Almost all of our favorite foods can be found pre-made at the grocery store. It’s difficult to walk away from the convenience of food that is already assembled and ready to go. However, some of the store bought ready made foods come with extra sugar, salt, oil and calories. This is definitely true of one of my favorite snacks – trail mix. This portable and light weight snack is great at warding off hunger and it can linger in your travel bag for a few days and still taste pretty good. It’s tempting to buy trail mix pre-made, but once you start looking at the ingredient list of popular brands it is easy to convince yourself to make your own blend.

Many store bought trail mixes will contain excess amounts of sugar and oil as preservatives. This adds a substantial amount of calories, sugar and fat to a food that is already very calorie dense. To avoid these added calories simply make your own. The best nuts to purchase for a trail mix are raw or unsalted almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts. The best dried fruits are dried cherries, cranberries, dates, figs or raisins. Adding pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or organic coconut flakes can also provide another nutritional punch. By enjoying trail mix in a 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup portion you allow this power food to stay the healthy option that it was meant to be.