Low-Carb Trail Mix
Sometimes I need a snack. Scratch that – all the time. Do you ever feel like you're just stuffing your face, mumbling “EAT ALL THE FOOD” in front of the refrigerator while your husband is staring at you, appalled? No? Um, yeah, it must just be me. I am a SNACKER! And while Trim Healthy Mama has taught me to snack well, and it's rare that I can't find a THM substitute for one of my old favorites (except for Dr. Pepper – can someone please get on that?), I need something easy and quick. Something that I can take with me to eat in the car (unless it's 108 degrees, in which case this snack will melt). So I mixed up some trail mix! And it's made snacking easier and much more enjoyable.
This can definitely be made gluten-free, but when I was about to serve it to my daughter with Celiac disease, I decided to re-read the labels just in case – and I'm glad I did! Every package was safe except for the Bob's Red Mill Flaked Coconut, which was made in a facility that processes wheat. So please be careful if you are making this as a gluten-free recipe – the items are definitely available, just make sure you check your labels!
Below is my recipe (it's not really a recipe, more like a general guide), but I feel obligated to add that you can include these yummy little guys: Frozen Yogurt Dots – as long as you use a plan-approved sugar-free yogurt like Oikos Triple Zero.
A note about the strawberries: They are not necessary for a yummy trail mix. These are unsulphured, unsweetened, freeze-dried strawberries from Trader Joe's, but you can also get some from Amazon. Please note that these are NOT dried or dehydrated strawberries – those are totally different! To keep this recipe low-carb and on-plan for THM, use ONLY a small serving of the freeze-dried berries (which were noted as approved on the THM Facebook group). My kids love the strawberry/coconut combo with no chocolate chips for a more tropical taste. Or you could skip the strawberries altogether, like I do sometimes.
For chocolate chips, I use Lily's stevia-sweetened chocolate chips, but you can also use chopped Skinny Chocolate from the Trim Healthy Mama book, or another plan-approved chocolate.
- 1 1/2 cups salted nuts (my favorite is a combo of pecans, peanuts, and cashews, but choose your favorite!)
- 1/2 cup chopped skinny chocolate or low-carb chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup freeze-dried unsweetened berries
- 1/4 cup seeds (I used a mix of raw sunflower seeds and raw pumpkin seeds, but I often choose unsalted seeds if the nuts are salted to avoid an overload of salt)
- 1/4 cup chia or flax seeds (optional, not pictured)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut
- Mix all ingredients and enjoy! To make sure I don't overload on nuts, I stick to 1/4-1/3 cup servings - it's definitely enough to fill me up!
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Is there a way to make freeze dried berries? The only ones I can find are strawberry & I’m allergic 🙁
There are ways to make them, but I’ve never tried so I’m sorry I can’t help! I know Trader Joe’s has freeze dried raspberries, and I’ve also seen other freeze-dried fruits at Whole Foods and Sprouts.
I’ll have to look for a way to make my own. I live in Canada and we don’t have any of those stores.