This post is sponsored by Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter.
This past weekend, my little family and I had the opportunity to travel down to California to visit the Redwood National Park. Sometimes we get the hankering to get the heck outta town and hit the road. Since we live in Oregon and have been to every National Park in this beautiful state, we decided to head even further south to the Redwoods. We have always wanted to take our children here and we finally had the opportunity to make it happen.
YOU GUYS. You hear about the Redwoods and you see pictures but holy cow, these trees are HUGE. Like, the park rangers totally weren’t kidding.
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We arrived late Friday night, so we rested up and got a nice early start Saturday morning, thanks to my children’s internal clocks waking them up and therefore all of us up at 6am. Ew. So we grabbed a little breakfast and headed over to the visitor’s center to pick up all the maps they had {hello no cell service}. We set out with a very loose plan and hoped for the best. The best adventures and memories are made when there are no strict plans! As we found hikes and different trails to explore, the trees kept getting bigger and cooler! Take a look at these pictures I snapped.
And, as expected, the trees are bigger and more beautiful in person.
When we set out for the day, we weren’t really sure what adventures lay in store for us, but I wanted to make sure my kids were as happy as could be. Meaning: our backpack was just filled with snacks. {Wish I was kidding.}
Things like bananas, apples, dried fruit, bell peppers, crackers, water, and these yummy double peanut granola bites. I made these at home before we left for California because everyone loves a sweet treat. Plus oats and peanut butter make for a great source of healthy energy, especially when you’re hiking piggy backing your kids around most of the day. I made these in a similar way to my no-bake granola bars, but this time I used Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter {made only from peanuts!! I love a good unprocessed peanut butter} and omitted the chocolate chips. You can get the basic tutorial here. I also rolled these out into small round bites to make them a little more kid friendly. Super yummy, you guys!! My kids were in heaven.
You can scroll down to the bottom of this post for the recipe.
Salty sweet goodness 🙂
Needless to say, the Redwoods are gorgeous and we had such a great time!
And the super convenient thing about being so close to the coast is the beach was only a few minutes away. So we had to sneak in a little sand time after dinner. Our kids love the beach almost more than they love us. Or candy.
Overall, we had such a fun weekend together exploring and creating new memories with our family.
Double Peanut Granola Bites
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 3 tablespoons Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Instructions
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Measure out oats and peanuts in a large bowl. Set aside.
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In a small saucepan, heat butter, peanut butter, honey and brown sugar together until melted. Increase heat to medium and simmer for 1 minute {or up until 90 seconds}. The longer you boil this mixture, the harder your granola bites will be. If you want them more chewy, boil for 1 minute. If you want them harder, boil for slightly longer. Pour this hot mixture over the oats and stir to coat. Scoop into bite size mounds on wax paper and then roll in between your palms, pressing mixture together into a tight ball. Cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Giveaway
My friends at Smucker’s want one of you wonderful readers to try their Natural Peanut Butter that is made from only the best fresh roasted peanuts, and adds an unprocessed, robust peanut flavor to your favorite lunchtime sandwich and favorite family recipes. SO, they’re giving away a Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter Picnic Party Giveaway Basket filled with lots of fun goodies so you can go on an adventure too.
How to enter: simply log onto your twitter account and tweet what it means to you to make a natural difference, tagging Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter and using the hashtag #MakeANaturalDifference. That’s it 🙂 Easy peasy! Good luck!
We partnered with Smucker’s and National Parks Conservation Association to create this blog post and we were compensated to do so. All opinions expressed are completely my own.
cookbook queen says
What a fun weekend — my kids would LOVE exploring there, too. SO gorgeous. I can’t get over the size of those trees!!
We love Smucker’s and I’m dying to try this fun snack!!
Annis Goddard says
Loved the pictures. Living in Georgia and considering my age, I probably won’t ever get to see these trees. After viewing your pictures, I feel like I have experienced a little bit of your trip. Thanks for posting.
GB says
I love the redwoods! I am from Oregon originally, and now live in Illinois. You are so lucky to live there! Best state ever!!
Janelle says
Thank you for sharing the pictures – it reminded me of my family trips. Beautiful redwood trees! AND there can never be enough exclamation points!
Sheila Burns says
Wonderful pictures of such a special, magical place!
