Creative Corner spark | staples

GORP (Good ol’ Raisins and Peanuts) is a simple trail mix, typically made up of high-protein and high-fat ingredients to fuel you for a day of adventure. The beauty of this mix is that there is no one recipe that you have to follow to make it correctly. This staple snack of the woods is made to sustain you with the use of complex and simple carbs to give you the energy you need to start that trek and keep you going until the summit!

Make a Mix Using Food Science

Complex Carbohydrates: these are sugar molecules that are strung together in long chains—giving you energy that keeps you going for awhile. Think: nuts, seeds, granola, and dried fruit.

Simple Carbohydrates: these are sugar molecules that are small—giving you quick energy to get moving. Think: M&Ms, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.

Directions

Ingredients

Pick a few of your favorites from this list!

• Pretzels

• M&Ms

• Raisins

• Mini Marshmallows

• Chex Cereal

• Cheerios

• Craisins

• Dried Banana Chips

• Walnuts

1. Pick a mix of ingredients that you will enjoy eating all day.

• Cashews

• Chocolate Chips

• Peanuts

• Pumpkin Seeds

• Pistachios

• Sunflower Seeds

• Wasabi Peas

• Sesame Sticks

2. Start with a base of cereal, granola and/or pretzels. This should be about half of the mix. This is one of your complex carbs to keep you going all day.

3. Then choose a few other complex carbs like nuts, seeds and dried fruit. This should be about a quarter of the mix.

4. Finally, choose two other simple carb ingredients like chocolate chips or M&Ms.

5. Mix your ingredients and pack in reusable containers to take with you! Have a great adventure and don’t forget your water!