Well, if I wasn’t already prepared for the first week of school, I am now because I am armed with snacks! Does anyone else have kids who get off the bus hungry or who need a little extra something in their backpack just in case hunger (from the latest growth spurt) suddenly strikes? I know others can relate so, while trail mix is nothing new, I’m excited to share some creative combinations we came up with as well as a great resource for the supplies in today’s new sponsored post.
Where I got all this good stuff
Of course, my grocery store sells items for trail mix and even offers them bulk-bin style, but there are only so many options that are dry roasted or lightly salted (for the nuts) and no sugar added (for the dried fruit). So I honestly felt like a little kid in a candy store when I first perused our sponsor’s website, Nuts.com, and saw all the different choices I can’t normally find!
This is what I got excited about:
- Dry Roasted Pepitas: AKA shelled pumpkin seeds
- Dried Cranberries WITHOUT Added Sugar: Soooo hard to find!
- Whole-Wheat Pretzels: Another rarity that we love
- Diced Dried Apricots and Figs: That’s right, diced so they are the perfect size for trail mix
- Marcona Almonds: Why are these so good compared to regular almonds? Yum!
- Roasted Cashews with 50% Less Salt: Some store bought nuts are so salty they literally hurt my tongue
- Mushroom Popcorn Kernels: A different shape is fun for something different
So I set up all this stuff on the counter, and my girls and I got to sampling. My 6th grader said, “You should buy stuff from this company more often!” It’s funny what excites you after years of the same homemade cashew and raisin trail mix combo. Sometimes it’s the little things in life. :)
The Trail Mix Recipes
Here are some of our favorite combos using what we ordered…
3 Creative Trail Mixes
Ingredients
Popcorn and Peanuts
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels, popped and tossed with a little melted butter and salt, or other
- 1/2 cup peanuts, dry roasted, and salted
- 1/2 cup figs, dried, diced
Almonds and Apricots
- 1 cup whole-wheat pretzels, broken into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup almonds, marcona
- 1/2 cup apricots, dried, diced
Cashews and Cranberries
- 1 cup cashews, roasted
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, dry roasted
- 1/3 cup cranberries, dried, preferably with no added sugar
Instructions
-
Toss together each combination in a separate bowl and divide among air-tight snack bags or containers.
Recipe Notes
1. Dairy free if a substitute is used for the butter on the popcorn.
2. Gluten free if gluten-free pretzels are substituted.
3. We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
More About Nuts.com
Nuts.com is a family-owned company that’s been around since the 1920s! Obviously, they didn’t start out on the internet, haha. They now have more than 3,000 products (which goes back to all those fun and creative options you just don’t see elsewhere) including artisan and hard-to-find products as well as hundreds of gluten-free and organic items. Even though a lot has obviously changed over time, Nuts.com still does things the old fashioned way – roasting nuts fresh for every order and buying directly from growers to source the best products.
Speaking of trail mixes, take a look at their new “make your own trail mix” function that might help get your creative juices flowing. Oh, and I almost forgot – Nuts.com is offering four free gifts with your order of $25 or more so be sure to check it out soon. You can see all of the great options here! What’s your favorite trail mix combo?
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Suzanne VanDusen
August 31, 2016 at 1:42 pmLisa,
I got your list last week with all sugar additives. With Nut.com it seems they have a lot of added sugars in their foods. Your thoughts?
Lisa
August 31, 2016 at 1:57 pmAs with anywhere you shop – you still have to read the ingredients labels! Of course I avoided the items with added sugar and stuck with the ones listed above. There were others that fit the bill (outside of this list in my trail mix recipes) that I did get this time, but might try for next time.
Suzanne
August 31, 2016 at 2:02 pmHi Lisa
Thanks for responding to quickly. What snack bars and other snacks would you recommend from Nut.com. I still give my daughter the Z Cliff bars but I am trying to find an alternative. Otherwise I will be in the kitchen baking forever. Lol. Thanks for sharing last week too.
Mindy
August 31, 2016 at 3:27 pmTry LaraBars. My daughter (who is picky) likes those. Even the ones with chocolate in them have better ingredients than most of the other bars out there.
Elizabeth K
August 31, 2016 at 2:05 pmA lot of their items have sugar. :( I just recently did a bulk order at Made in Nature since dried cranberries are so hard to find. I really like their products a lot. My local Costco sells some of their items, but I wish they sold more! :)
Maureen @Raising The Capable Student
August 31, 2016 at 2:14 pmMy daughter just began playing an after-school sport, and this is exactly what she needs to snack on before the start of practice! She will love the popcorn addition.
Cindy
August 31, 2016 at 5:53 pmMy son has to bring a snack to keep at school for the week, like bars, crackers etc. that he can keep in the snack bin with his name on it. He doesn’t like a lot of the snack crackers out there and picky about granola bars. Do you have any ideas? He doesn’t want to be too different than the other kids and there is not a refrigerator in the class room.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
September 19, 2016 at 11:26 amHi. These post might give you some ideas.
https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/22/an-elementary-school-snack-list-%e2%80%93-nut-free/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2016/05/19/favorite-real-food-snacks/.
Marianna
August 31, 2016 at 8:39 pmAre the nuts at nuts.com organic?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
September 1, 2016 at 5:23 amHi there. If you click on the nuts.com link provided above you can peruse all their options among which are organic, raw, etc.
Sandi
August 31, 2016 at 11:33 pmI have been looking for 100% whole wheat pretzels for a LONG time. I sometimes buy the honey whole wheat ones from trader joes, but they contain white flour too. I’m very excited to try these, thank you! I think I’ll try the cranberries too, I tend to go through a lot of those making granola.
Rose
September 1, 2016 at 8:21 amI’ve been on the hunt for a cranberry without added sugars. It’s not clear to me which of the options on Nuts.com is the “no added sugar”. I see the one that is “juice infused”, but I’d rather not have juice either. The others don’t note that they have sugar added and I can’t locate an ingredients label. Can you clarify? Thanks!
Jamie
September 1, 2016 at 9:23 amIt’s hard to believe you have a 6th Grader already…
Michelle
September 1, 2016 at 9:23 amI have been using Nuts.com for a while now. I just love the selection! I have been ordering the custom trail mix recently and trying different things. Great company and I love the cute peanut guys on the packaging.
Lynette W Strickland
September 4, 2016 at 2:30 pmI have been ordering from nuts.com for several years now…so happy with their products! I get what’s referred to as ” pine nut mouth” and it’s awful. It made me scared to try pine nuts because even the ones at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have been known to cause it. Inly pine nits from certain places in the world cause this and only in a select population of people. It makes you have a terrible taste in your mouththat even toothbrushing and mouthwash can’t get rid of…lasts several days. Nuts.com guarantees their pinenuts to be from reputable areas…Italy, etc… Never a problem with their pinenuts bothering me at all…I can enjoy homemade pesto again!