For those of you that make your own trail mixes, post your favorite trail mix recipe here.

On that very subject, does anyone have the trail mix recipe that NOLS uses on its courses? I'm not sure whether they use the same standard trail mix recipe all of the time, or if they vary it depending on availability of ingredients or cost. If the former is the case, could someone please kindly post it? I'm feeling nostalgic for my NOLS course and the trail mix I had...

Caramel/Apple candy corn
Apple chips
peanuts

cashews and dark chocolate m&m's

cashews, candied stem ginger, cranberries and raisins

vanilla almonds, pepitas, and cherries

Snyder's honey mustard pretzel pieces, smoked almonds and dried veggies

gosh - it really depends on my mood - what's in the pantry and what everyone else is in the mood for

craisins, yogurt covered raisins, dried banana chips

Usually I have some of my dried bananas and apples (both not as dry as the commercial variety) and for a few months dried apricots from my tree. To that I add the usual nut mix (partial to almonds,cashews and brazil nuts...) . On my last trip I enjoyed craisins as well as chocolate chips similar to the M&M (part of a nut mix)
At times I crave dates and figs.
Occasionally I have had mango as well but hard to find the kind I like. Must have a go at drying that too.
Oh, my last batch of pineapple was pretty good too. More like candy (lots of sugar...) than dried fruit , but nice nevertheless.
Franco

Okay - here's a little tidbit coming out in my next book. Try slicing the pineapple and sprinkling it with cinnamon. Then place it on the grill or under the broiler. Once it is softened and slightly charred in spots take it off the grill, cut it into smaller pieces and dry it. Totally delicious... if I do say so myself. Now if only I could find a way to keep the guys out of it before our trip. They've eaten 2/3rd's of it already!

I did add a bit of cinnamon to mine but dried it in my food dryer. My problem is that I make my recipes up as I go along and by the time I realise that I have a winner I have forgotten exactly what I did...
I add cinnamon to my apples too.
Next time I will try the grill bit, I think that I get the idea , sort of caramellizing it. Thanks for that.
Franco

Here's an Aussie one;

Kelloggs Nutri-grain Iron Man food
Cashews
Dried Noodles
Chilli Powder
Sultanas

Pack into a ziploc and away you go.

Cheers
Mark

Edited by markmclauchlin on 10/26/2009 01:34:55 MDT.

Back in the 1980's in the NOLS Cascades trips the recipe for Trail Mix was granola we made, plus "whatever" we felt we could spare that the rations provided like dried fruits, nuts and sometime candy.

I made it so 3.3oz would be lotsa calories. I use 1/2 oz of each of these ( a little less sunflower, little more peanut and m&m)
sunflower
cashew -
raisins ,cranberries
almonds
m&m
Hazelnuts
peanut butter pretzels

I thought everyone sucked on tubes of emulsified pringles mixed with almond butter.

This is my fave:
Mostly
- shelled pistachio nuts
- raisins
- mini snicker type bars

Sprinkled with
- gummy bears
- jelly belly beans
- sour patch kids

Chocolate covered coffee/expresso beans are pure gold in trail mix.

Could they be related to espresso?

Uhh...yeah they're sorta related but they're much faster to eat :)

Okay, silly question here. Can you just go down to your local Starbucks, purchase a bag of Espresso beans, and just throw a handful in there? Are they edible in that form?

The reason I ask, is that I am a huge fan of chocolate-covered coffee beans. However, I always assumed that the beans are treated/toasted/etc. for "raw" comsumption. I have never seen anyone reach into a coffee bag and pop some beans in their mouth, hence the reason for my perception.

Coffee beans in a trail mix for an extra pick-me-up or boost would be a great idea.

Thanks for the trail mix recipes, by the way. Please keep 'em coming!

Edited by NightMarcher on 11/03/2009 16:53:14 MST.

Yes, the plain beans are quite edible. They are the same as the ones used in the choc. covered ones. Only difference is the chocolate tastes better than plain ;-) But! By variety plain coffee beans can be much harder to chew - and honestly many won't taste good. So tread lightly on this, the dipped ones are heavily roasted.

Mixed salted nuts and M&Ms in a 50/50 ratio. Never got tired of it!

Sarah,

So, basically toasting a handful of Starbucks beans in a non-oiled pan for a minute or so should do the trick, no?

1:1:1:1

Raisens
peanuts
m&m's
granola

son;t really know what the calories are on this... maybe someone will know.. buts its delishous!

-Jace

"So, basically toasting a handful of Starbucks beans in a non-oiled pan for a minute or so should do the trick, no?"

Perhaps. All i know is that regular coffee beans will not work in the form that you get them. Way too hard to chew. The chocolate covered ones almost turn to dust in your mouth so they must be very dehydrated/roasted. Cooking them in a pan might just burn the outside but it's worth trying. Coffee beans will give you a good caffeine kick.