|
August 31st is National Trail Mix Day, a snack we love to throw together with healthy ingredients like nuts, raisins, and other dried fruits—plus chocolate chips or toffee chips, of course!
Originally called GORP (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts) and created as an energy snack for hikers, trail mix can suit the palates of everyone, combining salty, sweet, nutty, and fruity.
> The history of trail mix.
> 12 more uses for trail mix.
WHAT AMERICA WANTS IN THEIR TRAIL MIX
MyProtein, a leading sports nutrition brand, offers a range of products from healthy snack alternatives to protein powder, vitamins, and minerals.
The team at MyProtein did some research in advance of National Trail Mix Day using a year of Google Trends search volume.
They found every state’s ideal trail mix combination of favorite salty, sweet, nutty, and fruity ingredients in every state. Here are the results.
The surprise is how often popcorn appears. Maybe, if you’re eating the trail mix that day, we think.
Keep it in a mix with raisins and other dried fruits, and some moisture will leach into the popcorn and make it soggy the next day.
Instead, go for caramel corn. The sugar coating will help keep it crispy.
Regional Results
The most searched ingredient in:
The Midwest is popcorn.
The Northeast is Cheerios.
The South is peanuts.
The West had no regional winner—it seems like they have the widest variety of tastes!
The Most Popular Ingredients Overall
#1 Popcorn
#2 Peanuts
#3 Reese’s Pieces
#4 Marshmallows
#5 Wasabi peas
What about trail mix does your state really find tasty? Find out here. Hint: Nobody thought it was the raisins!
THE NIBBLE’S TRAIL MIX LIST
We’re making a list and checking it twice because it’s hard to winnow down all of these great nibbles.
While you can select as few as four ingredients, five or six give you a more rounded recipe.
If you find that you want 10 or more ingredients, make two different batches and see which you prefer.
Another way—and way fun—is to have a trail mix party, and let everyone make their own batch. There’s more about it below.
Savory Ingredients
Cheerios
Cheese Puffs
Chex
Chickpeas (roasted)
Dried Herbs
Edamame (roasted)
Jerky
Nuts (Almond, Brazil, Cashew, Hazelnut, Macadamia, Peanut, Pecan, Pistachio, Walnut)
Popcorn
Pretzels
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame sticks
Wasabi peas
Sweet Ingredients
Banana Chips
Berries: Blueberry, Cranberry, Strawberry (Dried)
Cacao/Cocoa Nibs
Caramel Corn
Chocolate-Covered Coffee Beans
Chocolate Chips/Chunks
Coconut Chips
Granola
M&Ms
Mini Marshmallows
Other Dried Fruit: Apple, Apricot, Cherry, Mango, Pineapple, Raisin, Sultana
Peanut Butter Candies/Cups
Peanut Butter Chips
Raisins
Reese’s Pieces
Toffee Bits
Yogurt Covered Raisins
White Chocolate Chips
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TRAIL MIX
Mix and match:
Candy: carob chips, chocolate chips/chunks, crystallized ginger, mini marshmallows, M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, toffee, yogurt clusters.
Cereal: Cheerios, Chex, Corn Flakes, graham cracker cereal, Grape Nuts, mini shredded wheat, rolled oats.
Dried fruits: apples, apricots, banana chips, blueberries, candied orange peel (gourmet!), coconut, dates, dried cherries, and cranberries (our favorites!), dried mango, figs, raisins.
Exotica: crystallized ginger, Japanese rice crackers, jerky bits, sesame sticks, wasabi peas.
Nuts almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, or other favorite (chop large nuts into chunks).
Savory: freeze-dried edamame, peas or veggie chips; pretzels, mini crackers, roasted chickpeas, soybeans or soy nuts, wasabi peas.
Seeds: chia, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), sunflower seeds
SET UP A TRAIL MIX PARTY BAR
Let guests make their own party favors—i.e., their DIY signature trail mix. Set up a table with:
Different trail mix ingredients.
Plastic snack bags.
Wide Sharpies so people can keep track of whose is whose.
Scoops for filling the bags (we used our set of measuring cups).
A “dump bucket” for mistakes, e.g., someone added peanuts to his mix and then decided against them. He can just dump his whole mix into the bucket and start over. Afterward, you’ll find takers for the “bucket batch.”
TRAIL MIX RECIPES
Trail Mix Recipe
Spicy Trail Mix Popcorn
Trail Mix Peanut Butter Sandwich
|
|
[1] Why buy trail mix when you can make it exactly as you want it (photo © Ildi | Panther Media).
[2] Top your yogurt or pudding with trail mix (photo © Back To The Book Nutrition).
[4] Trail mix on waffles and pancakes? Why not. Add a scoop of ice cream and call it dessert (photo © Sierra Trading Post).
[5] Garnish cupcakes or cakes with trail mix (photo © Mom’s Madhouse).
[7] Press trail mix into brownies or cookies right out of the oven. Here’s the recipe for these bars (photo © Family Dinners).
[8] Trail mix muffins? Why not? Here’s the recipe (photo © Kiss In The Kitchen).
[9] Make seasonal mixes, like this Halloween trail mix (the skeleton is fun but optional). Here’s the recipe (photo © Just A Taste).
|
