Healthy trail mix is not only for hikers -it’s a great snack to carry with you in the car, to work, school or anywhere else you go! Trail mix is the informal name given to many different mixes of fruits and nuts. Sometimes less healthy items are sneaked into the mix, such as chocolate or other candy. Although recently the health benefits of chocolate have been coming out, this still adds unnecessary sugar to your trail mix.
What is the healthiest kind of trail mix? Generally, you want to get organic, because this means the fruits or nuts have not been sprayed with chemicals. The specific type of trail mix you get will depend on your own tastes, of course. If you want mainly a natural sugar boost, you can stick with dried fruits. If you want something more filling and some protein, get a mix generous in nuts such as almonds, cashews, pecans or walnuts. For people on a low sodium diet, you can also usually find unsalted mixes.
Lately, various “superfoods” have been added to trail mixes. Goji berries, also known as wolfberries are a popular example of this. These are extra high in antioxidants and good to eat by themselves or in a trail mix. Blueberries have recently been practically promoted to a superfruit, and you can now find these in many mixes -which is a fairly recent development.
Previously, the main fruit you would find in trail mix was the lowly raisin! There’s nothing wrong with raisins, but today you can find much more diversity and nutrition in your healthy trail mix if you look around.
