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How to Make a Healthy Fall Snack Mix

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September 25, 2015

We love snack mixes at my home. They are the perfect treat for so many different occasions. I can bring a bag of snack mix in the car while I’m running errands. I can send it to school with my daughter for a quick, healthy pick me up. I can bring it camping, tailgating or to a Halloween party.

How to Make a Healthy Fall Snack Mix

There are many different ways to make a fall snack mix. Some of them are more or less healthy than others. How healthy it is depends on what you put into your snack mix. Because my daughter is gluten intolerant, I tend to avoid adding things into my snack mix that contain gluten. There are gluten free alternatives for foods like pretzels and cereal pieces, but we enjoy our snack mix without adding these in.

Here are a few things that we use when making a healthy snack mix for the kids and myself:

  • Dried fruits: cranberries, raisins, dried cherries, banana chips, coconut flakes
  • Candied fruits: pineapple, mango, guava (watch for added sugars)
  • Nuts: almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts, pine nuts
  • Seeds: pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, flax
  • Other: popcorn, wasabi peas, edamame
  • Sweets: carob pieces, yogurt covered raisins, dark chocolate pieces

If you want to add in a few carbohydrates, you can add in foods like pretzel twists, Chex cereals, sesame sticks, miniature crackers, puffed rice or even a healthy granola.

Keep in mind that trail mix was created to help refuel hikers when they were out on a strenuous hike. The protein and sugar would give them a healthy, sustained energy to get them through the rest of their hike. For those of us who live a more sedentary lifestyle, we don’t need the added sugars or fats in the amount that a sports enthusiast does. If you’re just eating snack mix as a snack, consider leaving out the sweets and the carbohydrates to keep the calorie count down.

One of the reasons we enjoy snack mixes is because they are so versatile. We can remove the gluten for my daughter. We can take out the nuts when we send it to school. We can limit the sweets for my husband who is diabetic. I can leave out the sweets, grains, and peanuts to keep it paleo for me. No matter what you enjoy the most, you can modify this trail mix to be a hit with your family.

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