Long Haul Trail Mix Bar
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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~
Yesterday, the Trail Mix Bar came about as I needed to clean out the pantry! I know the ingredient list may appear to be overwhelming, but trust me, it was easy-peasy to make!
Better yet, it tastes terrific and is packed with nutrients. I usually wrap each bar in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. My husband loves to grab one in the morning to take as a snack during the day.
They are also fantastic for hiking trips! I have a bunch of extra eyeglass cases, so I like to put a bar inside one and throw it in my purse. It protects the bar beautifully, and it’s the perfect shape.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Many blessings, amie sue
Ingredients:
yields 8 x 6″ pan
Food processor:
- 1 cup raw almonds, soaked
- 1 cup raw pecans, soaked
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts, soaked
- 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, soaked
- 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
Hand mix:
- 2 cups gluten-free, rolled oats, soaked
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup raisins, rehydrated
- 1/2 cup cranberries, rehydrated
- 1 cup diced mission figs, rehydrated
- 1/2 cup raw agave or maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil
Preparation:
- After soaking the nuts, seeds and oats, drain the soak water and rinse them.
- Rehydrate the dried fruits in enough warm water to cover them.
- Do this step while you are putting the rest of the recipe together.
- Rehydrating the dried fruits will soften them, helping them to break down and help as a binder.
- In the food processor, fitted with the “S blade, combine the almonds, pecans, walnuts, seeds, cacao, cinnamon, and salt. Process until the nuts reach a small crumble.
- Drain the soaking dried fruits and hand-squeeze the excess water from them before adding them to the other ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, coconut flakes, raisins, cranberries, figs, sweetener, and coconut oil.
- Transfer 1/2 of the batter to the food processor and process until broken down. Add back to the bowl and mix everything by hand.
- Line an 8 x 6″ pan with plastic wrap and press the batter into the pan. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the freezer and flip over onto a cutting board. Cut into bars. The batter may appear slightly crumbly. Press the batter firmly, creating a bar shape.
- Place the bars on the mesh screen that comes with the dehydrator and dry at 145 degrees (F) for 1 hour, then reduce to 115 degrees (F) for an additional 6 hours or so. The length of time you dehydrate depends on how moist you want them.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge. Personally, I like to wrap each bar in plastic wrap so we can grab and go!
The Institute of Culinary Ingredients™
- To learn more about maple syrup by clicking (here).
- What is raw cacao powder?
- Why do I specify Ceylon cinnamon? Click (here) to learn why.
- What is Himalayan pink salt, and does it matter? Click (here) to read more about it.
- Are oats gluten-free? Yes, read more about that (here).
- Are oats raw? Yes, they can be found. Click (here) to learn more.
- Do I need to soak and dehydrate oats? Not required but recommended. Click (here) to see why.
Culinary Explanations:
- Why do I start the dehydrator at 145 degrees (F)? Click (here) to learn the reason behind this.
- When working with fresh ingredients, it is essential to taste test as you build a recipe. Learn why (here).
- Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do, however honestly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegan
Very interesting your webpage, thank’s for all the content inside, best wishes in your bussines.
Thank you Phil :)
Hi Amie Sue!…quick question…is is alright to not dehydrate them…would they be too soft even if I kept them in the fridge?
Warm regards
Lizzy, they will still taste good but they won’t last as long due to all the moisture. Perhaps you can freeze part of the batter and thaw it out as needed? Or you can cook in the oven on the lowest temp with the door cracked. They may lose some nutrient value but it would be a way of making them. I hope this helps, amie sue
Thanks Amie Sue…just made the Fig & Cherry bars but had no cherries so I used Golden Berries…wonderful!…these bars and the Peanut & Raisin bars are next on my list.
Thank you for your generosity ;D
Great way to experiment Lizzy… a person really can’t wrong. I would love to try Golden Berries sometime. Funny how one person can or can’t an certain ingredient and new ideas are born! I would love to hear how they all turn out for you. Have a wonderful day, amie sue
Hi Amie Sue,
I started making this recipe (soaking various ingredients) and then you had your server problem so I couldn’t access your website to make the recipe so I dehydrated everything until it came back up. When I finished making the bars there was not enough liquid (I did add some but not enough) so it crumbled when I cut it…. just wanted to let you know it makes a great granola too! :) Quick question, what food processor do you use? I have a Vitamix and it pulverizes everything. Maybe I am not using it right… I am new to raw food making.
