Healthy Trail Mix

This healthy trail mix combines nuts, seeds, dried fruit and dark chocolate for a convenient snack you can adapt to your preferences. Toasting the nuts and seeds with a little spice adds flavor, while mixing in the fruit and chocolate after cooling helps keep those ingredients from melting. Use the recipe as a starting point and adjust the mix-ins to suit your taste or dietary needs.

Ingredients for Healthy Trail Mix

The recipe makes 10 servings and uses a mix of crunchy, chewy and sweet ingredients. Choose unsalted or lightly salted options if you want to keep the sodium lower, and check packaging for ingredients that may not suit your dietary needs.

• Raw nuts: Use 3 cups in total. Cashews, macadamia nuts, walnuts and almonds are options.
• Raw seeds: Use 2 cups of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or a combination.
• Dried fruit: Use 2 cups. Raisins, dried bananas and dried apricots are possible choices.
• Dark chocolate chips: Add 1 cup. The original version uses 82% dark chocolate.
• Seasonings: Use ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. For a savory version, you can season with salt alone.

Practical tip: If you are making the mix for a group, label the ingredients and keep nut-based snacks separate from foods intended for people with nut allergies. For a different texture, yogurt-covered raisins can be included as an optional mix-in.

Why Make Trail Mix at Home?

Homemade trail mix lets you decide which ingredients go into each batch. This can be helpful when accommodating food preferences or avoiding specific ingredients. It also works as a portable lunch-box snack, an after-school bite or a snack to prepare before a hike or camping trip.

Nuts and seeds contribute fats and other nutrients, while dried fruit and chocolate add sweetness. Trail mix is energy-dense, so it is not necessarily a low-calorie snack; consider portioning it into individual servings if you want to keep track of how much you eat. Packaged varieties can include added sugar or preservatives, so check the label when comparing products.

How to Make Healthy Trail Mix

1. Toast the nuts and seeds: Heat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the raw nuts and seeds on a baking sheet, season with cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt, and toast for 10 minutes. Watch them as they bake, since oven performance and ingredient size can affect browning.
2. Cool completely: Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the toasted ingredients cool fully. This helps prevent the chocolate from melting when you combine the ingredients.
3. Add the mix-ins: Stir in the dried fruit, raisins and dark chocolate chips. Transfer the finished mix to an airtight container.

Storage: Keep the trail mix in an airtight container for up to a month. Store it in a cool, dry place, and use a clean, dry scoop or spoon to help maintain freshness.

Easy Trail Mix Variations

Adjust the ingredients while keeping the overall balance of crunchy, chewy and sweet elements. If you change the quantities, the final yield and nutrition information may also change.

• For a savory mix: Add pretzels, rye crackers, popcorn or pre-roasted peanuts. Pistachios and hazelnuts are other possible additions.
• For a sweeter mix: Try candy pieces, chocolate-covered pretzels or chocolate-covered cherries. Dried coconut, banana chips, mango and dried blueberries can add fruit flavor. White chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch chips are alternatives to dark chocolate chips.
• For more crunch: Stir in cereal such as granola or Cheerios after the toasted ingredients have cooled.

Keep ready-to-eat additions separate from the oven-toasted nuts and seeds until they have cooled. This preserves the texture of chocolate, cereal and dried fruit.

Frequently Asked Questions About Healthy Trail Mix

Is trail mix actually healthy?

It depends on the ingredients and portion size. A homemade mix can be made with nuts, seeds and dried fruit, but these ingredients can be energy-dense, and chocolate or sweet additions contribute sugar. Packaged mixes may also contain added sugar or preservatives, so review the ingredient list and nutrition label when choosing one.

What else is trail mix called?

In the United States, trail mix is sometimes called gorp. In parts of Europe, names such as scroggin or schmogle are also used.

Recipe: Healthy Trail Mix

Make 10 servings of homemade trail mix with toasted nuts and seeds, dried fruit and dark chocolate. Prep time is 10 minutes, and cook time is 10 minutes.

Ingredients

• 3 cups raw nuts
• 2 cups raw seeds
• 2 cups dried fruit
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Season the raw nuts and seeds with cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt, or use sea salt alone for a savory version. Toast for 10 minutes.
2. Let the nuts and seeds cool completely, then mix in the dried fruit, raisins and chocolate.
3. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.

Nutrition Information

The following figures are estimates per serving, based on the supplied recipe information. Values can vary depending on the ingredients and brands used.

• Calories: 189
• Fat: 12 g (18%); saturated fat: 6 g (38%); trans fat: 0.01 g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 3 g; monounsaturated fat: 2 g
• Cholesterol: 0.2 mg (0%); sodium: 79 mg (3%); potassium: 273 mg (8%)
• Carbohydrates: 17 g (6%); fiber: 2 g (8%); sugar: 10 g (11%)
• Protein: 6 g (12%)
• Vitamin A: 5 IU (0%); vitamin C: 0.4 mg (0%)
• Calcium: 75 mg (8%); iron: 2 mg (11%)

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Nutrition is automatically calculated and provided as an estimate; calculate the values using your specific ingredients when greater accuracy is needed.

For a flexible snack you can portion and pack ahead, healthy trail mix is easy to tailor with your preferred nuts, seeds, dried fruit and chocolate. Keep the toasted ingredients cooled before mixing, and store the finished snack in an airtight container.