Homemade Cranberry Almond Trail Mix

 Who doesn't love trail mix? I mean it's delicious, it's tasty, it's healthy, extremely portable for people on-the-go, and full of good-for-you stuff! It's also a great snack for the kids on those long summer drives to the beach (I'm counting down the days)!! However, I also know that most store-bought mixes are loaded down with extra sugar and salt. So, why not try making a batch of your own?

In this post, I am going to give you a few ideas for different ingredients to try in your homemade trail mix. First, here is the ratio of ingredients I used in the mix above.

Easy Homemade Trail Mix

1 cup raw unsalted almonds

1 cup raw unsalted cashews

1 cup dry-roasted and salted pistachio nutmeats (simply unshelled pistachios)

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup of white chocolate chips

I love this combination of ingredients. You can leave out the chocolate chips if you prefer to have no added sugar. My kids love this mix and I know the chocolate chips have a lot to do with it, so I don't have the heart to leave them out. :) Besides, what's a trial mix without the fun stuff??? I do try to use the unsweetened dried fruit, and most of the nuts unsalted (with the exception of one type, or so). That way you still get plenty of the salty/sweet taste without it being too overly salty. I hear they even make chocolate chips out of stevia now, but I have yet to try them. You could also opt for organic chocolate chips, or even go with cacao nibs to make it even healthier.

One great thing about homemade trail mix is you won't have to pick through all the ingredients you don't like, because you'll be using everything you do! Below are a few ideas for you to make it your own. Choose one, or several, different combinations from each category:

1 cup each of two, or three, different kinds of nuts (this is the base of your trail mix):
Pistachios, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, brazil nuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, etc., etc.

1/2 cup of seeds:
Pumpkin seeds, sunflower, pinenuts

1 cup dried fruit:
Cranberries, raisins, golden raisins, banana chips, gogiberries, blueberries, pineapple, dried coconut flakes

1/2 cup fun stuff:
White chocolate chips, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, m&m's, carob chips, pretzels


Warning!! :) This stuff can be highly addictive, and while it is good for you, it can also very quickly add up in calories. What I like to do to help control my lack of will power, is to divide these up in ready made portion sizes. That way when I need a quick pick-me-up, I can just grab one of these. Then I'm not as tempted to sit down to the whole container of trail mix and start munching away till, before I know it, I've eaten 1500 calories worth of trail mix (it's not hard to do...at least for me, anyway)! I just scoop out about a 1/4 of a cup into snack size ziploc bags, and throw them in the pantry!

Let me know if you have a favorite homemade combination! I'd love to hear it!