As the school year winds down for us, this week is ‘camping’ theme week for my youngest son’s class. With his food allergies, I made him his own trail mix that he can safely eat – as the class is having a build a trail mix project midweek, that he can take with him. The recipe is a 2 part deal however. First it involved Mama dehydrating a few pounds of ripe strawberries for the boys. Side note: I grow 17 varieties of strawberry plants from seed. It’s my thing that we do on our farm. It’s the only hobby I have had that pays for itself, so there is that! Don’t ask how many plants are sitting on wood pallets behind deer fences……but I digress.
The best part about today was making S’mores Trail Mix in class and serving it to the kids. The downside was 20 kids bouncing off the walls while I hot glued paper mache bumblebees together for the kids. So I cam home and used all that energy to pull together a new trail mix.
Recipe is allergy friendly for Top 8 food allergies, and is gluten-free.
Vanilla Strawberry Trail Mix
Ingredients:
- 14 ounce package gluten-free pretzel twists
- 1 bag white chips
- 1 cup dried strawberry slices*
Directions:
Mix in a large bowl, scoop out portions and seal tightly. For best taste, store in tightly sealed glass containers until trail time, then transfer to bags.
*Use only dehydrated strawberry slices, that are naturally dried. If dried using sulfur dioxide, it produces a softer fruit, but holds much more moisture. This will soften the pretzels over time. If you choose to use freeze dried strawberries, add them right before a trip. They pull moisture out of the air, and that as well can lead to limp pretzels.
**To dehydrate easily, soak a large quantity strawberries in water with a bit of apple cider vinegar, rinse and drain. Cut off the tops, then slice thickly. Dry at 135 to 145° until dry. Once cooled, store tightly sealed in a glass mason jar in a cool and dark place.
Note:
Use whatever pretzels you prefer, and if you don’t need gluten-free, go crazy! As for the white chips, we used an allergen friendly brand, but you can find them by many companies at most grocery stores, sometimes branded as vanilla chips.
~Sarah