Fighting Nature’s Most Ferocious Moments … One Recipe at a Time

by M. Henry McFetridge

Here in Northern New England people refer to my neighborhood as “the great outdoors”. When doing stuff like lighting barbecues, or going out on a hike out in the big scary wilderness battling bears, our bellies get extra demanding for a good snack every once in a while. Well, what do you think us hearty types eat … boiled snake eyes? (Which don’t actually taste that bad, but that’s another story).

In case you live in a big city and have never gone on a hike, and you are right at thismoment considering eating snake eyes, don’t worry. There are easy-to-make snacks that are way better, and I should know, because my backyard is literally the Appalachian Trail.

The A.T. is filled with enormous pine trees that you feel are trying to swallow you every time you step into the forest. For the first few minutes walking beyond my backyard, you’ll see deflated soccer balls, our old tree forts, and so on, but after about ten minutes, signs of human habitation are nonexistent. You are hiking, when quite suddenly it’s like the squirrels and garter snakes are out to get you. The wilderness can feel dangerous, and having a great snack on hand like ChopChop’s Energy Bars helps us feel a little less “I want my mommy” and a little more “Bring it on, mutant werewolf zombies!”.

Although I have not hiked even one-eightieth of the trail, I have heard stories of people challenging nature and hiking the whole way. I heard of one person recently who stepped off the trail to do their business, and was never seen again. Another person was peacefully walking along when he noticed a pond monster that was slowly swimming towards him. It crawled up the shore, but then melted, turning into a bird that flew away. To be 100% honest the second story was just invented to spice things up a bit, but you have to admit, you were hooked.

On the other hand, most hikers don’t have anything bad happen to them on the trail. Although, it is easy to quit five minutes into the journey because of how challenging the A.T can be. I make sure I always have enough energy by eating well before and during the hike. If you do go hiking, make sure to bring some of ChopChop’s amazing Apple-icious Oat Bars…and a baseball bat, just in case.

Henry is a member of ChopChop’s Kid Advisory Board.