Dec 17, 2018 Choosing the Right Trail Mix

Trail mix is great for warding off afternoon hunger, as long as you’re buying or making the right kind. Homemade trail mixes tend to be better for you because you can control the amount of sugar. Many store-bought trail mixes are high in sugar and have a poor carbohydrate to protein ratio.

Often, trail mix comes with any combination of dried fruit, nuts, seeds and chocolate. Dried fruit contains a lot of fiber, vitamins A and C, potassium and folate. It’s best for you without the added sugar found in a lot of packages or trail mix. Nuts and seeds contain healthy fats and protein. Since nuts are so high in fats, albeit healthy fats, it’s still important to only eat about a handful at a time.

This try tropical trail mix recipe, courtesy of the Beth Greenhouse.

Double the ingredients to make a larger batch, and portion it off into snack bags or give them away as gifts.

This recipe packs protein from almonds and sunflower seeds with carbohydrates from dried fruits; always choose unsweetened dried fruit when you can. The carbohydrates will give you energy and the protein will help keep you feeling full until your next meal.

Ingredients:

½ cup almonds

½ cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds

¼ cup dried apricots, diced

¼ cup dried banana chips

¼ cup unsweetened flaked coconut

¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Divide trail mix into ¼ cup servings and store in zip top bags or air tight containers for an easy to grab snack on-the-go!

Yield:8 servings (1/4 cup trail mix per serving)

Nutrition Facts:160 Calories; 12 g Fat (3 g Saturated Fat; 0 g Trans Fat); 0 mg Cholesterol; 3 mg Sodium; 11 g Carbohydrate (3 g Fiber, 7 g Sugar, 3 g Added Sugar); 4 g Protein; 1% Daily Value (DV) Vitamin A; 1% DV Vitamin C; 0% DV Vitamin D; 4% DV Calcium; 7% DV Iron; 5% DV Potassium

References: Eatright.org