I like homemade trail mix since I can avoid the unhealthy chocolate, additives, etc. that are in store bought varieties.
My question is do any of you make your own and if so what do you use for ingredients? I’m looking for things beyond basics like peanuts and raisins.
Starters…
– Last Updated: Jan-25-15 3:35 PM EST –
I like Quaker 100% Natural cereal as a base and add mixed nuts(less than 50% peanuts), cashews (pieces to save cost), craisins (dried cranberry) and sometimes dried apricot or peaches for a change of pace.
I don't usually use M&Ms or other chocolate mostly because it makes a mess when it melts in summer heat.
There may be some additives in the cereal that you might want to avoid. Personally I don't worry much about it since I don't eat it every day or in large quantities.
no chocolate? Horrors!
– Last Updated: Jan-25-15 3:08 PM EST –
Hmm, I consider chocolate a necessity in trail mix. In modest quantities dark chocolate (70% or more) is not "unhealthy". It contains some good vitamins and minerals (copper, selenium, magnesium, iron) and flavenol antioxidants. Cocoa butter is unsaturated and may actually help prevent arteriosclerosis -- some studies seem to suggest dark chocolate helps keep blood pressure normal. Plus it has mood enhancing compounds like theobromine and provides a small dose of caffeine, which can be a nice energy boost out on the water. I mix good quality dark chocolate chips in all my GORP.
But, absent chocolate, I like dried cranberries (especially the Trader Joe version with orange flavoring), dried apricots and the sesame sticks made with rice bran (though some brands of these have not-so-great fats -- check the labels). There are so many types of nuts it's hard to go wrong with any mix, but I like cashew pieces, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds.
My mix
I’ve come to like a mix that starts with an Asian Nut Crunch I get from Walmart. The Asian mix includes rice crackers, dried peas, with some was Wasabi spices and it’s quite tasty. To that I’ll add cashews, deluxe nut mix, and Parmesan goldfish.
I haven’t done it yet, but dried fruit would be a nice complement to that.
I like Walmarts Cajun Mix
to which I add a lot of cashews! Walmart has a decent aisle for bases to make your own mix relatively economically. You can always start with a chex mix base.
I don’t personally care for chocolate in gorp either but I prefer a less sweet gorp.
I have had a few hilarious chocomelts and then resolidification… couldnt get the gorp out of the bottle
Trader Joe’s
If there is a Trader Joe’s in your area, they have terrific trail mixes (with and w/o chocolate) as well as a huge collection of dried fruits, crunchy dried vegetables, snack bits and nuts. Their sesame coated cashews are excelllent. The Fresh Market chain also has dozens of bulk choices.
Regular Cheerios plus freeze-dried strawberries are a tasty dry snack and can double as breakfast with the addition of milk. I also like the twig-style bran serials as an addition to trail mix.
yum
yum yum Wal sells a dired tropical fruit bag that’s AAA snacky…bet you can’t eat only barf one ?
Cashews are toxic.
Cliff bars have a new group of bar chewies, including cashews.
No, I haven’t. But the idea goes down easy. Imagine there are volumes of online recipes.
Have you made Mount Logan Bread ?