Dear Healthful Fat,
I used to think you were worthless so I ignored you. I’m sorry for hurting your feelings. You are valuable and full of flavor. Please be my friend again.
- Your BFFL
Unfortunately, many of us developed a fat phobia when we were told, “all fat is bad”. All fat is not bad. Believe it or not, having some fat in your diet is a good thing. Plant based fats, like nuts, do some amazing things in your body.
Here are a few reasons to chew on some fat…
- Fat makes food taste good.
- Fat makes a meal more satisfying (which means you end up eating less).
- Fat fights disease.
- Did I mention taste?
This trail mix is loaded with nuts, which are tasty and healthful sources of fat. Toss a bag of this sensational trail mix in your bag and munch on it when you are away from home. It’s a crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pecans
- ¾ cup cashews (whole or pieces, unsalted)
- ¾ cup almonds (sliced, unsalted)
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup dried mixed fruits (berries, cherries, cranberries)
- 1 cup high fiber cereal (I used Puffins. Shredded wheat or oatmeal squares would work great too)
Directions
- This could not possibly be any simpler to make…
- Place all of the ingredients into a plastic bag and shake.
- Now enjoy.
This recipe makes about 20 (.25 cup) servings and is 133 calories and about 9 grams of fat per serving (mostly from monounsaturated fats). Yes, trail mix, depending on the portion size, can be extremely high in calories. I only eat a very small handful at a time. I would not recommend eating more than .25 cup serving unless you need the extra calories.
I use dried cherries from Chukkar Cherries in Washington State. No sugar or preservatives added, and they have several varieties, always fresh and delicious!
[...] Homemade trail mix with Puffins cereal, nuts, dried fruit, dark chocolate [...]
I noticed that you don’t put any nutrition information on your recipes. Can you please post that information for those following a weight watchers plan where calories need to be totaled. Thanks.
[...] #13 Homemade trail mix with Puffins cereal, nuts, dried fruit, dark chocolate chips (Link to Homemade Trail Mix: http://keepyourdietreal.com/food/appetizerssnacks/trail-mix/) [...]
I’m just curious what a serving size of this trail mix would be? Thank you
I just put this recipe into MyFitnessPal.com ‘s recipe builder to get the nutritional info. For 4 servings, there are 704 calories & 43 grams of fat. Sure, they may be healthy fats, but that’s more than I’m willing to ingest. I don’t know how many servings this recipe is supposed to make, but even for 12 servings, there are 235 calories & 14 grams of fat. It doesn’t sound to me that this recipe is supposed to make 12 servings, though….
Hi Jaclyne,
This recipe makes 20 servings and is 133 calories per serving (.25 cup) and about 9 grams of fat per serving (mostly from monounsaturated fats). Yes, trail mix, depending on the portion size, can be extremely high in calories. I only eat a very small handful at a time. I would not recommend eating more than .25 cup serving unless you need the extra calories.
I love to put 1/4 cup of trail mix into my salads, it makes a more filling and satisfying meal. All the flavor from the trail mix means less dressing needed! I usually just spray some coconut oil on and squeeze a lemon or lime. Trail mix is also good to add to yogurt or to a 1/2 cup of quinoa or even brown rice. These are just some ways I like to eat my trail mix without overdoing it on the calories! love the idea of adding some high fiber cereal!
For those worried about the fats, (even though they’re good fats) just swap out some of the nuts for dried fruit. I’m not a big fan of a lot of nuts, so instead for the nut portions of the recipe I just use almonds (whatever your favorite) and then sub the rest for dried fruit chips (apple, banana, mango etc.) or dry roasted edamame which still has some fats but considerably less then peanuts or such and has fiber. This is a great foundation recipe and I love the Puffins cereal!
[...] Trail mix with pecans, dried cherries, dried golden raisins, almonds, cashews, dark chocolate chips, Puffins cereal [...]