Sweet Mixture

I have been making this before every road trips. I love it. It's addicting, so I had to limit it to road-trip snacking... and during those trips, I often have to remind myself: conserve the snacks, conserve, conserve... oh gawd, it only has been one hour on the road!? conserve! conserve!

Growing up, I loved trail mix, but everybody had their own preferences. For me, I could not comprehend why the mix has M&Ms. That alone, is a treat. Is that a way to tempt people to eat the nuts after they run out of the chocolates? I'm not too fond of the mix of the sweet and salty. It's just... awkward.

I often head out on road trips with bunch of people. I do not know their diets, I do not know their frequency of dining out, I do not know their eating schedule.... so I have a habit of packing snacks in my backpack for the "just in case."

Several times, I find myself starving. Those several times, people actually eat a loaf of banana bread and head off to skiing without eating a bite until late at night. REALLY!? My body does not absorb carbs very well, and on the mountain, I found myself shaking so hard that I kept crashing to the slope with my snowboard, that I made two more runs before I admitted that I was done for.

This was my lesson learned. Pack snacks. You never know.

Being on Paleo can be challenging while on the road. There are not many options, and you are often searching up on your phone for a restaurant that offers more organic, based diets. Important thing is to try your best, and it's okay if you eat gluten. I often find myself in a knot when I try to eat out. We can't always eat salads or steaks every time. I usually go for wraps (thinner bread), something with less potatoes or gluten. The rule of the thumb is that you maintain your paleo diet at home, and try your best when you're out. So it's nice if you can pack paleo snacks to help you to keep you from eating too much "bad stuff" and to at least string healthy food along.

This one, I came up on top of my head. I decided to use ingredients that are common in the home to save money and the trip to the store. I hope it will be the same for you.

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Sweetness
serves 4... or maybe just yourself

4 cups cashews, soaked and dehydrated
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
2-3 Tablespoon honey (depends how sweet you like)
1 Tablespoon Basil
1/2 Tablespoon salt and pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/2 cup small nuts of your choice (I used chopped walnuts and hazelnuts)

1: melt coconut oil in large baking pan in oven of temperature 175*
2: pour cashews, mix with oil, level out the nuts (no overlaying) bake for 20 minutes or until cashews show golden brown
3: put honey in pan, return to oven, wait for melting, about 3-5 minutes
4: mix all the ingredients in pan, stir well, mix well
5: bake for 30 minutes, infrequently mix the pan ingredients
6: leave in oven, turn off temperature, let it cool.
7: Yum in the Tummy (make sure the treats are completely cooled off).