March is National Nutrition Month: How to make a delicious healthy trail mix
By Jill Fleming, Registered Dietician at VMH
Have you stopped eating trail mix because it has gotten a bad rap in the health community as a high calorie, high sodium snack? Well, it is back and in a much healthier way. Most store-bought trail mix is loaded with sugar, artificial ingredients and too much sodium. Putting a “healthy” label on a package that contains color-coated chocolates (food coloring is banned in most countries), sweetened dried fruit (basically candy) and nuts coated with sugar and excess salt is very deceiving.
However, you can make your own trial mix at home. It is really simple and is much less expensive. Plus, this trail mix is actually healthy for you. Here are some tips to building your own healthy trail mix:
Nuts: Raw, “activated” is best. In general raw nuts are always better for you than roasted nuts. Eat them raw or dry roast them yourself if you prefer the taste. Nuts that are bought pre-roasted are usually filled with denatured oils and excess sodium. Keep them raw, or even better, “activate” the nuts by soaking and dehydrating them. I know most people don’t have food dehydrators or the time to activate nuts, but if you have a hard time digesting them, this extra step is well worth it. You can do it yourself or buy activated nuts at the Food Coop. At the very least, buy them raw from the baking isle in your grocery store.
Seeds: Seeds are so good for you, as they provide extra fiber and nutrients. There are a variety of seeds. The smaller seeds sometimes fall to the bottom of your trail mix, but add a lot of flavor. Pumpkin seeds work great in trail mix. Like nuts, raw are best. Avoid roasted/salted seeds.
Dried fruit: A little sweetness is great in your trail mix, just be sure to buy unsweetened dried fruit and keep it to a minimum. Raisins, dried cherries, cranberries and apricots are all great additions. Read your labels, you can find unsweetened dried fruit in the bulk sections of most natural grocery stores or Co-ops. A sprinkle of sea salt over your dried fruit works wonders for creating a really delicious trail mix.
Chocolate: Avoid milk chocolate and sugar-filled chocolate products. Look for dark chocolate chips that are at least 60% cocoa. Read the label and look for something without a bunch of fillers. Avoid mini chocolate chips because they will fall to the bottom.
Popcorn (air popped) is fun to add too, as it lightens up the trail mix and dilutes the calorie load of the nuts. Make your air-popped corn by putting 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels into a small brown lunch bag. Roll up the end of the bag three times. Heat one cup of water in your microwave first to add hydration to the microwave. Then heat the popcorn using the popcorn-button on your microwave.
Healthy Trail Mix Recipe
1 cup raw almonds
3/4 cup raw cashews
5 raw Brazil nuts, rough chopped
2/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup air popped popcorn (no oil or salt needed)
2 tablespoons unsweetened dried cranberries, chopped
2 tablespoons 60% dark chocolate chips
Sea salt
Chop any large ingredients if necessary to make everything about the same size, such as the Brazil nuts and the dried cranberries so they distribute evenly throughout the mix. Give the dried fruit a light sprinkle of sea salt before you mix it in (it sticks better), or sprinkle the whole mix with salt if you prefer. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
