Monday, August 31, 2009

Road Trip Trail Mix

Veggie Terrain will be on a short hiatus while JD and CH go on a much-needed vacation. Our trip will take us (on the road) all the way from Chicago to Toronto, Ontario. But don't worry! When we return, I anticipate posting lots of delicious food, wine, and beer pics. Hopefully this quick trail mix post will tide you over until then!


If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that road trips present the perfect opportunity to throw together one of the easiest (and healthiest) snacks you can make: trail mix!

Plus, it's almost impossible to go wrong while making it, which is particularly helpful when you're running around trying to pack your bags at 2am the morning before your trip! (Not that I would know anything about that, mind you!)

The most important thing when making trail mix (in my opinion, anyway) is to create a good balance between salty and sweet flavors, and soft and crunchy ingredients. This is easily accomplished by starting with a 1:1 ratio of nuts/seeds to fruits, and going from there. I adore adding extras to my mix - especially sesame sticks and soy nuts! - but additional "sweet" ingredients aren't usually necessary, although they can certainly be added if you like...


Clearly, the ample - and arguably endless - possibilities for flavor and texture combinations make trail mix fun to make. For example, your trail mix could consist of 1 part dried fruits (ie: cranberries; strawberries; cherries; raisins; apricots; or blueberries), plus 1 part nuts/seeds (ie: almonds; peanuts; walnuts; pecans; cashews; or sunflower seeds), plus 1 part "sweets" (ie: vegan chocolate chips/marshmallows; coconut flakes; dates; or crystallized ginger), and 1 part "extras" (ie: pretzels; soy nuts; roasted edamame; sesame sticks; Grape Nuts Cereal; granola; or mini-crackers). Alternatively, leave out one or two parts if you want, or add an entirely new category all together.

Yep, it's as simple as that! Mix and match whatever you like, to your heart's content. That's my motto, anyway...

13 comments:

  1. The Vegetarian Food Fair in Toronto is the weekend of Sept 11-13. If you're in town then, check it out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yum I love trail mix. Enjoy your trip!

    ReplyDelete
  3. OR, just eat copious amounts of pretzels before they make it to the mix.... ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG have FUN on your vacation!!!! What an awesome looking trail mix!
    -A

    ReplyDelete
  5. Have a great time on your vacation.
    Trail mix, always a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. How fabulous!! That is such great road food.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I LOVE Trailmixes and just about anything with nuts. Fantastic post and I LOVED the pictures with writing and ideas. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is so simple but awesome. For some reason I never thought to add pretzels to trail mix. And I agree that you need a good ratio of salty/sweet, soft/hard, etc. Now I want to go make some trail mix!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This looks so delicious! :)
    All the ingredients in it look great-- and good idea to make this with raisins!
    You don't by any chance know a good place to find vegan chocolate, do you?
    I've been looking around online for these so I can make trail mix also. :)

    Really like your blog

    thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I will *definitely* be trying this.
    @Tina- I normally get my Trail Mix from NutsOnline-- I've looked a fair bit and they seem to consistently have the best prices.
    Lovely blog and post-- all looks really tasty!
    ~Sally

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Tina - thanks for the compliment, and I apologize for the gap in my response time!

    I typically buy vegan chocolate chips at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. If you don't have one of those nearby, you can also purchase them online at veganessentials.com or amazon.com. Feel free to try your local health food stores, too - they're a great resource!

    Of course, you can always just try breaking up a vegan chocolate bar up into pieces (if that's easier to find). Your cookies will be rustic and delicious :)

    ReplyDelete