Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice Trail Mix … addictive good snack on the go!

Think tangy, sweet, slightly smoky, herby, crisp … this Trail Mix is all that and more. It’s addictive good and offers loads of different flavours that dance on the tongue. It also gets its quintessential crisp bite from toasted cornflakes often found locally in India in popular snacking mixtures like Makai Chivda or Cornflakes Mixture. The toasted cornflakes add magic to the mix and though easily omitted, I’m glad I added some!

Cornflakes are a very popular add to mixtures in India, often deep fried and too delicious. I remembered a Kellogg’s Trail Mix with cornflakes which inspired a last minute add since I had some on hand. I sometimes like to crumb my chicken tenders with crushed cornflakes in a buttermilk cornflour slurry so always have a small bag in the pantry.

I was making my weekly batch of peanut butter granola, alongside doing a second batch to send to the better half in the UK and ended up with loads of extra chopped almonds, hazelnuts & cashews. I considered making breakfast bars, then thought granola cookies and then suddenly felt like I’d rather make something savoury yet light since summer is here. I might share a lot of desserts on the blog but in all honesty my heart is savoury. I don’t have a sweet tooth and trail mix definitely sounded like a good option, savoury with a hint of sweet, right up my street!!

Soon enough I was scrabbling through the pantry to see what I could add to my trail mix. Nuts and seeds of course since I always have loads in store. Buckwheat groats most definitely because I am currently a little obsessed with them if you look at the collage above. Then I saw the cornflakes and thought why not. All I needed was some glue to add flavour and coat the nuts and seeds and that’s just how simple these recipes are. Skip the cornflakes for a quicker, less carby version but if you are up for a little extra crunch & a few extra carbs, do give it a include.

Living in India obviously means we love our spices and what I love most is shooting them! The colours the textures, the vibrant character, the variety. That said, my choice of spices that I actually use in my recipes are very simple, very basic to flavours we enjoy at home and that is what I chose for this gluten free trail mix.

Garlic is one of my favourite ingredients to use and I like to use loads of garlic in practically everything savoury so definitely a dash of garlic powder in here. Dried thyme, smoked paprika, a smidge of citric acid for the tang, a teeny bit of cayenne pepper for the heat and salt of course. The glue to bind everything is extra virgin olive oil and maple syrup / honey, honey offering a hint of sweetness enhanced by the currants in the mix. I make roasted cashews with a similar spice mix though the olive oil there is barely a drizzle as is the maple syrup / honey, and my simplest most delicious Homemade Barbeque Sauce too has a basic combination of garlic and smoked paprika.

Here in the trail mix I added a little more extra virgin olive oil and maple syrup to coat everything well since I threw in a variety of nuts and seeds that I put into my granola. Like I said, I added a handful of my current favourite ingredient, buckwheat groats to add to the diversity of plant foods, anything to make the gut happy!

I later thought I could have thrown in some hemp hearts into my trail mix. Maybe next time. You could use anything you like since recipes like this are quite basic and extremely forgiving. What matters is that it should please your palette and offer as many gut friendly plant foods as possible, or at least a diverse range!

What is a trail mix?

Trail mix is a type of snack mix, typically a combination of granola, dried fruit, nuts, and sometimes candy, developed as food to be taken along on hikes. Trail mix is a popular snack food for hikes, because it is lightweight, easy to store, and nutritious, providing a quick energy boost from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit or granola, and sustained energy from fatty nuts. The combination of fatty nuts, raisins and chocolate as a trail snack dates at least to the 1910s, when outdoorsman Horace Kephart recommended it in his popular camping guide Camping and Woodcraft. In New Zealand and Australia, trail mix is known as Scroggin or in North America, Gorp. Some claim Gorp is an acronym for “good ol’ raisins and peanuts”. In Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and several other European countries, trail mix is called student fodder, Studentenfutter {Germany}, student oats or student mix. It usually does not include chocolate.

Is a Trail Mix considered healthy?

A trail mix is considered nutrient dense with healthy fats and depending on the ingredients, it can often be high in calories and sugar if chocolate, candy etc are added. However, the basic idea of a trail mix is for activities like hiking or outdoor training where the mix provides a burst of energy. With a mix of nuts, seeds and dried fruit, a good trail mix offers a balance of plant protein, healthy fats and fibre, the recipe entirely customisable. The pros of a home made mix means you can control extra sugars in it as well as use good fats, and use a combination of ingredients from the pantry. It tastes good, satiates, is bursting with flavour and is portable. The cons of making it yourself of course involve a little work but the overall benefits are well worth it! If you are buying a store bought trail mix, do make sure to read the label carefully.

My mantra for recipes like this Trail Mix is to maximise the diversity of ingredients to make it gut friendly and increase the fibre & protein. I’m no nutritionist yet with years of cooking/baking experience and so much talk of prebiotics and probiotics, protein fibre on the net, I try my little bit when possible! It’s quite fun actually and well worth exploring! I hope you enjoy this gluten free & vegan recipe as much as we did.

Trail Mix …. sweet, savoury, tangy, addictive good!

Think tangy, sweet, slightly smoky, herby, crisp … this vegan, gluten free Trail Mix is all that and more. It's addictive and offers loads of different flavours that dance on the tongue. It also gets its quintessential crisp bite from toasted cornflakes that add magic to the mix.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Cooling 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 500 grams

Equipment

• 1 Oven
• 1 Large Baking Tray
• parchment paper
• 1 Large bowl
• 1 small bowl
• 1 whisk

Ingredients

  

• 200 g nuts {use a mix of pistachios, pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashew nuts etc}
• 175 g pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, buckwheat groats, sesame seeds etc
• 25 g extra virgin olive oil
• 10 g maple syrup {or honey}
• 1/8 tsp citric acid
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp black rock salt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 40 g plain cornflakes
• 50 g currants {or raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots etc}

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 120C, fan forced
• Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl toss all the nuts and seeds.
• In a small bowl whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, honey and dry spices. Leave to stand for 10-15 minutes till the oven preheats. Once the oven has preheated, whisk the oil mix again and pour over the nuts and seeds. Mix well to coat everything then turn out onto the baking tray. Reserve the bowl.
• A large baking tray works best here so you have a flat layer and everything gets some heat.
• Bake at 120C for 30 minutes, then leave the oven on and take the tray out.
• Transfer everything back into the large bowl and toss in the cornflakes to coat well.
• Return to the oven to bake for another 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container once completely cool.

Keyword baking, eggfree, eggless, eggless baking, gluten free, homemade, mixture, no eggs, nuts, one bowl, savoury, seeds, snack, sweet savoury, trail mix, vegan, vegetarian