Road Trippin' : Snacks

      It's almost that time of year again- you know that magical time when the school bell rings one last time for two full months of Summer Vacation- Fathers Coast to Coast load their families into vans packed to the hilt- yes the kitchen sink might even be in there! What I am talking about is the all Canadian road trip.

    Back in the day- which as we all know by now was a Wednesday- my Dad would load all us kids up into our custom paneled, semi camperized Chevy Van (it was blue)  and we would set off across this great country of ours to visit our cousins in Ontario- yes British Columbia to Ontario in a van with no air conditioner and some shady short cut from my Uncle Jeff- good times always look like a Chevy Chase movie.

   Back to present day- I will not lie- the Mr. and I tend to be of the mentality that if we can drive somewhere instead of fly we should- in the van- which also does not have A.C. -  needless to say we are on the road a lot. Road trippin' can be synonymous with fast food and gas station snacks but it doesn't have to be! We have made it a habit over the last couple of years to pack yummy, smart snacks to go with our yummy, smart dinners- a few favourites include real fruit gummy bears, pop corn, veggies and dip, home made cookies with secret healthy ingredients and of course the ever present apples!

    So before you spend eight or even four hours in the car plan ahead- bake these yummy and secretly sort of healthy cookies- leave the Ipad at home and let your kid count telephone poles- that is what Summer road trippin' is all about- that and the outhouses.

My Sort of Healthy but Still Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup real butter- oh yah!
1/8 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 small egg
vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips- or M&Ms ( or split dark chocolate chips & m&ms- which is what I do as the kid's find dark chocolate a bit too bitter)

- combine sugars, butter and vanilla in mixer and beat until frothy- add in egg and incorporate well, add flour, flax and baking soda- mix well before adding final ingredients. Drop by the teaspoonful and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheets.