I love trail mix. It's the perfect food to eat if you need to keep your energy up but you don't have time for a meal. Lots of things I do fall into this category. Studying, working in lab, hiking, field work, kayaking... I could go on. In all of these cases, I can't leave what I'm doing or take an extended break to eat a meal. This is where trail mix comes in. I can pop a handful of it when I'm getting tried or hungry without really taking away from what I'm doing (except lab where I have to step out to take a handful, but basically the same concept). This morning as I was leaving my apartment I realized that today was going to be one of those days where I wouldn't have time to eat a meal until I came home at around 7p or so. I've gotten better at realizing that not eating for 9 hours is not a good idea. Lately I've been making sure that I have something with me, usually an apple or a luna bar. But today I decided to be creative and make some trail mix. And because its still fall, I made a very comforting fall flavor profile trail mix. Today's creation was made out of a generous handful of Trader Joe's Trek Mix, which has cranberries, almonds, and cashews in it. About half a handful of my pumpkin seeds (see last weeks post), and a smattering of candy corn. The Trek Mix reminds me of thanksgiving flavors, and combined with the pumpkin seeds and the halloween candies it was a very fall mix. I wasn't 100% sure how all of the flavors would taste together, but I ended up being super impressed. The pumpkin seeds have a savory/sweet flavor profile that went really well with the nuts and cranberries. But the real star of this snack was the candy corn. Now since these are basically just sugar I was a afraid they would overwhelm the rest of the flavors, but since I only put a couple in that wasn't the case! They actually went super well with the seeds and the nutty flavor of the almonds. All and all, successful snackage! Kept me full day long, which was good because I had non-stop class and labs today.
Thoughts on this Snack:
- Trail mix is something that can be unhealthy if you eat a ton of it or if it's only made of candy. That's why balancing the ingredients, and only taking as much as you want to eat throughout your day with you is important.
- Some other great things to put in trail mix are peanuts, hazelnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, granola, reese's pieces, dark chocolate m&ms, raisins, banana chips, dried apricots, dried mango, dried pineapple, dried papaya, and dried blueberries. Mix and match as pleases you.
- The whole point of trail mix is something quick, nonperishable, with lots of types of energy. Thats why nuts are good, lots of protein, nutrients, and energy. The dried fruit is good for replenishing vitamins. Also it's okay to add some candy to the mix, like m&m's chocolate covered raisins or blueberries, as long as it is the smallest fraction of the mix. Some simple sugars are good for getting an energy boost, and dark chocolate has a lot of antioxidants in it.
- Also be aware that things like chocolate melt if you're going to be in the sun or somewhere hot. That will turn the mix into a disgusting mess, so be conscientious when picking your ingredients.
- Basically follow these 3 trail mix rules: 1. Moderation is key, 2. Choose ingredients that taste good together, 3. Tailor your mix for your activity.
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