Healthy Homemade Trail Mix

As a registered dietitian, I am often asked for easy, nutritious snack ideas. One of my personal favourites is a healthy homemade trail mix! I love the endless amount of flavour combinations you can try (no getting bored!) and how easy it is to make a big batch of this trail mix to portion out for the week.

Whenever someone asks me for healthy snack ideas, I always recommend a homemade trail mix! It’s one of my favourite snacks to meal prep for the week.

Why does the dietitian in me love it so much?

• Trail mix is super portable, making a great snack option for on-the-go. It’s perfect for packing with you to school, work, or travel.
• It provides a balanced source of nutrition, often combining health fats, protein, and complex carbohydrates.
• There are endless flavour combinations to try, which meals no getting bored with the taste.
• A homemade trail mix recipe comes together SO quickly – just 10 minutes or so!

Want more make ahead snack recipes? Check out my roundup of 30+ easy, healthy meal prep snacks for more ideas!

Is Trail Mix Healthy?

You bet! Trail mix is an excellent healthy snack idea, particularly when you make it yourself. While the health benefits of trail mix depend on what ingredients you add, in general:

• Dried fruit provides a healthy source of carbohydrates, fibre, and micronutrients.
• Nuts provide a source of heart-healthy fats and protein, both of which help to keep you full and lessen any spikes in blood sugar. A snack that elongates your blood sugar curve helps tremendously to keep your energy levels steady between meals!
• You can make trail mix free of added sugars or excess sodium, again by choosing the right ingredients.

Why Make Your Own Trail Mix?

While there are many commercial trail mix options available, I personally prefer to make my own for a number of reasons:

1. You have complete control over the ingredients. Many store-bought versions have tons of added salt, sugar, or preservatives that you can skip when you make it yourself. You can also skip any ingredients you don’t like or are allergic to.
2. You can experiment and get creative! There are ENDLESS ways to play around with trail mix, and you are free to experiment with the flavours you love!
3. You may save money if purchasing ingredients in bulk. Most commercial trail mixes are pretty pricey for what you get. If you purchase your own trail mix ingredients in bulk (for example at stores like Costco or Trader Joe’s), you will get more bang for your buck. Bulk ingredients are often cheaper per unit, meaning that even though the whole purchase may be more expensive…you are getting way more for your money.

How To Make Homemade Trail Mix

There aren’t too many strict rules to making your own trail mix, and the process is really quite simple! In general, you want to combine about 1/2 cup to 1 cup servings of a variety of ingredients from the examples below:

• Raw Nuts – like pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, or peanuts.
• Raw Seeds – like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
• Dried Fruit – like apricots, mangoes, raisins, cranberries, dates, or freeze-dried berries.
• Other Mix-Ins – like dark chocolate chips, coconut flakes, popcorn, roasted chickpeas, or spices.

Choose whichever ingredients you desire, and add them to a large mixing bowl. Mix everything together well, and then portion it out for snacks!

NOTE: I recommend going a little heavier on things like nuts and seeds versus the dried fruit. These ingredients provide healthy fats and protein, which will help keep you fuller for longer and keep your blood sugar levels more stable.

How To Store Trail Mix

I recommend storing trail mix in glass tupperware containers or jars. You can also store trail mix in reusable stasher bags (these are great for carrying with you!)

Most trail mixes will keep for a while, but for ultimate freshness I would recommend consuming them in 2-3 weeks. Of course, this will depend on the ingredients you choose to use!

If you’re making a trail mix that is primarily nuts and seeds, you can extend the shelf life by keeping your trail mix in the fridge.

What To Put In Homemade Trail Mix

If you’re looking for more specific ideas for what to put in your homemade trail mix, look no further. I’m sharing three different ingredient combinations with you here (recipes can be found below)!

• Tropical Trail Mix: cashews + almonds + coconut chips + chopped dried mangos + bananas
• Chocolate Raspberry Trail Mix: popcorn + dark chocolate chips + pecans + almonds + freeze-dried raspberries
• Ginger Apricot Trail Mix: dried apricots + pistachios + hazelnuts + cashews + pumpkin seeds + crystallized ginger

More Healthy Snack Ideas

• No-Bake Trail Mix Granola Bars
• 5-Ingredient Chocolate Hazelnut Bliss Balls
• No-Bake Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites
• 4-Ingredient Chia Seed Pudding
• No-Bake Carrot Cake Energy Bites

If you gave some of these Healthy Homemade Trail Mix recipes a try, let me know by leaving a comment and star rating below!

If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest – seeing your creations always makes my day. You can also subscribe to my email list to never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!

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