Oh dear Nicole, I am so sorry that they glitch in the Internet world put a delay on your recipe… mid-stream! But nice save. hehe I use this one ~ http://astore.amazon.com/nouraw-20/detail/B004423ULQ and love it! I use both my Blendtec and food processor ALL the time. I know the Blendtec and Vitamix can usually handle anything you throw at them but I like the control that I have with a food processor for some jobs. It’s a must for me to use both machines.
Have a blessed day!
Made these today, very very good! Love your website, I have tried several of your recipes and they have all been fantastic, glad that I found you!
Thank you Debbie… I am glad you found me too! :) I hope you find great inspiration and encouragement here. I am always here if you have any questions or comments. Have a blessed night, amie sue
Hello, am making these as we speak. Made them with only quinoa instead of oats. Could that be the reason the batter falls apart as I try to cut it into pieces?
Thanks!
Hi Sabine,
Yes, I believe so. Wet oats kind of create a wet “paste”, that surrounds them and adheres to other ingredients. Quinoa is more”Dry”. Does that make sense? amie sue
i have now made these 3 times and never has the dough held together to form a log….just a crumbling mass. First time i ‘built’ each bar…that was a drag. Second time i added flax meal, raw quinoa and chia seeds and they did hold together to form small patties, but still no log; they were very crispy, a bit fragile but really good. Third time i made a date paste to try to get the log idea, but nope! Did make it moist and kind of chewy tho. All were good, but i think we liked the second batch best; like the crunch. No idea how you have ever managed the log though. Only # 2 got tweaked from me right from the start, after the log-failure on #1; otherwise i stuck to your recipe hoping for success….until i added the paste admitting defeat with the log idea on batch #3. What is your secret?
Well fiddle Nancy,
I have made this recipe so many times and never had an issue with them pressing together to create bars. I don’t have any secrets. :) But I will make them again this week and make step by step pics to see if we can figure out what is happening on your end as to why they don’t hold together. I will keep you posted. amie sue
Hello Nancy… well I did as I said I would… I made this recipe again to see why you might be having some challenges. I have now made this recipe at least 10x if not more and I get the same results. The batter does appear more crumbly when wet. After cutting into bar shapes, I do shape them a bit in hand, to clean up the edges. I cleaned up the recipe and tried to make the instructions a bit more clear.
The main things that I can think of is:
The oats, nuts and seeds are wet from being soaked. Don’t use already dehydrated ones.
If the dried fruits are really dry, rehydrate them in warm water before adding them to the recipe.
If you did all those things, I think that the main issue is that you are expecting to creating the log or sheet of bar batter, cut into shape and instantly transfer to the dehydrator. Like I said above, I do give each bar a little molding… I can understand that you may not want to do that. I did half of the batter by molding by hand and the other 1/2 I tried out a sushi mold that I had bought to use for molding bars. It worked like a charm and will use it from this point on. This is what I used if curious… Spam Musubi Sushi Rice Press #K5SPS – http://www.amazon.com/Spam-Musubi-Sushi-Press-K5SPS/dp/B000FWOB5S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385623319&sr=8-1&keywords=Spam+Musubi+Sushi+Rice+Press+%23K5SPS
I hope this helps. I did update the photos some and will be adding a little write up, dedicating these to my dad. I started creating a brand for him “Long Haul” bars and I am adding this one in there for him. Have a great evening, amie sue
Thank you so much for going back to this recipe to assist me. I have had success, sort of. Have given up on the log idea and used your “press into a pan” idea and then refrig for a bit. Also made your pistachio fennel lemon bars which reinforced the chill plan, tho I froze them….way easier to deal with. They were great by the way. I am determined to get a few different “grab and run” foods (to use your term) prepared for my household. I just really enjoy and appreciate your efforts here, amie-sue. Again thank you.
