a basic freshly-made cookie with big dates and walnuts?

[ranger rock]

How about turboPUP bars.. they are made to human standards in Oregon. http://www.turbopup.com/

[hikr]

@rock - sounds puppylicious

[renegadepilgrim]

http://www.mazamabar.com/ (made in Oregon) http://www.bbcookies.com/shop/home.php (made in Washington)

[ranger rock]

[renegadepilgrim]