Healthy Trail Mix Recipe

Trail mix is basically a snack made by mixing some nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruits and sweets. The original intent of this snack was for those going on hikes and treks since its light and easy to carry and provides right nutrition and energy required. However due to the exact same reasons its now an immensely popular snack that you can have on the go and eat right. 
There are many variations of Trail mix but for today's post I am sharing this Healthy Trail Mix which is a very basic one. I've used Nuts, dried fruits, seeds, grains and to round it all up just added a teeny tiny bit of white chocolate chips. We all love white chocolate hence chose that over the semi sweet one. Buying store bought Trail mix is easy but making your own is even easier as it gives you the flexibility to build one to your liking. You can use the exact ingredients or do a mix n match by trying to include 1-2 ingredients from each category (See notes)

I typically start getting hunger pangs between 4-5 pm i.e. while returning from work. Its very easy to grab a bag of chips or a packet of biscuits as even they are easy n convenient to carry as well as eat on the go. But they are definitely not the best options. Hence I usually try to make a big batch of this Healthy trail mix over the weekend and divide them into portions, pack in Ziploc bags/containers and keep one in my purse. I keep restocking every now and then. That way I am grabbing the right snack and not binging on the fried or sugary stuff. If not trail mix then I try to make a batch of my Granola Bars and have one of those. 

Now to the recipe... 

Ingredients: 
½ cup cashews
½ cup almonds
½ cup pistachios
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup roasted pumpkin seeds
¼ cup whole wheat cheerios 
2-3 tablespoon dried cranberries 
1-2 tablespoon white chocolate chips

Method: 
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and store it in an airtight container for weeks or even upto a month. Divide the trail mix in equal portions and add it to a container or Ziploc bags and have an easy grab and go snack at hand ready. 

Notes: You can use 1-2 ingredients from any of these to build your Healthy Trail mix. 

• Nuts - Almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, peanuts (raw or roasted, unsalted, unsweetened). You can use pecans, pine nuts or macadamia nuts but use in moderation as they are high calorie nuts
• Seeds - Sunflower, pumpkin, flax or hemp seeds
• Dried fruits - Cheeries, cranberries, raisins, blueberries, pineapple, apple, apricots, dates etc But add these in moderation as they can add to the sugar  content. 
• Grains-  I've used whole grain cheerios as they ahve more fibre and less sugar but you can add any of these as long as you have the salt and sugar in check - whole wheat crackers, granola, pretzels, puffed rice, popcorn etc
• Sweets - chocolate chips (white, semi sweet, butterscotch, peanut butter), M&M's marshmallow etc (add in moderation) 

That's it, our nutritious and energy boosting Healthy Trail Mix is ready. Snack right and stay healthy. Enjoy!!

Happy Snacking!!
Shweta