Big Snack Attack

By contributing writer Laurie Neverman
July 14, 2008

We’ve all been there – alone or with children – you’re running errands around town, or traveling long distance, and your belly starts to rumble. It’s so tempting to pull in to a drive-through, or grab some brightly colored food packet from the display near the checkout. With just a little pre-planning, you can have healthy snacks available on the go to keep you from giving into to impulse buying – saving you money and helping you and your family to eat healthier.

Stick to the basics. Keep a reusable water container handy. You can add ice cubes or fill it only 2/3 full and pre-freeze it before you hit the road to keep it chilled. The less processed the food you pack, the better. Use a small cooler to bring along fresh fruit and veggies, cleaned and sliced to finger food size. Yogurt tubes can be frozen for a summer treat. String cheese and cheese slices are also filling and easy to eat.

Dried fruit, nuts (peanuts, tree nuts or soy nuts), pumpkin or sunflower seeds, pretzels, crackers, bite-sized cookies and granola are items that you can make/purchase ahead of time in bulk and package in convenient travel sizes in your own containers. For a quick breakfast, muffins can be made ahead and frozen, then thawed as needed. This is much less expensive than buying individual packets/bakery items and allows you to avoid unwanted ingredients. Less packaging also means less environmental impact. You’ll also avoid idling your vehicle in a drive through, reducing your greenhouse gas emissions.

Take the time on an evening or weekend to toss together some trail mix, bake some muffins and pop them in the freezer or simply add some natural food selections to your grocery cart. With an assortment of these items at the ready when you are, you may never again face the Big Snack Attack.

Please contact me at laurieneverman@hotmail.com with your green questions and comments.

Common Sense Home Travel Recipes

Oat Snack Mix
Originally from Taste of Home magazine, this is one of my family’s favorites. I sometimes make large batches around the holidays and give them as gifts. In summer you may wish to substitute regular raisins for the chocolate covered raisins to eliminate the risk of melted chocolate.

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups square oat cereal
1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chocolate-covered raisins

In a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, combine the first five ingredients; heat until butter is melted. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. In a large bowl, combine cereal, oats and nuts. Drizzle with butter mixture and mix well. Place in a greased 15 in. x 10 in. x 1 in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 275 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cranberries and chocolate-covered raisins. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 6 cups.

Almond Cherry Trail Mix
From CDKitchen, this recipe takes advantage of dried cherries, which are available locally from Door County. (Door County cherries are featured at many local retailers.)

1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
2/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sided sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together rolled oats, cherries, almonds and salt. Drizzle with butter and honey and toss thoroughly.

Spread mixture evenly on sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally to ensure even browning, about 20 to 25 minutes; let cool.

This recipe from CDKitchen for Almond Cherry Trail Mix serves/makes 6

Granola muffins
Courtesy of Jayna Stein, homeschooling mom and member of North East Wisconsin Home Learners

1 organic egg or substitute
¾ cup milk or substitute
½ cup oil
1 cup whole-wheat or spelt flour
2 cups granola
1/3 cup honey
3 tsp non-aluminum baking powder (such as Rumford)
1 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

Beat egg. Stir in remaining ingredients, mixing just to moisten. Pour into 12 paper lined muffin cups until ¾ full. Bake at 400° for 15 to 20 minutes. May be doubled. Freezes well, wrapped individually.

Banana-Sour Milk Muffins
These sound awful but taste wonderful. It’s rare that I don’t have some of these muffins in my freezer. They are a family favorite and a great way to use up overripe bananas. Adapted from The Quick Bread Cookbook by Nancy K. Adams (1994) - banana-sour milk loaves.

Cream together:
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar

Add:
1 ¼ cups mashed bananas
2/3 cup sour milk*

Mix together and add to banana mixture:
2 1/4 cups flour
¼ cup flaxseed meal
1 ¼ teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder (such as Rumford)
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Stir in:
2/3 cup chopped nuts (I prefer walnuts)

Pour into 24 paper lined muffin cups until ¾ full. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, until toothpick in center of muffin tests done.

*To sour milk, add two teaspoons vinegar to the 2/3 cup of milk (at room temperature). Let sit five minutes. This creates a good muffin texture that is moist and has good flavor.

Related Links

Trail Mix and Granola recipes
A great listing of granola from CDkitchen.

Snackin' Better on the Road
More ideas from Road Trip America

Diseases Attributed to Food Additives
A detailed list of common food additives, what types of foods they are typically found in and their potential negative health effects.

CSPI Urges FDA to Ban Artificial Food Dyes Linked to Behavior Problems
Dyes Called "Secret Shame" of Food Industry and Regulators

The 6 Most Unhealthy Foods You Should Avoid at All Costs
This unwholesome list contains many typical on-the-road snacks.