Homemade Trail Mix

I go to the store quite a bit. When I was growing up I would always joke that it was my dad that would make that run. It always seemed, and most likely was the case, that he would go to the bank and then to the store. My dad knew every checkout girl by name at the store. He would converse and joke with them. He was a regular. I’ve fallen into those footsteps, with the exception of going to the bank, as well as buying lottery tickets and renting VHS tapes. I have pretty much taken that same path. I’ve fallen into joking and conversing with the checkout folks, the ladies in the bakery, and the butchers and produce sections. I joke from time to time, that I think they follow me, thinking that I am some sort of shop lifter as I am there so often. I’ve actually even seen people follow me around the store, it is that ridiculous.

But what is also ridiculous is the grab and go items that you see marked up. It kills me to see prepackaged things like nuts, grapes, or even chopped celery and carrots for crying loud. At first, I thought, what a great idea, chopped vegetables, but then when I flipped the container over to take a look at the price, it was close to five dollars for the price of one cup of chopped celery and carrots! The price for a bag of carrots was close to one dollar and celery, just over a dollar. This goes the same for other items too, one of them being trail mix.

Trail mix is the quintessential snack and contains not only great ingredients, but also loaded with excellent carbohydrates giving you the boost you need any time of the day. When I saw the trail mix at the store and noticed the price to be just under seven dollars for about 2-3 cups of mixture only containing peanuts, M & M’s, and some granola, I was blown away. I knew that I could purchase my own ingredients, making 3 times the amount for about the same cost. Not only that, but I could make it the way I wanted it.

Simple ingredients yielding a great snack, saving you lots of money… who could go wrong?

Ingredients: (1/2 cup per each)

• Plain M & Ms
• Dried Cherries
• Pretzels, broken
• Salted Peanuts
• Cashew Halves
• Whole Grain Cereal (I used Cranberry Almond Crunch which contains dried cranberries, granola clusters, and almonds)

That is as simple as it gets. This makes a bunch of trail mix so you can save some for home, take some to work, and store some in the car. The kids love it, and the adults love it to. Each bite is filled with a great balance of texture and a sweet and salty flavor that is just spot on.

The great thing about trail mix is that you can make it your own. You can add seeds, toasted coconut, and even candied ginger if you want. The ideas are endless, but the flavor and cost is something to be desired. Enjoy.