DIY Trail Mix Recipes to Make Yourself - Real Food, Mostly Plants

DIY Trail Mix

Pre-packaged trail mix is a thing of the past. Create your own power packed trail mix by combining some of your favorite Melissa’s ingredients. Just mix together, store in an airtight container, and get ready for your taste buds to thank you.

Trail mix made its debut in the 1960’s as a snack meant to fuel hikers during their travels. What was once plain old traditional GORP (good old raisins and peanuts), trail mix is now far more complex and creative. Today, with over thousands of combinations to delight your palate, you can choose flavors from sweet and salty to spicy and savory. Its lightweight, portability, and energy-dense ingredients make trail mix the perfect on-the-go option for hikers and housewives alike. We know it’s yummy, but be weary of your trail mix becoming a “dangerfood,” by keeping the serving size to a quarter- cup or less.

Mix n’ Match- The Ingredients

Nuts

These bite- size nutritional powerhouses are packed with heart- healthy fats, antioxidants, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals

Unsalted, unsweetened nuts (raw or roasted) are the best option to help keep sugar and sodium counts low

Our Melissa’s favorites: Almonds, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, and pine nuts

Seeds

Packed with many of the same benefits as nuts, seeds are full of heart- healthy fats, antioxidants, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals

Our Melissa’s favorites: White Chia seeds, Flax seeds, Pumpkin seeds

Dried Fruit

It’s easy to over-do it with this delicious sugary addition, so be mindful of the serving sizes when adding dried fruit to your mix- Dried fruit is packed with antioxidants, calcium, fiber, and vitamins A,C, and K

Go for dried fruit with as little added sugar and preservatives as possible (some fruits are naturally tart & added sugar is necessary to make them more enjoyable)

Our Melissa’s favorites: Dried apricots, banana chips, cranberries, blueberries, raisins, bing/ tart/ rainier cherries, coconut chips, currants, mango, papaya, peaches, pears, pineapples

Super Foods

Super Foods are a special category of foods found in nature. By definition they are calorie sparse and nutrient dense, meaning they pack a lot of punch for their weight as far as goodness goes. They are superior sources of anti-oxidants and essential nutrients we need to live healthy lives

Our Melissa’s Favorites: Dried Aronia Berries, Organic Cocoa Nibs, Organic Dried White Mulberries, Organic Dried Goji Berries, White Chia Seeds

Sweet & Savory Extras

Clean Snax are nuggets already packed full of chia & flax seed- add these to your trail mix for an extra boost

We all love a sweet treat, but remember to add sweets sparingly to limit the chances of your trail mix crossing into “dangerfood” territory

Our Melissa’s Sweet Favorite: Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans

Adding spice is a fun way to switch the flavor of your trail mix up

Our Melissa’s Savory Favorites: Hot/ Mild Hatch Chile Powder

Melissa’s Master Mixes

Now here’s the fun part! Luckily, there are absolutely no rules for trail mix- you get to be a master mixer and combine whatever sounds good to you! Here are a few mix ideas to get you started:

· Power Mix: Organic Dried Goji Berries, Dried Blueberries, Organic Cocoa Nibs

· Chocolate Lover: Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans, Dried Cranberries, Pine Nuts, White Chia Seeds, Organic Cocoa Nibs

· Exotic: Coconut Clean Snax, Dried Pineapple, Dried Papaya

· Go Nuts: Hazelnuts, Pine Nuts, Macadamia Nuts, Organic Dried White Mulberries

· Summertime Fine: Macadamia Nuts, Dried Pineapple, Coconut Chips, Dried Aronia Berries

For those days you would prefer to just grab & go, try our assortment of pre-packaged mixes, including:

Melissa’s Premium Mixed Nuts: peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, partying with toasted corn, almonds, and pecans