Name: Tropical Trail Mix
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 24 ¼-cup servings
Ingredients: 1½ cups ( 127.5 g ) unsweetened coconut flakes; 1 cup ( 143 g ) almonds; 1 cup ( 123 g ) pistachios; 1 cup ( 85 g ) dried banana chips, broken in half or quarters if large; ½ cup ( 73.5 g ) chopped dried dates; ½ cup ( 118.29 g ) chopped dried mango; ½ cup ( 70 g ) chopped dried papaya; ½ cup ( 80 g ) chopped dried pineapple

We've mentioned before that we're a champion grazer when it comes to our eating habits. We are horrible when it comes to sitting down and eating a meal, especially for breakfast and lunch, and often times grab a few crackers here, a cookie there, a handful of something else a half hour later. We started a couple of weeks ago with a conscious effort to eat something lighter and somewhat substantial for breakfast and have done well making a habit of it over the last 10 days or so. Next up, we are tackling lunch and lighter snacks. If we actually plan what we're going to eat and have it on hand, there is a much, much higher chance that we'll eat it instead of just grabbing something that’s not good for us. Enter trail mix.

When our mom, sister and we drove to New York back at the end of April, we picked up some snacks for car and found a big jug of tropical trail mix at Target. We fell in love with it and probably ate our weight in it. When we started thinking about the different types of lighter snacks we could throw together, we remembered that trail mix and decided to recreate it with some changes to suit our tastes.

The trail mix was rich, but there were definitely some things we knew we would change up for our from-scratch version. For one thing, there were way too many raisins for our taste. We love raisins in our bagels, oatmeal, and cookies, but we don’t particularly enjoy eating them by the handful. We basically took a mix of our favorite dried fruits – papaya, mango, pineapple, dates and bananas – and added lighter nuts and some scoops of unsweetened coconut. The key to keeping this as lighter as possible is to use dried fruit that doesn’t have any sugar added and nuts that are raw (unsalted).

We're excited and motivated to have secured at least one lighter snack to keep on hand, plus it will come in handy as a complement to our favorite granola when our Chief Culinary Consultant and we make our next road trip! It’s the reliable balance of sweet and salty, soft and crisp, and has so many memorable flavors. Best of all, this is an incredibly forgiving “recipe”, so feel free to substitute your favorite dried fruit, nuts and seeds for a completely customized version.

What are some of your favorite lighter snacks?

One year ago: Buttermilk Doughnuts
Two years ago: From-scratch Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches
Three years ago: Spumoni Ice Cream Terrine
Four years ago: Strawberry Mirror Cake

From-scratch Tropical Trail Mix

Yield: 24 ¼-cup servings A tropical twist to from-scratch trail mix

1½ cups (127.5 g) unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup (143 g) almonds
1 cup (123 g) pistachios
1 cup (85 g) dried banana chips, broken in half or quarters if large
½ cup (73.5 g) chopped dried dates
½ cup (118.29 g) chopped dried mango
½ cup (70 g) chopped dried papaya
½ cup (80 g) chopped dried pineapple

Toss all ingredients together until evenly combined.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Notes

Note: You can usually find unsweetened coconut in the organic/health food section of your local grocery store, or in the bulk bins if your store has them (you can also order from King Arthur Flour). We would ideally use the large flakes of coconut vs. the shredded that you see here, but we were all out! Nutritional values are based on a 1/4 cup serving

Tropical Trail Mix