A Voyage Home: Baked Apple Cinnamon Chips, Banana Chips, & Grain-freeTrail Mix

This past weekend, I was ecstatic to finally be traveling home to visit my lovely family. The weather was balmy and hot, which made cruising with the windows down on the highway an invigorating adventure.

My dad has been down with a pneumonia so I wanted to bring him a handcrafted pick-me-up gift basket. I nestled some of my homemade Apple Cinnamon Chips, Banana Chips, and homemade Grain-free Trail Mix amongst some of my favorite feel good items in a rustic woven basket and stuffed it with simple beige-gold tissue paper. While my dad doesn't need to be gluten free or soy free, these items are so home-y and delicious he didn't even notice they were free of both of these common allergens.

~ Rustic Gift Basket: Free of Soy, Gluten, Peanuts, Legumes, Eggs ~

{{ Homemade Banana Chips, Apple Cinnamon Chips, Grain-free Trail Mix, Raw Michigan Honey, Theo's Orange Dark Chocolate Bar (soy & gluten free), SO Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk }}

The time at home definitely went by much too quickly as usual and I'm back in the midst of a busy week. But I always feel that rejuvinated renewal of spirit after I've reconneted with those that mean the most to me and bring me so much joy. Nothing quite beats being surrounded by family, having a good laugh, and muching on homemade goodies while a soft fluffy puppy falls asleep on your lap.

 

Sophie looks angelic while at rest...how deceiving. But we love her anyway.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Chips

• 3 to 4 large Golden Delicious Apples
• Organic Ground Cinnamon
• Optional: Drizzle of sweetener of choice if you want a bit more sweetness. I did not use any sweeteners.

Preheat oven to 200F. Thinly slice the apples using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Be careful to get the slices as uniform as possible to ensure even cooking in the oven. Dust with ground cinnamon and (optional) sweetener of choice (agave may play well here). Place apples on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 2 -3 hours or until crisp. A dehydrator could be used in place of the oven.

Baked Banana Chips

• 2 - 3 Bananas, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 200F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place banana slices evenly spaced. Bake for 2 - 3 hours or until crips (or use a dehydrator instead).

Grain-Free Trail Mix

• 1/2 cup raw Almonds, soaked in water for 8 hours then dried.
• 1/2 cup raw Walnuts, soaked and dried.
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds
• 1/4 cup Surf Sweets Jelly Beans

Combine all ingredients in an airtight jar. For a sweet treat, pour some of the mix in a small bowl and drizzle with raw local honey. This totally beats boring cereal in the morning!

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”

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