Fueling the Fire: the Joys of Trail Mix

Admittedly we weren't completely prepared when we went hiking last week. There was that little technicality of trying to scale a muddy hill in sneakers, without a rain jacket. And our sad omission in the bug spray department.

But one thing Jen and I DID get right was picking the proper food to fuel us on our many adventures.


Trail mix is a generic term for a portable snack, chock full of nutritious and energy-dense ingredients. It packs well, and offers quick energy for those long, rugged miles in the back country or an active day at the beach.

Ever since my Girl Scout days, I've enjoyed many variations of this famous mix. But none have ever seemed quite so tasty as the version Jen whipped up for us last week. From the natural foods section of the local grocery store, she chose a wonderful concoction of dried fruits, nuts and other goodies.

And it lasted us nearly the whole week.

Here's what she threw in the mix:

- pecan halves
- whole cashews
- mixed dried fruits (Tropical Trio, by Sun Maid)
- dried raspberries
- dried cranberries
- chocolate pieces/chips
- yogurt raisins
- sundrops
- sesame peanuts
- corn nuts

As I said, we were able to find all of these items at a normal grocery store. But just think what you could add to your own mix just by browsing through your friendly neighborhood natural food store, or the bulk section of a large grocery. Yum!

A final note of caution: some ingredients I listed don't bear up so well under a hot sun, and are better left out of a beach mix. We inadvertently made "chocolate yogurt clusters" when the chocolate pieces and yogurt raisins in our trail mix melted into the other ingredients on the hot sands of Haunauma Bay.

Really messy but as it turns out, just as delicious.