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I’m camping challenged. While I like being outdoors in beautiful Colorado, it comes with a price:

1. Days camping = days grocery shopping, packing and cleaning up after the trip.
2. Pedicure goes all to hell.
3. Hoping my glasses don’t fall in the pit toilet.
4. Runny noses and rashes requiring massive doses of allergy medicine and topical creams.
5. Sunburn and the weird freckling I get that looks like the infamous “mask of pregnancy.”
6. Freaking out about my kids falling in the fire or getting bounced out of the boat.
7. Staying up half the night worrying that the camper was going to be blown over, like when we experienced 50 mph winds last Memorial Day weekend at North Sterling State Park.

I wonder if all the effort is worth it. But then there’s the good part:

• Family fun, lots of terrific memories, and a few good stories. (Remember that time it snowed…in August?)
• Hanging out with the friends we always go camping with.
• Meeting new people and exploring new places.
• State parks with electric and water hookups, showers, and flush toilets.
• FOOD! After all, isn’t camping an excuse to eat slabs of grilled bacon and scarf down sandwiches of deli cold cuts and sliced gourmet cheese?

There’s nothing like hanging out on our friends’ boat, snacking and drinking away, while watching the kids go swimming and the dads (unsuccessfully) try to fish. Last weekend I even managed to read a book, Julia Child’s My Life in France, while lying in the sun.

However, there’s the snack issue. Maybe it was reading about all the fabulous food Saint Julia was cooking up in her book, but I’m tired of all the premade, over processed crap from the store. I want something healthier than chips, cookies, and premade trail mix. Chocolate isn’t practical to bring since it melts in the heat. So it’s time to experiment, and come up with some fabulously funky, quasi-healthy, gourmet GORP (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts) that even the kids will eat.

First, let’s start with a basic trail mix recipe from Everything Kids’ Cookbook.

Take Along Trail Mix
Difficulty: easy
Makes 2 cups of trail mix

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup small pretzel sticks or twists
2. 1/2 cup raisins
3. 1/2 cup peanuts
4. 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
5. 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Store the supply in an airtight container or resealable bag.

Then let’s make it a bit more fun:

• Substitute different kinds of dried fruits (papaya, apricots, bananas, pineapples, cherries, etc.) and nuts (pecans, cashews, pistachios, etc.)
• Use M&Ms instead of chocolate chips (less likely to melt in the heat). Or some Gheradelli chocolate chips - even melted Gheradelli is better than no chocolate at all!
• Instead of pretzels, use Chex mix or broken up Wheat Thin crackers. In Backpacker Magazine’s More Backcountry Cooking, they recommend Rice Krispies cereal, goldfish crackers, and corn nuts.
• Try the bulk food aisle at your health food store or local grocery store. Buy a little of this and a little of that and mix it up!

Granola’s a good thing to bring along camping too, either as a snack or for breakfast.

Homemade Granola
From Everything Kids’ Cookbook
Difficulty: medium
Makes 3 cups of granola

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (NOT instant)
2. 1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds
3. 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
4. 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
5. 1/4 cup silvered almonds
6. 2 Tbsp. melted butter
7. 1 Tbsp. oil
8. 1 Tbsp. molasses
9. 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Directions:
While cooking, children must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times!

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, raisins, and nuts.
3. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, oil molasses, and corn syrup.
4. Pour the butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir it up well.
5. Spread the granola into a 9″x13″ baking pan. Bake 10 minutes.
6. While the granola is cooking, stir the mixture 1-2 times to help it dry out and keep it from burning.
7. Remove the granola from the oven and stir it again. Let it cool before eating. Store in an airtight container.

Other Ideas to dress it up:

• Substitute different kinds of dried fruits (papaya, apricots, bananas, pineapples, cherries etc.) and nuts (pecans, cashews, pistachios, etc.)
• Use honey instead of corn syrup.
• Experiment with dark vs. light molasses, maple syrup or other syrups found at your local health food store (catcus syrup anyone?)

There are some terrific grownup trail mix ideas in Beyond Gorp: Favorite Foods From Outdoor Experts as well as some interesting recipes for such camping fare as “Baked Squirrel in Foil.”

Bon appétit indeed.

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