Homemade Trail Mix Recipe

Trail Mix is one of my favorite things to eat when I'm on vacation.  It's good to eat in lots of different situations.  Brandon and I love to munch on it while we are driving in the car during our long road trips.  And we always bring some to eat when we get out of the car to go exploring.

Trail mix is really easy to make.  The hardest thing about this recipe is tracking down all the ingredients.  I feel like every ingredient is located on a different aisle in the store.

Homemade Trail Mix Recipe:

Basic ingredients

Mixed Nuts           15 oz container
Peanuts*              16 oz container
Raisins                 20 oz container
Craisins                 5 oz package
M&M's**             12 oz bag

Add-ins

Sunflower seeds     2 oz bag
Granola                 12 oz bag
Dried Bananas        5 oz bought in bulk
Prunes                     5 oz bought in bulk
Chocolate chips     12 oz bag

**Consider buying unsalted peanuts.  There will be plenty of salt in the mixed nuts to make up for the missing peanut salt.

*I like to use mini M&M's because they seem to add the right amount of sweetness.  However, regular size ones work just fine.

Mix everything together in a large bowl.  You can put the mix back into the containers that the ingredients came from.  It's so easy even 2 year olds can do it.   (Add the M&M's last if you are making this with two year olds.)

For pricing purposes I've made a list of how much each of these ingredients costs.  This is based on the regular price at my local HEB Grocery store.  Prices may differ where you shop.

Prices
Mixed Nuts           15 oz container      $6.48
Peanuts                 16 oz container      $3.50
Raisins                  20 oz container      $2.98
Craisins                   5 oz package       $1.88
Mini M&M's          12 oz bag              $2.88
Sunflower seeds       2 oz bag              $1.50 (This is an estimate.  I couldn't find a package.)
Granola                   12 oz bag              $3.27
Dried Fruit             10 oz in bulk         $5.00 (Another estimate - HEB doesn't have bulk foods)
Chocolate chips      12 oz bag              $2.48

Totals                    104 oz                  $29.97

All these things add up, but the price per ounce is only $0.28.  Compare that to an 8 oz bag of store bought trail mix that costs a whopping $3.98 - or $0.49 per ounce.  Making your own trail mix is a great way to save money.

Spending $30.00 on a snack food is something that I reserve just for our annual road trip vacations.  Eating the trail mix helps make the road trips that much more special.

P.S. This will probably be the only recipe I ever post on this blog.  Food is not my passion.  However, if you are interested in more camping food ideas (and recipes in general) you should check out The Dirty Dish Club.  My friends Audrey and Noel will be doing a whole Camp Kitchen Series this summer.  Their first post is Camp Kitchen 101.  It is full tips for how to eat well when you are camping.