Almond Butter Energy Bites (Unlocked)

now with more backpacking food tips

Apr 03, 2022

Originally published for paying subscribers April 18, 2021. Unlocked now with the addition of more backpacking food tips.

I’ve been packing food for backpacking trips since I was sixteen. This is a job that is both as pressure-filled as a can of spray paint and as fun as doing a puzzle (if you don’t find puzzles fun, then we can’t be friends).

Like with most of the things that I share in these letters, my mom taught me how to do this. We packed food all summer long together in a “kitchen” that could not strictly be qualified as a kitchen — it had a massive fridge, no oven, no stove, and no running water. Try cooking in that.

But she turned it into a science. When we took over the foodpacking job, there was little to no written guide on how to successfully pack food for ten to fifteen people going into the backcountry to cook over camp stoves for four or five nights. She changed that.

She made a booklet, meticulously doing the math and parcelling out how much of each thing we packed and how we packed it —

“You have to freeze the cheese, and you can only send cheese for a meal that’s going to be eaten on the first night.”

“Remember to breathe — they’re going for four days not four months. If you forget the bacon bits for the breakfast burritos, they won’t starve.”

After we left that job, I didn’t do any foodpacking for two summers. Neither did my mom.

Then, I got asked to start foodpacking again. By then, we’d misplaced the booklet and forgotten much of what was inside it.

It felt like we were reinventing a very large, very rickety wheel.

But we did it. Granted, I was so afraid of under-buying ingredients that I bought enough ramen packets and salted almonds to feed a barracks full of Marines for several years. But we did it.

We eventually found the booklet (long after we’d already rewritten it) and were able to check our work. We found that we’d largely improved upon what we’d done in the past.

A pleasant surprise.

Since then, every year that I’ve foodpacked, we’ve tried something new. Last year, it was sending fresh veggies into the backcountry for the first dinner, something that is not nearly as easy as I’m sure you’re thinking it is. This year, it was making energy bites.

This time, instead of foodpacking for a summer trip, I was foodpacking for a winter trip. This is vastly different. Not only do the different temperatures have a big effect on the food you send out, the people you are packing food for need about 1.5 times the normal amount of calories to stay warm.

One of the ways I packed in extra calories was sending out energy bites. I messed with recipes and came up with what I believe are the perfect ones.

Be advised — in order to make these, I went through two different kinds of food processor, three spoons, two bowls, several knives, a cutting board, and ended it all with extremely sticky fingers.

But good golly it was worth it.

These energy bites make a perfect on-the-go snack and can be stored in either the freezer or the fridge for weeks. Just make sure you have the following before you decide to make them —

A good, sturdy food processor

A tablespoon, cookie-scooper thingy (this is a very technical cooking term — just follow the link if you don’t know what I’m talking about).

If your food processor is on the smaller side, you might want to do the recipe in halves. Both of these items significantly help the energy bite making process. That is, after all, what these letters are for — I make the super messy mistakes so you don’t have to.

Almond Butter Energy Bites

Preparation time: An hour-ish plus chill time (another 1-2 hours)

Servings: That depends on how much self-control you have (makes about 20 bites)

You will need:

2 cups whole rolled oats (not instant)

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

6 tablespoons warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup dark chocolate chunks (I used 70% dark. You can find these in the baking aisle)

What to do:

Start by toasting the oats for about 3 minutes in a pan over medium heat (just until the edges of the oats start to brown a bit). This adds great flavor to the bites. Add the oats, walnuts, and shredded coconut to the food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the water, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and coconut oil. Process. Add the almond butter and honey and process (or remove from the food processor and stir in). Stir in the chocolate chunks. Scoop into round balls using the cookie scooper and place on a plate. They won’t be perfectly round yet — that’s ok.

Let chill for about 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and use your hands to roll the scoops into balls. Put them back in the fridge to chill for another 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Unlocked Additions

One of the things that I’m probably the most proud of in my foodpacking are my special trail mix recipes. These have been developed by myself and the ultimate backpacking foodpacker, my mom, with lots of love and tweaking over the years. You can check out my Instagram reel for a bit of a visual tutorial on how to make these!

They’re wonderful whether you’re going backpacking or you need a yummy, healthy snack to stick in your pocket. When I was in college, I had a massive set of tupperware in which I kept about a gallon of each kind of trail mix. I kept them next to my bed for a midnight snack. All you need are the ingredients — it’s that simple. Enjoy!

Very Cherry

Dried cherries (4 bags)

Dark chocolate chips (2 bags)

Almonds (1 LARGE 24 oz bag)

Cinnamon (a few tablespoons)

Mix together and enjoy!

Classic

Pretzels (1 bag)

Raisins (1 tub)

M&Ms (2 share size bags)

Mix together and enjoy!

If you enjoyed this post, consider sending it to someone who might enjoy it! And if you want more “Food & Fodder,” consider a paid subscription for TWO more story-recipes per month! This month, paying subscribers can enjoy a recipe for Spaghetti and delicious meatballs paired with a story about getting stuck and a recipe for a well-stocked pantry paired with a deep dive into the weird world of ingredient labelling.

Thanks,

Juliana Nicewarner

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