Energy Boost Trail Mix Recipe
One of my favourite treats is the Kirkland Trail Mix, with just the right mix of salty nuts and yummy M&Ms. Packaged in individually sized portions (which helps my non-existent will-power), I love to eat one after a swim workout, or an intense yoga class. It’s also great for when we’re traveling – I throw a few in my bag and pull them out when we’re starving and leaning toward grabbing a bag of chips, or chocolate bar when we’re hangry – so much healthier and it completely satisfies the “sweet and salty” we’re looking for. I loved knowing I was snacking on something that completely satisfied my cravings, gave me the energy boost I need after a workout and was relatively healthy.
And then I read the ingredient list — corn syrup, lactose, dextrin, coloring (blue 1 lake, yellow 6, red 40)…I stopped there.
Rats! No more, quick, delicious snack.
But then I realized I actually already had most of the mix items in my pantry. And even better – most of them were organic and gluten/dairy free! Now, I know it’s sounds obvious that anyone can make your own variation of a trail mix, but we’ve only recently (thanks to the Nutriphoria program) started buying these items regularly and I’m also still getting used to how easily we can make our own version of just about everything you can buy at the grocery store.
I played around a bit with the amounts of each ingredient to get the taste I was looking for. I also left out the peanuts and cashews because they’re not my favourites, but they can easily be added back. I also added roasted pumpkin seeds – since learning about the many benefits they offer, I’ve been trying to include them in my diet and I think they compliment the mixture nicely. I try to make sure each of the ingredients are non-GMO and organic and I purchased everything except the chocolate chips from Costco (I picked those up at the grocery store). Here’s the final result:
Ingredients:
- 1C lightly salted almonds (with sea salt)
- 1C organic raisins
- 1C lightly salted pumpkin seeds (with sea salt)
- ¼-⅓ C dairy free, gluten free mini chocolate chips
Measure each ingredient and put into a large plastic container (or large ziplock bag), cover and shake it up.
Voila!
(Now the only problem I have is making sure I don’t eat the whole bag at once!)
Besides hitting the spot after a workout, or when I’m looking for something to grab when I’m running out the door (thereby preventing me from reaching for something less healthy), this combination of nuts, seeds and fruit offers much of the nutritional supplements we should aim to include daily in our diet daily:
Almonds
- Healthy fats
- Fiber
- Protein
- Magnesium
- Vitamin E
Raisins
- Fiber
- B vitamins
- Potassium
- Copper
- Manganese
Pumpkin seeds
- Omega 3 fat
- Zinc
- Magnesium
- Tryptophan
- Phytosterols
- Antioxidants
All that, and the chocolate chips set the whole thing off for me with a dairy-free, gluten-free taste of chocolate I’m always looking for – perfection! Adding in some unsweetened shredded coconut and/or some roasted sunflower seeds are other healthy options, or a different dried fruit. Another bonus of this snack is that my teenage, picky-eater daughter loves it and she often reaches for it instead of some other over processed snack…anything healthy I can get my kids to chose is a definite win!
Suzanne Burke is a part of our community at Halifax Yoga and it a holistic nutritionist student. As a busy mom to four great kids, she lands on her mat as often as she can. With an engineering background, Suzanne has a passion for healthy living and nutrition.
We want to thank Suzanne for her awesome contribution to the Halifax Yoga blog! We invite everyone in our community to share their passions, and contribute. If you have a favourite recipe, pose, class or other relevant topic please contact Raechelle@halifaxyoga.com !
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