Trail Mix Bliss Balls

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These bliss balls are a whole-foods alternative to pre-made trail snacks!
An easy make ahead snack for hiking or camping trips: Trail Mix Bliss Balls!
Social media, Instagram in particular, has been getting a bad wrap lately. We’ve seen firsthand just how far people will go while trying to get the perfect shot, often putting themselves or the environment at risk (like climbing over safety barriers or trampling on vegetation in National Parks). Between this sort of reckless behavior and the emerging conversation calling Instagram out for being “fake”, it’s easy for the whole thing to leave a bad taste in your mouth. However, even though social media is repeatedly lambasted as a poor substitute for real human connection,  we’ve found it to be our greatest tool for finding like-minded people to connect with across the country. Case in point: fellow road tripper @erinoutdoors.

What started as friendly commenting on each other’s photos lead to email conversations about road tripping and must see spots across the west coast. We eventually found out that we’d be rolling through her home base in Boulder, CO right when she wrapped up her road trip, and she graciously offered to host us for a few days. We hit it off right away, and what do you know? The Instagram handle @erinoutdoors suddenly transformed into a real human connection with a fellow adventurer named Erin. (TL;DR: social media is just a tool – it’s all about how you choose to engage with it.)

Our time in Boulder with Erin was a flurry of hiking, yoga, cooking, Colorado craft beer drinking, and conversations about the next adventure. While we were there, she introduced us to her friend Lee’s brilliant concept: the Bliss Ball. Snacks are always a tough one for us because we have no access to a kitchen most days to make our own, and most store-bought snacks are full of sugar, salt, and who knows what else. These bliss balls are a whole-foods alternative to pre-made trail snacks and will be our go-to choice whenever we have access to a full kitchen.

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The base is just two ingredients: dates and cashews. They get processed into a dough (in this case, with Erin’s Vitamix, which is now my #1 item to add to our kitchen once we give up our nomadic life). As for the toppings, the sky’s the limit! Erin chose to roll her bliss balls in goji berries and chia seeds. We went with a festive color combination and rolled ours in green pepitas and ruby red cranberries for a sweet and crunchy combination reminiscent of a classic trail mix.

erin-outdoors
An easy make ahead snack for hiking or camping trips: Trail Mix Bliss Balls!

Hand holding three Trail mix bliss balls.

Trail Mix Bliss Balls

Endlessly customizable, this date and cashew bliss balls are a great snack to take on your adventures for when you need a little energy burst.
5 from 2 ratings
Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
8 bites

Ingredients

  • 10 dates, pitted and soaked in water for 10 minutes
  • ¼ cup cashews*
  • 3 tablespoons pepitas
  • 3 tablespoons dried cranberries

Instructions

  • In a Vitamix or a food processor, process the dates and cashews until a sticky dough forms.
  • Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and roll between your palms to create a ball.
  • Spread the pepitas and cranberries on a flat surface (like a cutting board or plate) and roll the balls over them to coat.
  • Store the bliss balls in an airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to hit the trail!

Notes

*if you're using a high powered blender like a Vitamix, you can skip soaking the cashews, otherwise give those a good soak warm water to soften them.
Equipment Needed
Vitamix or food processor
Recipe based on Lee From America's bliss balls

Nutrition (Per Serving)

Calories: 118kcal

*Nutrition is an estimate based on information provided by a third-party nutrition calculator

Snack
Hiking
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An easy make ahead snack for hiking or camping trips: Trail Mix Bliss Balls!

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14 Comments

  1. What a great idea! I love these little balls and they are so photogenic. My imagination has already taken over with all the amazing possible combinations. I am wedded to my kitchen and eating my own food and am always discouraged when I have to buy some packaged bar or mix. This is a great solution!

    1. Thanks Kathryn! The possibilities are endless when it comes to add on ingredients for these! And I totally agree, whenever I can make something instead of buying a package, that is reason to celebrate! ????

  2. These little trail mix balls look awesome! I’ve totally fallen in love with your blog already. 🙂

  3. What are the other toppings in the picture? Looks like maybe Chia seeds and other stuff

    1. Hey Melissa! Some of the other toppings are chia seeds, goji berries, and chocolate bits. These are super versatile and you can really roll them into any toppings that strike your fancy. Enjoy!

  4. is there possibly a nut free version someone could suggest?

    1. Christen Vargas says:

      I know this is a bit late, but sunflower seeds should work great!

  5. I love this blog post!! I want to make my trail mix bliss balls what a great idea.
    Theres a dried fruit product called Solar Gold Dried Fruit that would be a perfect ingredient, they sell dried mango, pineapple and banana with nothing added to it and its delicious! Sold in BC too at this store lifestylemarkets.com/about/.

    Thanks for the great post!

  6. Judy Golson says:

    My daughter is allergic to cashews, can you recommend another tree nut?

    1. Sunflower seeds make a nice alternative for cashews!

  7. How long do these last? I’m about to leave on a road trip and would love to make a bunch of these ahead of time to take, but wasn’t sure if they’re go bad after a while since the dates are re-hydrated.

    1. These Bliss Balls are ideal for a day or two afterwards (if they are not being refrigerated) After that, the consistency will start to deteriorate, especially in warmer conditions.