5 Stupid Easy Trail Snack Recipes

One of my favorite ways to amp up for an adventure is by experimenting with new trail snack recipes. Years of tinkering, toiling, and going through a whole lot of foul batches have led to this list below: My five favorite trail treats.

Each of these recipes have been fine-tuned for: Ease of instructions, everyday common ingredients, transportability (how will they taste after three days squished at the bottom of a backpack?), and sugar, carb, and calorie content for long-lasting energy. If you're on a diet, you won't find much to help you here.

Whet your appetite - for chocolate, or adventure - with these five stupid easy snack recipes below.

1) Nilla Wafer Truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 box Nilla Wafers (11 oz.)
• 1 package cream cheese (7 oz.)
• 1 bag white chocolate chips (12 oz.)
• Optional sprinkles

Instructions:

1. Crumble Nilla Wafers in a blender, food processor, or hand-crush in a gallon sized plastic bag.
2. Combine crumbs with softened cream cheese until fully blended.
3. Roll mixture into balls and freeze for 1 hr+.
4. Melt white chocolate in a pan on low and coat each truffle using fork.
5. Top with sprinkles if you’re fancy like that, and place on wax paper until dry.

2) Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, melted

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs

• 1 cup peanut butter

• 1 & ½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Combine butter, graham cracker crumbs, and peanut butter until fully blended.
2. Spread mixture in a pan.
3. Heat chocolate chips in the microwave or over the stove.
4. Pour chocolate over peanut butter layer and refrigerate for 1 hr.+ before enjoying.

3) Energy Bites or Granola

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats

• ½ cup ground flaxseed or flaxseed meal

• ¼ cup walnuts (or any nut)

• ¼ cup dried apricots (or any dried fruit)

• 1/3 cup honey

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions for Energy Bites:

1. Chop nuts and fruit.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Form into balls using your hand and freeze until set.
4. If balls are falling apart, try freezing for 20-30 minutes until firm before rolling.

Okay, I cheated on my "no bake" rule by including this one easy-bake item because it’s still just so freaking easy.

Instructions for Granola:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Spread mixture on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until lightly toasted.

4) Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:

• 6 cups Rice Krispie cereal

• 1 package Oreo cookies (your choice of flavor/style)

• 5 cups marshmallows

• 3 tbsp. Butter

• Optional white chocolate chips for drizzle

Instructions:

1. Mash Oreo cookies in gallon-sized plastic bag until finely crushed.
2. Heat butter and marshmallows in a large pot over medium heat until melted together.
3. Once melted, remove pot from heat and use a spatula to fold in cereal and crushed cookies until thoroughly combined.
4. Press into greased baking pan until flat, and let sit until completely cool.
5. Melt and drizzle white chocolate chips if desired.

5) Blueberry Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats

• 2 scoops protein powder

• 2 egg whites

• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce

• ¼ cup blueberries

• Optional cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Spray a pan with non-stick spray on medium heat.
3. Cook both sides until mix is fully cooked through, test with a toothpick if unsure.