
Growing up, my father packed our lunches for us to take to school. My siblings and I never bought lunch because it was too expensive and not that tasty anyways. My lunch consisted of either a PBJ or lunchmeat sandwich, a piece of fruit, and either two cookies or trail mix. The trail mix he put together was peanuts, raisins, and chocolate chips. To this day I love the combo of peanuts and raisins. When I lived in Nicaragua for a year, a simple and filling snack was to buy a package of peanuts and a package of raisins when traveling.
I've branched out since then and have created numerous versions of trail mix, versions that I never write down, but then re-create again after forgetting about them.
Before taking the bus home to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving, Justin made some trail mix for us to snack on. He raved about how tasty it is and how everyone should bring trail mix on trips, even if they're not hiking trips. My goal with this post is to inspire you rather than dictate a recipe. A good rule of thumb is to have an equal ratio of dried fruit to nuts, with just a little something sweet, like chocolate chips. When stored in an airtight container, it keeps for weeks. Except that it doesn't, because it's usually eaten up before that long. Here are some favorite variations:
Simple Snack
peanuts
raisins
Mix together in equal portions
Simple Snack II
walnuts
dried cranberries
Mix together in equal portions
The Ultimate
raisins
dried cranberries
chopped apricots
dried cherries
cup peanuts
deluxe mixed nuts
walnuts (since they're usually not included in mixed nuts)
sunflower seeds
chocolate chips
Mix together in equal portions
Pepitas Trail Mix
2 cups pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Tropical Trail Mix
dried pineapple
macadamia nuts
almonds
coconut
dried mango
cashews
white chocolate chips
Mix together in equal portions
Do you have a favorite combination? I need new ideas for my travels to Michigan next week!
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