I’ve been to the grocery store and bought a bag of mixed nuts before as have many of you out there. You remember, the mix with the three or maybe four types of nuts. After awhile, boring right? Well……I have decided to embark on making my own. I’ve mulled the idea around before but this is it, I’m going to make my own.
I did a bit of research including checking out Cooks.com. There are many, many recipes out there for trail mixes. Some of the options looked very interesting as they included some surprising ingredients such as captain crunch cereal. I was looking for some healthier ideas, so sugary breakfast cereal wasn’t something I wanted to include. I did come across the following recipe, no breakfast cereal ingredients, and it looked like a good start.
BLAZING TRAIL MIX
1 (6 oz.) pkg. mixed dried fruit bits
3/4 c. broken walnuts
1/2 c. coconut
1/2 c. sunflower nuts
In a mixing bowl combine fruit, walnuts, coconut and sunflower nuts.
Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Makes 11 (1/4 cup) servings.
With the above Blazing Trail Mix as a start I decided to give it a go. First off I needed some mixed dried fruit bits. I don’t know about you, but those packages of dried fruit bits that my mom use to use in Christmas cake made me gag, and I don’t know how natural they are so I decided to dry my own. Our local grocery store had a sale on organic strawberries so I bought some and took out my food dehydrator. The pics below are of the American Harvest Snackmaster Dehydrator and some sliced strawberries dehydrating.
My American Harvest Snackmaster Dehydrator
Sliced strawberries on the dehydrator trays
I sliced up the strawberries and dehydrated them over night so by the time I got up in the morning they were done. I haven’t completely decided yet what other types of fruit to use but I do want to include the walnuts, coconut and sunflower seeds. Perhaps I’ll check the sales and that will help me decide what other fruit pieces to include, it’s nice to know that the possibilities are endless though isn’t it?!
