Provisions for hiking: tips and a recipe

Ingredients for one baking tray:

3 cups unsweetened oat puffs (or other puffed cereal such as puffed rice or puffed spelt)

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup kernel/seed mix (e.g. sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds)

1 cup chopped nuts (e.g. walnuts, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios)

1 cup chopped cranberries (or other dried fruit such as dried apricots or raisins)

4 tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oil (e.g. peanut oil or sunflower oil)

1/2 cup honey

4 tbsp apple sauce

Preparation:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients (oat puffs, rolled oats, kernels/seeds, chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit and flour) together in a large bowl.

2. Line the baking tray with baking paper.

3. Heat oil in the pan. Add the honey and bring to the boil while stirring until the liquid begins to caramelise. Add the apple sauce and bring to the boil again.

4. Pour the liquid over the mixed dry ingredients and blend everything thoroughly with a large spoon or wooden spoon until everything is coated in the sticky liquid.

5. Pour the mixture onto the baking paper and spread it out.

6. Place another piece of baking paper on top of the mixture. Then compress the mixture firmly with a large cutting board, rolling pin or another baking tray. The flatter the mixture, the better the bars will hold together later.

7. Remove the top baking paper and bake the bar tray in a preheated oven at 150°C for approx. 25 minutes until golden.

8. Remove the tray and allow the mixture to cool. Only then carefully cut into bars with a bread knife and store in a tin.

NOTE! The mixture is initially crumbly and only becomes solid once it has cooled down, so be patient and wait until the mixture is really hard before cutting.

‘Jägersnus! That’s what they call trail mix in Sweden. I created my own mix of chocolate pieces, salted nuts and gummy bears. The gummy bears then become nice and salty and they make the perfect pick-me-up.’

Myriam, Deputy Branch Manager, Zurich Europaallee branch

‘A Thermos bottle with hot broth and a wiener sausage: I put whole sausages in and then fish them out again with a fork for lunch. Add a delicious bread roll and voilà! You can get rid of the taste of the sausage later using denture cleaner or Sigg purification tabs.’

Ivy, E-Commerce, Zurich office

‘On a Transa photo shoot, a photographer had brought along a mix of Red Bull and apple juice. I didn’t really like it, but it was an effective source of energy! Since then, I sometimes taken this mix along with me on tours.’

Clau, graphic designer, Zurich office

‘I take a light gas stove on almost every hike. I use it to quickly boil water to add to freeze-dried food, followed by a coffee.’

Tinu, Hardware Buyer, Zurich office

‘Corn kernels are perfect for hikes. They are small and light to carry and you can pop them over a fire. If you don’t have a pan, you can take the popcorn already made and eat it straight from your jacket pocket while you walk.’

Jenny, Kids’ Buyer, Zurich office

‘Instead of Cervelat sausage or things like that, I take boiled potatoes and raw mushrooms with me to roast’. Put them on a skewer and they turn beautifully brown and taste great with a herby curd dip from a Tupperware container.’

Dinah, Marketing, Zurich office

‘I like to take home-made power balls with me when I go hiking, made from dates and coconut flakes, for example, or else a mix of salted almonds and M&Ms! It may be a little less healthy than the power balls, but it always puts me in a good mood!’

Michael, Sustainability, Zurich office