Welcome back! A while ago, I promised you some economical, healthy snack foods. One of my favorite snacks is raw trail mix. I used to love the prepackaged peanut, chocolate and raisin mixes. That is, until I realized how terribly unhealthy they were. I might as well have been eating candy bars. But the flavor combination, the portability, the quick burst of energy – those are just so good, that I had to find a healthier equivalent. That’s when I discovered the beauty of the bulk nuts and fruits section of the grocery store. If you’re lucky enough to live near a Whole Foods or Wegmans, then you probably have already discovered how fabulous a bulk section is. I’ve gone from a mid-size town to a very small town, and the only place I’ve been able to find bulk foods locally is at our natural foods store. It’s not nearly as big of a selection as what I can find on my occasional trips to the “big city”, but it’s good enough to keep me stocked on staples like raw nuts, organic flours, and the most important thing – yogurt covered raisins. So take my mix below, head to your local natural foods store or mega-grocer, and make your own trail mix.
One note about the nuts you choose: I like to use raw nuts, but it is fine to use roasted nuts, as long as they are dry roasted (not roasted in oil and not salted – you don’t need any extra sodium, and the mono-unsaturated fats from the nuts are all you need).
Here’s my mix:
Equal amounts of walnuts, pecans, almonds and half as much each cashews and shelled pistachios
A quarter as much each dried cherries (or cranberries or raisins) and yogurt or chocolate covered raisins.
Mix all ingredients, then portion into 1/4 cup servings (because it is just too easy to eat way too much of this!)
I hope that you will try this out and take it along with you on your adventures this summer.
Happy Snacking!
