Apple Slices with Peanut Butter and Granola
An apple, a peanut butter packet, and something crunchy to dip it in. No stove, no bag, no spoon.
- calories
- 480
- weight
- 8 oz
- cal / oz
- 60
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Lunch
- No cook
- Day hike
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Eat in the bag
- Grab and go
- Day one only
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Apple | 1 | whatever variety you actually like |
|---|---|---|
| Peanut butter | 1 single-serve packet | sunflower seed butter if nuts are out |
| Granola | 2 tbsp | small clusters, or crush it at home |
| Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips | 2 tbsp | |
| Lemon juice | a squeeze | only if you slice the apple at home |
Method
- At home, put the granola and chocolate chips together in one snack bag.
- If you are eating it the same day, slice the apple, toss the slices with lemon juice so they do not brown, and bag them. If you are carrying it overnight, leave the apple whole and stash it inside a mug or hard cup so it does not bruise.
- In camp, lay the slices out on a small square of parchment. Cut them there if you did not cut them at home.
- Squeeze the peanut butter over the slices and spread it thin.
- Press each slice face-down into the granola bag so the topping sticks, then eat.
This is a fresh-fruit snack, which means it is a day-one item and it does not scale into a long trip. An apple is heavy for its calories, but it is also the only thing in a food bag with any water and crunch left in it, and after two days of bars that matters more than the ounces.
The peanut butter is what turns it from fruit into food: fat and protein that slow the sugar down. Granola alone will not stick to a bare slice, so spread the nut butter first and treat it as glue. Crush large clusters at home or they roll off and end up in the dirt.
An apple bruises into mush under a pack lid. Carrying it inside a mug is the cheap fix. Slice at home only if you are eating it that day, since even lemon juice buys you hours, not nights.
Packing
Granola and chips in one snack bag, peanut butter packet tucked in beside it, parchment folded flat against the bag. The apple rides in a mug or on top of the pack where nothing presses on it.
Variations
- Stack two coated slices face to face and eat it as a sandwich.
- Swap sunflower seed butter for peanut butter to make it nut-free.
- Trade the chocolate chips for chopped dates if you want it to survive a hot afternoon.
https://trailcooking.com/snacks/apples-twigs