A friend texted me a few nights ago. She asked if I would help teach at Vacation Bible School this summer. I responded back in just minutes (perhaps I should have taken longer to pray about it but I was being offered the chance to open up a Bible with children and t-e-a-c-h). I wrote back YES, in all caps just like that.

Athough I awoke to snow on my car windows this week, we’re closer to summer days, and VBS, than you think. Now, normally I leave the various activities involved with VBS to the experts, which I am not. Crafts, singing, sports activities, snack time. My passion lies in the teaching. 

But when I heard about the VBS Kit, “Jesus The True Superhero,” my creative juices started flowing. Wouldn’t it be fun to mix the Bible story teaching in with snack time for this one? Literally?

VBS volunteers everywhere, I present to you a recipe for Holy Land Trail Mix. A mix you can do with the kids, teaching them about the foods people would have eaten in Jesus' day. As you’ll see, the diet of ancient Israel lends itself perfectly to trail mix. 

I’ve included a variety of items for this mix in case you have trouble finding some things. Try to find an item or two in its original form. What an adventure for a child to help break open a pistachio or slice a pomegranate in half. (You know, the fruit Adam and Eve ate.) If you plan on serving this trail mix to a large group, you might consider asking parents to provide an item from the recipe list. Some of these items can be hard to find and might add up fast.

As you’re preparing your mix, have the children look up Bible verses that mention these biblical foods. Here are a few taken from the New Living Translation to get you started: 

So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, "If it can't be avoided, then at least do this. Pack your bags with the best products of this land. Take them down to the man as gifts--balm, honey, gum, aromatic resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Genesis 43:11 

Photo Credit: Triker-Sticks

When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. Numbers 13:23 

Photo Credit: Steven Depolo 

Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys. 1 Samuel 25:18

Photo Credit: Mariam

And people from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Vast supplies of flour, fig cakes, clusters of raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle, sheep, and goats were brought to the celebration. There was great joy throughout the land of Israel. 1 Chronicles 12:40

Holy Land Trail Mix

Serves approximately 15.

Ingredients

2 cups whole, salted pistachios

2 cups slivered almonds

2 cups raisins

2 cups wheat cereal such as Chex Wheat or Shredded Wheat

15-20 dried figs

Arils from 2-3 pomegranates

* Use grapeseed oil or olive oil if mixture is dry.

** Spice it up with these regional spices:

Salt

Cinnamon

Mint

Cumin

Coriander

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 I'm partnering with Family Christian to write this post. They have a number of great VBS kits to choose from; including "Jesus The True Superhero," my inspiration for this post. The opinions expressed here are my own.