Tablespoon Trail Mix Food

TRAIL MIX BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Put the pecans, walnuts, cashews, peanuts and sunflower seeds on the prepared baking sheet and roast until fragrant and barely golden, about 6 minutes. Cool the nuts and seeds for 5 minutes.
• Transfer the nuts and seeds to a food processor and add the coconut oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Blend, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula, until smooth, 4 to 7 minutes. The nut mixture will go from coarsely chopped, to fine meal, to clumpy ball, to smooth and creamy. Once the nut butter is smooth, add the raisins, pineapple and sweetener of choice and blend until the raisins and pineapple are finely chopped, about 1 minute.
• Transfer the nut butter to a medium bowl, cover and allow to cool fully, about 1 hour. Once the nut butter is cool, serve with a crunchy topping of choice or transfer to an airtight container for storage. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or at room temperature for up to 1 week.

INSPIRED TRAIL MIX

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a bowl, toss together the cashews, maple syrup, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt until well mixed. Spread the mixture onto the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring half way through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and scrape the nuts onto a plate to cool.
• When the nuts are cool, put them into a bowl and toss them together with the apricots and raisins.
• Serving suggestions: Divide the mix into small individual containers for snacking. Spoon a few tablespoons over a serving of yogurt or frozen yogurt. Add a few tablespoons to a bowl of fruit salad.

TRAIL MIX BANANA BREAD MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
• Whisk the bananas, yogurt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, vanilla and egg in a large bowl until lightened and smooth. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and gently whisk until combined, scraping with a rubber spatula as needed. Fold in 1 cup of the trail mix. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin pan. Top each muffin with a heaping tablespoon of the remaining trail mix.
• Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TRAIL MIX WITH HONEY-OATMEAL CLUSTERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray. Toss the oats with 2 tablespoons water, the vegetable oil, wheat germ and honey. Form small clusters of the mixture on the baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes.
• Add the mixed dried fruit to the baking sheet, sprinkle with the cinnamon and bake 3 to 5 more minutes. Let cool, then toss with the nuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, coconut and M&M's. Store in an airtight container.