Papaya-avocado pudding and backpacking tales

Nika was the only one enjoying the late June snowfall.

I was sure my latest backpacking trip was going to be perfect. I had spent hours preparing meals and snacks that were ACD-friendly. After all, based on my preparation for the trip, it had to go well.

Temperatures were perfect when we set off down the trail. It was sunny and in the mid 80s. Admittedly, we were heading out late in the day. Yes, we had five miles of steep terrain to over. Yes, there were thunderstorms forecast. Okay, it sounds more like a recipe for disaster and that's exactly what happened.

We couldn't reach our lake destination because snow covered the trail. We ended up camping near the summit when we lost the trail because of snow. That night and the next day we had some of the worst thunderstorms we've ever encountered. Snow, rain and hail pelted our tent where we hovered all night and much of the next day.  The picture above shows the snowy scene that greeted us after we were finally able to emerge from our tents after the thunderstorms passed over.

Sad and soaked we head back down the trail

With fog-shrouded skies, there wasn't much chance our wet gear was going to dry out. The weather wasn't forecast to improve. We decided to cut our losses and head homeward a day early.



Water levels rose with all the new precipitation.

We didn't realize how challenging getting back to our car was going to be. The trails had turned into creeks because of all the precipitation. The new precip made water crossings more difficult. Our malamute, Nika, was too scared to cross in several places. She had to be carried across which resulted in husband, Tyler, ending up in the water and soaked.

Raw carrot-granny apple-sunbutter bites

It was definitely one of those trips that will be memorable, mostly because of the trials and tribulations. But I had some great food!

The Lemon Blueberry Energy Bites http://catsinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2013/06/backpacking-food-acd-friendly.html were a big hit and easy to eat even when I was too tired and frozen to prepare a meal.  I also had along some yummy Raw Carrot-Granny Apple  Sunbutter Bites, ACD-Phase 2.

Here's what you need:

1 carrot, peeled
1 granny smith apple, cored
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
2 T. sunbutter
2 T. coconut oil, softened
1 T. coconut butter

 Here's what you do:

Grate the carrot and apple in a food processor. Add in the other ingredients and blend into a soft dough. Shape into balls and store in the fridge.

I finished up most of my energy bites on the trail. The carrot ones didn't hold their shape as well as the lemon blueberry energy bites but they were all delicious. My personal favorite were the lemon blueberry bites.

 

Papaya-avocado pudding

For my post backpacking breakfast, I made papaya-avocado pudding with a coconut base.

Here's what you need for a single-serving of the pudding, ACD-Phase 2:

1/2 cup fresh papaya chunks
1/2 avocado
1 cup plain yogurt, vegan or other
2 T. fresh or frozen blueberries for topping
Sprinkle of coconut flakes for topping

Here's what you need for the coconut base (makes 2-4 servings):

1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/3 cup ground sunflower seeds
1 T. coconut flour
1-2 T. coconut oil

Here's what you do:

For the base, grind the sunflower seeds in your Magic Bullet or Nutri Bullet-like device. Toss the rest of the base ingredients in and mix into a course dough. Scoop 1-2 T. of the mixture into a small bowl or ramekin. Store the rest in the fridge or freezer.

Prepare the pudding by blending all the ingredients in your Magic or Nutri Bullet (no need to wash it out prior to making the pudding). Layer the pudding over the coconut crust and finish off the pudding with a sprinkling of blueberries, coconut flakes or maybe more of the coconut base mixture.

It was delicious. I wonder how I could make a version of it for backpacking.

Recipe contributed to: http://siftstirandsavour.com/2013/06/23/5-ingredient-mondays-strawberry-ice-cream-and-watermelon-sherbet/