Some of my fondest memories from when I was a kid are of playing in the woods with my cousins at my grandparents’ farm in Carney, near Escanaba in the U.P. Fast forward to now, when I am an adult and still enjoy playing in the woods, only now we call it hiking.

To have plenty of energy for long hikes in the woods, it is a good idea to take snacks with you for when you get hungry. Snacks should help give you energy for hiking (playing), not deplete your energy. Sugary snacks are not a good idea because the sugar will eventually catch up with you and actually make you more tired. Instead, you can make your own snacks with healthy sweeteners that will give you plenty of energy.

Carbohydrates give your body energy, not protein.

Protein helps build muscles and is slow digesting, making you feel fuller so you don’t get too hungry on your hike. A good snack will have both carbohydrates and protein. In fact, add the third vital nutrient for humans, fat, and you’ll have the perfect snack.

The following recipe has all three. The rolled oats, brown rice syrup and raisins in the snack are your carbohydrates. They digest slowly, giving you a slow, steady supply of glucose to give you energy. The peanut butter provides your protein and fat. Peanuts are a legume. They are high in pantothenic acid, B vitamins, iron, manganese, and vitamin E. Peanuts also contain resveratrol, an antioxidant that helps prevent heart disease and cancer.

When I am playing (hiking) in the woods, I carry these peanut butter snacks in my back pack. They travel well, help give me energy when I need it, and taste great.

Peanut Butter Energy Snacks

1 cup peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter)
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (or 1/4 cup maple syrup)
1 1/2 cup rolled oats

Optional: 1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips, or 1/2 cup raisins, or ¼ cup of both,
or 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Puree the rolled oats in a food processor into smaller pieces, not to the point of creating flour. Put peanut butter, brown rice syrup, and chopped rolled oats in a mixing bowl. Add chocolate chips and/or raisins, or cocoa if you like. Mix everything together and form into small balls.

Refrigerate and then put in bags for traveling. Once the balls have set, they are hard enough to take with you as you hike.

*Cocoa or chocolate chips may make this snack melt more easily when carried with you on a hot day.

Chef Valerie Wilson has been teaching cooking classes since 1997. She offers weekly, virtual cooking classes that all can attend. Visit http://www.macroval.com for schedule, cookbook purchases, phone consultations, or her radio show, and follow her on Facebook at Macro Val Food.

Excerpt from the Summer 2023 issue of Health & Happiness U.P. Magazine, copyright 2023, Empowering Lightworks, LLC. All rights reserved.