The Seventh Grader is on a school hiking trip this week, so it gave me an opportunity to make some homemade trail mix that has everything he likes; nothing gets picked over. I also used butter-flavored olive oil that a friend gave me (it’s dairy-free) and works perfectly for trail mix. The subtle buttery taste is amazing. (It works great on pasta, too). Mine is from Rocky Mountain Olive Oil Company in Fort Collins. After the family had some of the mix, I got, “This is all you made?” I’ll be making another batch today.
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 C almonds, raw and unsalted
3/4 C walnuts, raw and unsalted
1/2 C pumpkin seeds (with the shell), unsalted
1/2 C dried papaya, cut into chunks
1/4 C chocolate chips
Butter-flavored olive oil
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with a little cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the nuts. Drizzle with the olive oil—just enough to lightly coat the nuts. Do the same with the salt. Mix well. Layer onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through. Since most ovens tend to run different, check often—don’t let the nuts burn.
Let cool for just a minute or two and combine the nuts and papaya in a bowl.
Once the mix has cooled completely, stir in the chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
- ¾ C almonds, raw and unsalted
- ¾ C walnuts, raw and unsalted
- ½ C pumpkin seeds (with the shell), unsalted
- ½ C dried papaya, cut into chunks
- ¼ C chocolate chips
- Butter-flavored olive oil
- ½ to 1 tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with a little cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the nuts. Drizzle with the olive oil---just enough to lightly coat the nuts. Do the same with the salt. Mix well. Layer onto the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through. Since most ovens tend to run different, check often---don't let the nuts burn.
- Let cool for just a minute or two and combine the nuts and papaya in a bowl.
- Once the mix has cooled completely, stir in the chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
My *rising seventh grader will be biking a lot this summer so I appreciate this! Hope you have a relaxing and healthy summer! I have really enjoyed your blog
Oh thanks! Homemade trail mix is really the way to go since you control the ingredients, especially the sugar and fat, which is important when it comes to giving it to kids.