Trail Mix Bars and PeanutButter-FauxChocolate-Custard Ice Cream

I started a knitting project as an avoidance behavior. “Wow, I really need to pack and make snacks for the trip…. Or maybe I’ll start that baby sweater….”

Well, the sweater is almost finished, and I’m cutting it pretty close on the trip. But we did make some Trail Mix Bars for the road. While we were at it, we attempted some Peanut Butter-Faux Chocolate-Custard Ice Cream. Just because.

I wanted a somewhat-raw bar. I don’t have any dates (the best for raw bars) and I’ve been wanting to hack a health-food-store trail mix bar for a while now. I’m appalled at the ever-growing number of ‘power bar’ varieties at the grocery stores and the health food stores. Most are just overpriced junk food and you might as well eat a Snickers. So I BreadwithHoney’d the ingredients list to produce a much more nutritious, still delicious, trail mix bar.

Peanut Butter Trail Mix Bars

Coarse-grind 3c almonds in your blender/ food processor/ etc.
Add 3c o-type cereal and 3c puffed rice, kamut, etc. (I’m using kamut because you can get a huge bag of organic puffed kamut at our health food store for 2 dollars.)

Melt 1 (16 oz) jar natural peanut butter and 1c brown rice syrup over lowest heat. (Only rice syrup or maybe gradeB maple syrup have the viscosity to hold these bars together- honey and agave nectar won’t work nearly as well.)

Combine in your pan a la rice krispie treats. (Add more warmed rice syrup if your mixture is too crumbly- a little crumbly is ok.) Press into a parchment-lined pan.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or more. Cut into bars and wrap individually in wax paper. Or just keep the pan in the fridge and cut as needed.

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With our leftover ground almonds, we decided to make ice cream for our afternoon snack. I wanted something over-the-top rich. Just because.

Peanut Butter-Faux Chocolate-Custard Ice Cream, dairy-free

2 cans coconut milk, full fat (fat is what makes ice cream creamy)
1/2c course chopped almonds (optional)
1/3c carob powder
1/2c peanut butter (peanut butter always makes carob taste more like ‘real’ chocolate)
2 eggs, beaten (optional, but that’s the ‘custard’ element)
Sweetener to taste- ripe bananas, agave nectar, honey, stevia, etc.


Combine all ingredients except eggs in your blender.

Pour out about 1c into a small pan over medium-low heat. Add beaten eggs and whisk until mixture is cooked, about 4 minutes. Add back to blender and blend again.

Pour into ice cream maker. Turn on according to manufacturer’s directions.

Yum.

And then my favorite part:

"Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment."
~Robert Benchley