Well, here I am not on a mountain…
Biking rhymes with hiking, right? Here we are in May already and the truth is I have been doing more biking than hiking lately. I don’t have to drive far (or at all) and it is so easy to fit a ride into my day. I have even rode my bike to work twice a week since students have come back to the building! It has turned out to be a great cross training activity and together with yoga in the morning, I am slowly awakening from winter slumber.
This recipe for AIP strawberry lemonade tiger nut trail mix came to me after finding some lemon flavored cranberries in individual packets the other day. No, there was nothing really paleo about them as they had more sugar than fruit, but what can you expect with both lemons and cranberries in one treat?
It got me thinking, though, of strawberry lemonade and how my son Mitch and I would order that Freckled Lemonade at Red Robin ALL THE TIME when he was younger. What a delicious, summery drink and all those free refills! What if I could make something that tasted similar while outdoors?
#lemons #coconutchips #strawberries #apples #tigernuts
This was my first time trying tiger nuts as a snack, and I found them, well, interesting. Tiger nuts are a tuber and you may know them as chufa nuts or earth almonds. They are harvested from a plant named the yellow nutsedge and boast a high resistant starch content. They have a sweet and nutty flavor. This is the company I bought them from.
According to Maya Feller, registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of Maya Feller Nutrition,:
“Tiger nuts are lauded for their high resistant starch fiber content. Resistant starch fibers are loved for their prebiotic capacity. These fibers pass through the GI undigested and are thought to reduce blood sugar spikes and aid in satiety,” explains the Brooklyn-based nutritionist.
In addition, they are “a good source of plant-based protein, poly and monounsaturated fats, magnesium, calcium, vitamins C and E,” adds Feller. Plus, they’re gluten-free and dairy-free, making it a great option for those on Vegan or Paleo diet.
They are most definitely harder than your average nut, though. When eating them, I highly suggest a slow pace. Once you take that first bite to chew them, they are fine, but if you were to suddenly bite down on one it might not be good for the dental work. Just keeping it real…
For the AIP strawberry lemonade tiger nut trail mix , I juiced 4 lemons to make about 1/2 cup of juice and soaked 3 cups of raw coconut chips for about 3 hours in the fridge. I then drained the lemon juice and layered the chips out on a lined tray in the dehydrator.
Slicing the strawberries, a pound made about 1 cup in the dehydrator. The first time I prepared them pretty thin so they came out crispy, the second time I cut them a little thicker so they had a bit more chew.
For the dried apples, I used 2 of those new Cosmic Crisp apples that are a hybrid variety grown to not brown as fast (Go Cougs!). I found that I didn’t need to dip them in lemon juice and they resisted browning but you will see in the recipe instructions below that I added that step in case you don’t have a similar apple. These are different than the Artic Apple which is GMO.
After the coconut chips, strawberries and apples were dry and cooled, I mixed them with 2 cups of tiger nuts to make a trail mix! It had the right amount of lemony tang with the sweetness of the strawberries. The tiger nuts and coconut chips packed it with protein and the apples balance it all out.
If you are not worried about being AIP compliant, you could use another nut you love, like cashews or macadamia. I think some chocolate chips would also be yummy. You could buy strawberries and apples dried already but you still have to make the lemony coconut chips so why not make your own with no sugar or oils added?
Have you tried tiger nuts yet? What kind of treats do you like to use them for? Share in the comments below!
If you are interested in upping your bike riding and a support group is your thing, check out Love To Ride. They are world wide and there is sure to be some locals near you ready cheer you on. May is Bike Everywhere month here in Washington State and I signed up as a team to encourage others to ride. The website has been a fun way to log my rides and keep me on track for my goal of 1,000 miles this year!
Also, here are some of my other trail mix recipes you might enjoy…
Keto Veggie Seasoned Walnut Mushroom Trail Mix
AIP Strawberry Lemonade Trail Mix
This tangy sweet strawberry lemonade trail mix is autoimmune protocol friendly and uses tiger nuts instead of nuts and seeds.
Prep Time
3 hours
Dehydrating Time
8 hours
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Autoimmune Protocol, Gluten Free, Nightshade Free, Nut free, Paleo, Vegan, Whole FoodDiet: Gluten Free, Vegan
Servings: 14 1/2 cup servings
Ingredients
-
- 4 lemons
- 3 cups coconut chips
- 1 pound strawberries
- 2 apples
- 2 cups tiger nuts
Instructions
- Juice the 4 lemons to make about 1/2 cup lemon juice (save out 1 tablespoon for later), add to the coconut chips in a covered bowl and let soak in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.
- Wash, dry and slice the strawberries into uniform pieces about 1/4 inch.
- Wash, peel and chunk the apples as uniformly as you can.
- Dip into a small bowl of water with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Use a slotted spoon to pull them out and drain.
- After the coconut chips have soaked in the lemon juice, drain and lay out on separate trays with the fruit in the dehydrator for 6-8 hours until completely dry. The chips will dry the fastest so check at 6 hours to test.
- Once dried and cooled, mix the dried fruit and coconut with 2 cups of tiger nuts. Store in an air tight container.
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