Homemade Trail Mix: Recipe for Your Healthiest Mix 

By Ricki Heller

For North Americans, trail mix does seem to be the ideal snack:  it’s quick, it’s portable, it’s healthy, and it provides us with the twin hits of two favorite tastes: sweet and salty.  

There may be lots of different trail mixes out there, but by far, the best bet is to make your own.   

Most trail mixes contain a combination of nuts, seeds, fruits, and sometimes grains (such as crisped rice cereals, or granola clusters).  Commercial trail mixes also contain lots of unhealthy additives, including preservatives, colorings, artificial flavors, hydrogenated or damaged oils, and sugar. 

What Should I Include? 

When creating your own trail mix, the general recipe is very simple:  use any combination of dried fruits, nuts, seeds, and cereals that you like.   

Just keep in mind one essential rule:  minimize or eliminate processing. In other words, for the optimal trail mix, it’s preferable to gather all your ingredients in their raw form, measure according to healthy percentages of protein and carbs (since the original purpose of trail mix was to provide a boost of energy while hiking—a fairly exerting activity—it should contain a fair amount of protein and carbs for energy, or a high proportion of nuts and seeds), then dehydrate or cook the ingredients, as you wish.   

My basic trail mix recipe includes:

• approximately 75% nuts and seeds (any combination you like)
• about 20% dried fruits (again, whatever you like)
• and about 5% grains or cereals, if you wish.

The following guidelines may help you decide which ingredients to include in your own mix.

NUTS AND SEEDS:  

In general, nuts are a wonderful and very nutritious food.  They contain heart-healthy Omega 6 and Omega 3 fats, monounsaturated fats, antioxidant vitamin E, and they are also generally high in protein.  Nuts arrive in their own natural packaging—their shells—which will help preserve and protect them as well until ready to use.   

Because it’s more difficult to buy nuts with the shells still on and then shell them yourself before blending into a trail mix (that alone would provide enough exercise to earn the right to eat them all!), the second best choice is raw, natural nuts from a health food store.   

Organic nuts, of course, would be preferable, but these are often quite expensive.

Choose unroasted, unsalted, raw, natural nuts for your mix.  If you wish, you can roast them yourself, by laying them out on a rimmed cookie sheet and baking in a 350 F (180C) oven for about 10-15 minutes, until just starting to turn golden.  If you do choose to add salt, use a natural sea salt with a full complement of minerals.  Cool completely before adding to your mix. 

Keep in mind that the oils in nuts and seeds are volatile; this means they are prone to rancidity if exposed to air, heat, or oxygen. In order to preserve the integrity of the oils in your nuts and seeds, refrigerate (or freeze) raw nuts/seeds until you use them. This way, you’ll obtain the highest health benefits from your healthy snack. 

Best choices:

• Almonds.  These are always at the top of the lists, since they offer a high protein content, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and vitamin E, and a lower fat content than most other nuts.  They are also the highest nut for calcium.
• Coconut.  Previously maligned because of its high saturated fat content, coconut has recently been promoted by some alternative health professionals as a heart-healthy food that can also help preserve thyroid functioning. If you can find high quality organic coconut, this can be a great addition to your trail mix.
• Pumpkin Seeds. Known to be high in zinc, pumpkin seeds can help boost immunity and have been shown to help prevent prostate problems. They’re also high in iron and other minerals.  The phytosterols (plant sterols) in pumpkin seeds have also been shown to help reduce cholesterol.
• Sesame Seeds.  These tiny gems are a great source of calcium and the same type of phytosterols as in pumpkin seeds. Remember that they need to be chewed to crack the outer hull, as this exposes the healthy oils within and renders the seeds digestible by our digestive tract (otherwise, sesame seeds—like flax seeds—are not digested and pass whole through our systems.  While they offer fibre in this manner, they won’t offer nutrients this way).
• Walnuts.  Filled with healthy Omega 3 oils, walnuts are good for brain function and heart health.  Slightly higher in fat (about 65%), they should be eaten in moderation.

 Avoid:   

• Conventional (non-organic) peanuts.  Even if you’re not allergic, peanuts can harbor aflatoxins, a type of carcinogen.  Organic peanuts tend to be less problematic in this area.

• Commercially prepared soy nuts.  In general, though soybeans offer great protein and are also important for women in pre- and menopausal years, commercial varieties are often roasted in poor-quality oils, high in added fat, and, unless organic, genetically modified. Check preparation and ingredients carefully if buying soy nuts.

FRUITS:

Fruits are not only a high-fibre, no-fat snack; they’re also an excellent source of vitamins, some minerals (especially dates, raisins, and figs), and they add the chewiness and sweetness that so many of us crave in a trail mix.  

Best Choices: 

• Apricots:  These fruits offer a great source of vitamin A.  The organic variety is naturally darker in color than conventional apricots, and much sweeter!
• Blueberries/Cranberries: both these berries have been shown to help prevent urinary tract infections by inhibiting bacteria from clinging to the urinary tract. They’re also high in vitamins and antioxidants.
• Cherries:  tart, organic dried cherries provide pucker-power in a trail mix and offer vitamins A and C, as well as a source of calcium.
• Goji Berries: A relatively new addition to the realm of dried fruit, Goji berries are delicious (not quite as sweet as raisins and a bit chewier), with an impressive nutritional profile including high levels of vitamin C (higher by weight than oranges), several vitamins and minerals, and an array of amino acids.
• Raisins:  a perennial favorite, raisins are a good source of iron and also contain other minerals and vitamin B.
• Figs: dried figs are known to be anti-parasitic and help keep the intestines in good shape.  They also provide a great fruit source of calcium as well as potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and phosphorous, not to mention good fibre content!

Avoid:  non-organic dried fruits, as they can be coated in sugar and/or unhealthy oils, and often contain sulfites (a preserving agent).   

For people concerned with maintaining the enzymes present in raw fruits, look for dried fruits that have been dehydrated at low temperatures (usually below 118 degrees F).

CEREALS (Optional): 

• Best Choices: plain puffed cereals, such as brown rice (I use Erehwhon unsalted) or organic oat circles. Many gluten-free grains, such as quinoa or millet, are now also available puffed as well.
• Avoid: many commercial cereals contain sugar, hydrogenated oils, flavors, and so on. Check labels to ensure healthy ingredients and no extra sweetener. 

How Do I Store My Trail Mix and How Long Should I Keep It? 

For maximum longevity, store your trail mix in sealed, opaque containers in the refrigerator and take out only as much as you’ll need at a time.  This will keep both the nuts and seeds fresh as long as possible, usually about a month (though in our house, trail mix never lasts that long, anyway!).  However, if you detect even the slightest trace of rancidity in the taste of your nuts or seeds, it's always better to discard the mix.

Making your own healthy snack can be a rewarding activity, both because you know you’ve done something good for yourself and also because it just tastes great. 

Happy Trails! 

For two trail mix recipes, see our "Tasty Tidbits" section: "Trail Mix" and "Trail Bars."

Note: the contents of this article is intended for informational purposes only.  All the opinions expressed here are those of Ricki’s Kitchen and are not intended in any way as advice to treat any medical conditions.