The 5-Minute Snack Mix Recipe You’ll Want to Take Everywhere

If you’ve ever been camping, you know that the food you bring plays a huge role in the experience. Somehow being outside, setting up tents, and arranging camp chairs is enough to work up some hunger. It’s why a camping trip (or really any trip for that matter) always involves plenty of snacks. Of course you can buy some granola bars or one of those fancy bags of trail mix, but you can also make your own—and often at a fraction of the cost! One easy recipe to start with is this Camp Trail Mix.

What Makes a Good Snack Mix?

If you’re asking me as a Registered Dietitian (or even as a mom, friend, or random stranger), I would say a good snack is first, anything you like and you know you’ll eat, and second, something that will provide lasting nutrition. I often recommend that a snack includes a mix of protein and complex carbohydrates because those two things, when combined, provide sustainable fuel. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make this winning pairing and Camp Trail Mix is one of them!

What is Camp Trail Mix?

Simply put, it’s a combination of whole grain cereal, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and carob chips. There’s no cooking involved and it takes less than five minutes—it’s as simple as putting everything in a bowl or jar, giving it a stir, and then sealing it to enjoy later. 

If you’ve never made a trail mix on your own, this is a good one to try. You’re given ingredient amounts so that if you want to customize, you’ll know the proportions for where to start. For example, if you want to swap a shredded wheat cereal for the honey-oat cereal, that’s an easy one-for-one substitution. Same goes for the cranberries, nuts, and seeds. 

The other nice thing about Camp Trail Mix is that it has a good balance of nourishing ingredients. It includes whole grains, plant-based protein, healthy fat, and even a bit of fruit to help fuel whatever camp or traveling task you need to accomplish. It also makes the snack interesting—each handful is a new flavor experience!

Tips For Making Camp Trail Mix

The base recipe here is decent, but I do have a few suggestions for making your own version:

• Swap cereals. There are plenty of great cereals out there and many would be a delicious base for your trail mix. My recommendation is to find something low in sugar (less than 8 grams of added sugar per serving), but with a decent amount of fiber (at least 3 to 5 grams per serving) to help fuel you for the long haul. 
• Choose more than one nut and seed. You should pick the kinds you love for this and include a few of each. I love salted cashews, but also almonds and pistachios, so those are always in my mix. Salted pumpkin seeds are delicious and I prefer them over sunflower seeds, which is why I almost always make that swap.
• Select a few good dried fruits. I love dried fruit, but not when it’s coated in sugar. Since I think fruit is already sweet enough, I try to find unsweetened versions and use those instead. Raisins are a great option, but so are dried apricots and mangoes. You can even use dehydrated fruit in place of dried!

Get the recipe: Camp Trail Mix