Your welcome Nancy. I posted the link to a bar press that I used.. I have to say that I have used it with some new recipes and just love it. Whatever makes things easier for us in the kitchen… is well worth it. hehe Have a wonderful weekend. amie sue :)
Hello! Hello! I have to report that the first time I made these they fell apart, much like Nancy’s. I read the comments and ordered the Musubi Rice Press that you suggested and I’ve just made them a second time and they’re perfect! Beautifully shaped and nice enough to wrap up as a gift. I LOVED the crumbled version before, but I really like the neatness and symmetry of the bar shape. Thank you so much for the recipes and the great solutions when we run into a “challenge”. Love, love, love your website!!!
Good morning Maureen, I am so happy to hear that the suggestion of the press helped. I love using it myself because it gives that perfect bar shape and really compacts it. :) Anything to help things be easier in the kitchen…right? :) Thank you so much for sharing. Have a glorious weekend! amie sue
Hi Amie Sue! I’m making this again for the umpteenth time! We can’t get enough and I had sent some to my out of town daughters and they want more! So, in preparing to prepare, I have a question. When I last purchased nuts, I soaked and dehydrated them right away, then stored them in the freezer. To use them in this type of recipe, should I just re-soak them a bit to wet them or should I just start with new, un-soaked nuts and oats?
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom!
Maureen,
I am so happy that you are enjoying these bars. My dad loves these on the road too. I loaded him up at Christmas time. :)
You could use the nuts that you already have soaked and dehydrated but I would use the wet oats since they add a lot of moisture and help to hold things together. If you have unsoaked nuts in the pantry, might as well use those… soak them the same time you soak the oats. That way you can save the ones that have gone through the process for other recipes. Just a thought. Keep an eye on the batter, if it seems drier than normal…. add a little water. I hope this helps. amie sue
Hello Amie-Sue! My friend Janine and I get together often to make raw recipes and we always make at least one of yours! Yesterday we made the corn tortillas, which came out perfectly! I had prepped everything we needed to make these bars but we ran out of time so I did it last night. Time was running out so I tried to cut the bars too soon from the freezer. Being lazy, I just crumbled up the last of the batter onto dehydrator mesh sheets and it is coming along nicely as a granola. The rest I put back into the freezer and cut this morning. They cut perfectly and are now dehydrating with the granola from last night! Everytime we get together to “uncook” we just marvel at how delicious and wonderful everything you post here tastes. One goal we have is to to try not to trash the kitchen completely when making raw recipes!~ Thank you for your wonderful website!!
Good morning Carolyn, You have no idea how much I loved reading your message this morning. What a delight that you have a friend to create in the kitchen with! I share the same goal… no food goes to waste in my kitchen either. :) Thank you for sharing, it meant a lot. Have a blessed weekend, amie sue
I was getting ready to make this recipe. I did soak my nut and oat, but I also dried them, I now realize you make the recipe without drying them? Would it still work if I do the same recipe with the dried ingredients? Nuts ans oat! Also didn’t find the figs so I was planning to replace with medjool dates, would that be a good substitute? Thanks
Hello Nadine,
You can use your soaked and dried nuts… as you get to the end of the recipe you might have to add more moisture. Just see how the texture goes. I have made them both ways myself and they turned out great. And yes, dates are a great substitute. :) Have a great day, amie sue
Me again! I guess I could just rehydrate them if necessary?
These are dehydrating for me as I type this and my house smells so amazing with the cinnamon. For those having trouble making bars, consider making patties. I couldn’t let mine sit in the freezer as long as I would like because of a time constraint so I just free formed patties. I’m never out to impress anyone with looks so the patties are turning out just fine!
We will be taking these on a big hike tomorrow and we’re looking forward to some extra energy.
Thank you so much for sharing all these recipes with everyone. ♥
I must add, we hiked for several hours and these bars kept us going.
So good!
Now that’s what I like to hear! That’s awesome. I hope you have a wonderful time. Blessings, amie sue
Thanks for sharing. I love hearing from you as you try the recipes. :) I don’t think the shape or form matters at all… as long as it tastes good! hehe Enjoy the hiking trip and stay safe. Blessings, amie sue