Donna says
Love these gorgeous family pictures. You have a beautiful family Lauren!
Julie Klay says
Making the “salty sweet goodness” tonight! Looks delish!! As always, thank you!! And, as always, I *love* your pictures!! 🙂
Pamela says
Lived in Redwood country for over 30 years, never tire of the beauty and miss them so much, now in Boise, Idaho.
Gina B says
I have not been to the redwoods for a long time but remember how beautiful and big they are. The pictures of the family are wonderful. Especially the kids. They are so cute. I especially liked the picture of you and Eddie on the beach. Great picture of the two of you especially with Eddie smiling.
Mary Eickman says
Lauren, you and your husband make beautiful babies! Went through Muir Woods lover a year ago. Those trees put the “T” in tall!!!
Deborah says
We went to the redwoods for the first time last summer, and I was blown away. It was amazing! These granola bites are so perfect for roadtripping – definitely saving this recipe!
Linda Gray says
You have a nice looking family. It is great how you are instilling the love of being outdoors and enjoying nature in your children plus providing them with healthy snacks and meals. Thoroughly enjoy reading your blog. I look forward to each one.
Anita Sharp says
I’m a born and bred California girl, and we are so blessed to have so many incredible natural wonders in our state. Thanks for visiting and sharing your experience!
I really live the granola bite recipe. I was thinking that it would be easy to substitute sunflower or almond butter and their nuts if peanut allergies are a consideration. I’m heading to Oregon in May, and I’m planning to whip up a batch for the trip! Thanks!
Marilyn Brennan says
I can’t believe you went all the way there for a weekend! My family went there when I was a kid. Loved every picture…Edward on the beach perking up, the kids, the kids, the trees, the jokes and kids. Thanks!
Patty K says
Love it there! We were there last November when there was snow. So much fun!
Sommer @aspicyperspective says
What a fun trip! I can’t wait to take these granola bites on my next hike.
KitchenNola says
You were in my neck of the woods! I live in the community of Exeter and the Sequoia and King’s National Forest are only a 45 minute drive away! Glad you and your family enjoyed the sights…I never grow tired of looking at the magnificent Giant Sequoia’s!
Hope curran says
I really loved this blog post. I would love to see tgise redwoods its on my bucket list. You have a lovely family. Thanks for sharing your nature hike pics!! They were great pics!!!
I’d love to know more about how you create a paid blog and how the endorsements work. Is there any way you could give me some hints?
Wonderful blog. I love it.
Thanks
Hope
Email [email protected]
David says
Hi Lauren, Love all your recipes! thank you for sharing. Question for you, is this recipe different from your other granola bite, where you added flax seed, etc? wondering if there is a possibility to combine the two recipes…or if one is healthier than the other? thanks again! keep up the good work!!
Lauren says
They differ slightly, but feel free to combine the recipes together to concoct a master recipe 🙂
Sammie says
The Redwoods (and Big Sur in general) are on my dream vacation lists! A little further to go for me as I’m in Ohio, but still – I’ll get there someday! Thanks for these pictures!
Tamara Gutierrez says
We went to the redwoods this past Sept. It was a part of a two week road trip from MN to CA & back. The part of the forest we saw wasn’t the one with the drive through tree. Instead we saw the old Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. On our way there we stopped in OR & saw your gorgeous Crater Lake. We all agree that those two stops were in our top three moments of our trip. The third being a stop at three rivers crossing in ID.
Mary Ann C says
These pictures are incredible. I went to the redwoods when I was younger and still remember it as an amazing place.
Deidre Hopkins says
My husband and I have been wanting to go to the Redwood National Park for some time. I’ve saved this post as a reminder of some places to make sure we go!
Angelica says
I get to enjoy the Redwoods since I live in Northern California.
Tara says
We were able to see the Redwoods in California but in Santa Cruz. Our goal is to see the Northern Redwoods were you were. Love your comment about the twisted tree 😉 I”m going to make the bites too. They look like great hiking food.
ida says
We drove through that tree over 20 years ago. The redwood are amazing!
Tracie W. says
We absolutely loved traveling to see the “giant” trees. We went up the pacific coast a few years back and were able to see several of these forests if giants. Amazing!!