Weston's favorite snack: GORP

 Snack mix of any sort is always a good idea.  I can remember years ago, when I was in girl scouts and my mom was my troop leader.  My mom always had the best ideas and somewhere I have a ton of badges to show it. . . in fact, my mom recently found a random patch that never made it on my sash in their move.  One girl scout Thanksgiving, we did crazy things like churn our own butter and assist in all the food making.  I think Gorp was on the menu.  It might not have been. . . but I remember making a batch or two during the many years I was a scout.  

I've always loved the idea of combining favorite snack items to make a yummy treat.  When I was teaching, I always had the kids bring in their favorite snack items to make what I renamed as "test week snack mix." The kids had so much fun making a really large batch of what was essentially Gorp.  The kids got to snack on their mix while taking their annual state tests and it brought a little bit of fun to an otherwise kind of stressful week. 

 

This year, I started adding Gorp to the kids lunches with some snacks that we had lying around the kitchen.  I didn't realize how much of a hit it would be and I kind of had laughed in my head because I was using the snacks that had been forgotten in the pantry.  All of a sudden, the kids were eating some of the forgotten snacks right up.  This mom is celebrating that victory! Plus, my youngest started making the snack mix for after school snacks and basically any chance he could find.  I think it's because I add just a little bit of chocolate. . . and it's an excuse to have a few bites! 

This recipe is so flexible.  Use what you have and get creative!  Extra points if you get your kids involved in the kitchen. . . it will empower them!  

Here's the recipe. . . but really it's just a list of possible ingredients.  Feel free to add your own ideas. . . and please share them in the comments!  

 GORP

Ingredients:

 pretzels

dried BARE coconut chips

dried apples

dried cranberries

raisins

mixed nuts

Unreal chocolate candies (less sugar and no extra stuff)

popcorn

chex cereal (or any cereal!)

Annies Bunnies

chocolate pieces (we use the Thrive chunks. . . they use coconut sugar)

cheese its

oyster crackers

Directions:

  mix together desired ingredients and give a little stir or shake.  Pour in snack bags or snack cups and munch away!  have fun!