One Perfect Bite: Chocolate-Nut Trail Mix

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Chocolate-Nut Trail Mix

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While there are recommended proportions, one of the great things about making trail mix is that you're the boss and can do whatever you please. If you want your mix to be more than 10% chocolate there is really no one to say it can't be done. They may talk about you, but there's nothing they can do about the extra chocolate you've added to your mix. Trail mix made it to tonight's roster because we packed it for a short hike the Silver Fox and I took today. Sweet Creek Falls was our destination and it is full of rushing water at this time of year. It is one of the prettiest hikes in Oregon, and at 3.5 near level miles, it is also one of the easiest. As a matter of fact, it's such an easy walk that using it as an excuse for trail mix should be made a crime. Arrest me. I made trail mix for our walk. I pretty much adhered to the proportions recommended by those in the know. They look for a mixture that includes 50% nuts, 30% dried fruit, 10% seeds and 10% sweets such as coconut or chocolate. Coated chocolate is the weapon of choice because fingers stay clean as they scoop into the trail mix. The mix I put together for our walk is really simple and your biggest problem will be restricting yourself to the 1/4 cup that is the recommended serving size. Here is how my mix is made.

Chocolate-Nut Trail Mix...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup light raisins
1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels
2 (1.69-ounce) package candy-coated milk chocolate pieces

Directions:
Combine the cashews, peanuts, almonds, both types of raisins, sunflower seed kernels and chocolate in a bowl. Store in an airtight container. Serving size: 1/4 cup. Yield: 12 to 14 servings.