Here, I present to you a very hearty and healthy trail mix that combines sweet, salty, and savoury flavours into one simple, satiating, and convenient snack, to satisfy all kinds of cravings. It is completely vegetarian, and can easily be made vegan (see below). It should also be gluten-free, if all the ingredients are uncontaminated (see below).
Potentially Non-Perishable
Fortunately, this recipe falls into the category of being non-perishable, as long as you exclude the popcorn, since the oil(s) from the popcorn can make the mix go rancid! Perhaps the recipe still keeps well with the popcorn added to it, but I have not experimented with this. But if you do happen to try it out, feel free to let me know how it works out for you by leaving a comment below.
Related: How to Reduce Food Waste
I adore non-perishable recipes that can just be kept in the pantry for months and months. Like everyone else, I hate wasting food and money, so I very much appreciate foods that have an extremely long expiration date. I love that I can make a big batch of this once and have a healthy, convenient snack that’s ready-to-go for months (if you exclude the popcorn).
It’s nice to keep a bag of this with you when you go out, as well as in your car (if you have one), desk, or a purse/bag, for a convenient snack option when you’re hungry that is both healthy and satiating. If you wish, you can divide the recipe into ziplock bags so it’s already portioned and ready to go when you need it.
Introducing Goji Berries: A Dried Superfruit
I’m not normally a big fan of using dried fruit in recipes because they tend to lack nutrients compared to fresh fruit, while also having high sugar content. However, coconut is an exception for me because it contains much less sugar than other kinds of fruits.
Goji berries (Amazon), which are shown in the images below, are also an exception for me because they are a superfood and are extremely high in vitamins—specifically vitamins C and A—despite being dried!
They have incredible medicinal properties, as they have been linked to improving eye health, immune function, sleep quality, mental health, healthy skin, and even providing protection against cancer, just to name a few of their many impressive health benefits.
You can read more about the remarkable qualities of this impressive fruit via the Web MD and Healthline websites.
How to Make This Recipe Vegan
This recipe can easily be made vegan if you make your own kettle corn and replace butter with a vegan substitute, like margarine, or a healthier oil, such as coconut oil. Since this recipe already contains dried coconut, I assume using coconut oil to make the kettle corn would be delicious, but I haven’t tried this.
Is This Recipe Gluten-Free?
This recipe should be completely gluten-free, unless of course some of the ingredients, like popcorn, are contaminated with gluten (e.g., if it’s prepared in a facility that processes gluten-containing products).
Sweet & Salty Trail Mix
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut chips
- ½ cup – 1 cup goji berries, depending on how sweet you want it to be
- ½ cup almonds
- ½ cup cashews
- ¼ cup pecans
- 2 cups popcorn (make your own kettle corn if vegan)
- 1/4 tsp salt optional
- 1/4 cup Dark chocolate chopped, optional
Please let me know what you think of this recipe by rating it and/or leaving a comment below!
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Can you replace goji berries with raisin?
Raisins might make the mix a bit sweeter, but I think it should still work!