Thursday, February 28, 2013

Gorp Bar

Brian and I are on the go a lot. We hike every day, and we tend to road trip at least once a month (this weekend: Boston and the REI Garage Sales!) This kind of lifestyle can make meals difficult sometimes, so we snack a lot. Even on non-travel days, Brian and I both snack between meals to keep our blood-sugar levels even. Brian is hypoglycemic, so that's pretty necessary, and I turn into a monster when I'm hungry; snacking helps.
There are lots of snack options, but gorp is our snack of choice. Gorp stands for "Good Old Raisins and Peanuts", but we use the term to refer to our homemade trail mix. It started with raisins and peanuts, to be sure, but it's expanded since then.



This is our gorp bar. In the picture below you can see each jar more clearly:


 Our ingredients:
Almonds
Butterscotch chips
Raw Peanuts
Dry Roasted Peanuts
Dried Cherries
White Chocolate Chips
Dried Craisins
Cheerios

The jar on the top left isn't part of the gorp bar. It's mate. I have a small tea bar next to the gorp bar. I love tea.

Anyway, back to the gorp bar. We found that raisins stuck together way too much, and they didn't last long before they tasted super grainy. Craisins, on the other hand, last as long as we need them to, and they taste better. I like raw nuts better, so I have raw nuts, and Brian likes the roasted ones. Cheerios are really added more for texture than flavor, but they're a nice addition. Dried cherries = heavenly.

I like the bar idea instead of just having it already mixed, because Brian and I can then have trail mix the way we like. For example, I usually stick with dried fruit and nuts, and Brian spices his up with chips and cheerios.We can also change out ingredients as we feel the desire. It's fun. It also looks nice. I love functional decorations.