I rarely buy trail mix shall I tell you why? The packets in our supermarkets quite often contain cranberries and they're always sweetened with a sugar syrup. I don't even like dried cranberries and if it contains pineapple, it's often the candied sort which I have to pick out.
Making your own trail mix is easy though the initial outlay is quite steep! But once you've bought in the nuts, seeds and fruits you can make so much more for your money than buying it ready prepared AND you can choose your own favourite ingredients.
This recipe is quite a basic one but you can add anything you like to it to jazz it up such as :
- plain chocolate chips
- pistachios
- peanuts
- other dried fruits
Apart from the Sunmaid raisins which are the only raisins I can find without added oils, the fruits I include in my mix are banana and pineapple. These dried bananas from Tropical Wholefoods are delicious and so "bursting with flavour" and I agree with their website, they do have a deep almost toffee flavour. Be cautious including dried bananas if you are on the SCD since they may not be suitable. In fact, be careful with all dried fruits, especially when you are new to the diet. We haven't had any problems with this particular brand. Their website states "Tropical Wholefoods' sun dried bananas are produced by farmers groups in Southern Uganda. The fruits are grown in naturally fertile soils, picked when fully ripe and immediately sun-dried capturing their wonderful natural sweetness."
The Urban Fruit Pineapple is chewy, full of flavour and my husband's favourite go to snack and it's just 100 per cent lightly baked pineapple.
The nuts and seeds I always keep in the store cupboard and are easy to find in local stores but these coconut chips I buy from Goodness Direct.
Lightly toast them in a frying pan and allow to cool before adding to the mix.
Trail Mix GF SCD
250 g mixed nuts (I used almonds, brazil nuts, pecans and hazelnuts)
150 g raisins
75 g chopped dried bananas* or apricots
75 g chopped dried pineapple
75 g pumpkin seeds
75 g sunflower seeds
50 g coconut flakes toasted
* If you are on the SCD dried bananas may not be suitable if they were not fully ripe when dried
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and store in an airtight jar. This recipe make enough to fill a 2 litre Kilner Jar.
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and store in an airtight jar. This recipe make enough to fill a 2 litre Kilner Jar.
Ideal to snack on, it's an energy food and quite laden with calories so be careful how much you eat because it can be quite addictive!
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