RECIPES

Healthy Trail Mix

healthy trail mix recipe

Need a healthy trail mix for all your on-the-go adventures this summer? I’ve got you covered with my favorite picks to make your own trail mix.

Why make your own Trail Mix?

There are TONS of different trail mix options when you start looking for them. I was at Whole Foods and the stock person chatted with me about how many more options there are in the past few years. Chalk it up to the Keto craze and everyone overindulging in nuts because of their low-carb benefits.

While I love nuts as a healthy snack, there are a couple of key things you can look for to make it a better-for-you snack.

  • Choose Dry-Roasted Nuts

  • Organic avoids pesticides

  • Steam pasteurized preserves nutrients

Not all nuts are created equal. That’s why I started making our own healthy trail mix because I couldn’t find one made with dry-roasted nuts anywhere. (if you find one, let me know!)

healthy trail mix with dry roasted nuts

Why choose Dry-Roasted Nuts?

The reason I pick dry-roasted nuts is that I am always trying to avoid the added vegetable oils. Anytime you see canola, sunflower, or safflower oil in the ingredient list, put it back on the shelf. Seriously.

Those vegetable oils become toxic during production and are one of the major reasons we are seeing so much inflammation in our society. (closely tied with sugar.) They mess with your brain and are being linked to neurological decline and diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia. Uh, no thank you.

The good news is that eating nuts offering numerous health benefits to those people in middle-age and the elderly. (source) (If only their teeth would keep up!)

“a high intake of nuts and emphasize their potential in preventing age-related diseases, validating the addition of tree nuts and peanuts in the diet of older adults. Therefore, increased consumption of bioactive antioxidant compounds from nuts clearly impacts many risk factors related to aging and can extend health span and lifespan.”

healthy trail mix ingredients

To Salt or Not to Salt?

The big question I get a lot from clients is about how much salt they should have in their diet. There are different answers for women at different stages of your life.

If you are older and dealing with any type of cardiac issues, I encourage you to opt for the unsalted variety. (or in this recipe, choose one form of nut to be salted and let the others be unsalted.)

In this recipe, I choose salted nuts because they taste great. And we are often eating them after a hot day of sweating so a little extra salt is fine.

So it’s a personal choice, and you can mix it up as you like the taste.

Healthy Trail Mix Recipe

This is a guideline type of recipe. Customize this based on the nuts you like. Or make it a seed option if you have nut allergies in the home. (peanuts are fine too in moderation.)

healthy trail mix recipe

Healthy Trail Mix

The perfect on-the-go snack with some healthy tweaks to keep your energy up all day long.
Servings: 16
Author: Emily Roach

Ingredients

  • 10 oz Dry Roasted Almonds salted or unsalted
  • 10 oz Dry Roasted Cashew salted or unsalted
  • 2 cup walnut halves coarse chop or leave whole
  • 1 cup macadamia nuts
  • 1 cup dried fruit cranberries, cherries, pineapple, or apple
  • 1 cup chocolate chunks
  • 1 cup candy-coated chocolate Unreal or Trader Joe's with no food dye

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
  • Portion out snack mix in bags or store in an airtight container.
Tried this recipe?Mention @emilyroachwellness or tag #erwellness!
healthy trail mix travel snack

Package the healthy trail mix back in the bags you used up. Or try the portion-size snack bags. Generally, I’m not a fan of plastic bags, but during the crazy summer months of camp, swim lessons, and travel, I’m a fan of being prepared. The bags with the measurements on them came from Wegman’s.

Try the recipe and make your own adjustments. Tag me if you make a batch and share over on Instagram, @emilyroachwellness.

Need more healthy snack ideas? Check out my Apple Oatmeal Bars or Lemon Cashew Coconut Energy Balls.

best healthy trail mix