I wanted to make a few different types of trail mix for quite some time. I have a bunch of bags of nuts and seeds, and I’m moving internationally, this means it’s time to start moving through my pantry so I do not need to pack it all in boxes! The plan was to make three different types: one spicy, one citrus-based, and one sweet and hopefully have them all tie together in some way in terms of flavors. So in this post you will get not one, but three different flavors and recipes.
Sumac may sound “fancy”, but it is actually a relatively easy to find spice and entirely inexpensive. You may need to go to a middle eastern or indian grocery store to find it, or head online if you do not have one near you. I found a large one pound bag for about $4 at my local grocery store. Sumac has a distinct citrus note, and is fantastic in vinegarettes, sauces, and sprinkled on vegetables (or in this case, trail mix).
The background for this post is a blogger Snack it Forward project, started by Annie from Kitchen Window Clovers. When I saw this idea posted, I was game! I absolutely loved the idea behind it, and was excited to exchange treats with blogging friends. The blogger sending me a snack is Jessica, a Registered Dietitian, recipe developer and culinary nutrition educator from Baltimore. She has an amazing website called With Health & Gratitude, and I will update this post with the link when it’s ready!
So here it is: a set of three different types of (mail-ready, in this case) trail mix – and you can find links to the recipes for both the spice blends and trail mix ingredients below!
Popping sorghum grain
It was exciting to try popping sorghum grain. What is sorghum? It is considered an “ancient grain”, and it will pop into a miniature version of the standard popcorn we are all probably familiar with. There are several health benefits to sorghum, which are outlined on this page (which I like because it contains links to related studies). Sorghum is a decent source of fiber, complex carbohydrates, and a moderate source of protein too.
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Where to find sorghum grain
I wasn’t successful finding sorghum grain in the grocery store, either in bulk or packaged. I checked at my local Whole Foods, Safeway, Sprouts, and the middle eastern / Indian grocery store down the street and could not find it, so headed online. You can find sorghum on Amazon if you can’t find it in the store. Here’s what I used. (affilate links, see footer)
The three spice blends
For this project I mixed up three different spice blends: two savory and one sweet. The sumac blend is slightly citrusy due to the sumac, which compliments nicely with ginger. And if you do not care for cinnamon, you can also use ginger in that blend which ties together all three of these trail mixes with a ginger note. It was incredibly easy and fun to create these three trail mix blends. Because there is a lot of cross over in the trail mix ingredients, you can prepare several flavors efficiently all at once and have a variety of snacks ready for the entire week – and not get bored.
The nice thing about these spice blends is you can use them for so many things! The savory blends (the first two) can be used:
on top of roasted vegetables – just toss the vegetables in some spices, and then throw them in your oven.
as a salt alternative on tofu, or any other dish you make that needs a kick.
And the peanut cinnamon blend can be used in a sweet dessert sauce, or mixed with a bit of water and turned into a nut butter. So think about making a double or triple batch so you can use the blend for something else. Oh yeah, and it tastes pretty good on trail mix too:
Sumac ginger blend
Sumac Ginger Trail Mix Blend
Use the spice blend for popcorn, trail mix, or add it to your favorite sauces.
If you do not have popped sorghum grain, or have not done so before, you can follow the directions as written in this blog post. Optionally toast the nuts, which will take about 4-5 minutes at the toast setting.
Add the sorghum, raisins, cashews, and walnuts to a mixing bowl and combine.
Spritz mixture with water or balsamic vinegar, add about 1-1.5 tsp of the spice blend, and combine again. See notes for variations.
Notes
This recipe does not use oil to stick the spices onto the trail mix, so if you store the mixture for later use some of the spices may fall off. If you do not spray with vinegar or water, just combine without it and give the blend a quick mix before eating. This mix is also excellent as a savory porridge topper or salad topping. It is recommended to use sparingly due to the fat content of the nuts. If you use this as a topper, you may want to chop the nuts into small pieces if they are whole. The spice blend can be used for roasting vegetables, or within salad dressings, so you may want to make extra and save the leftovers.Note: I used coconut for the original version of this recipe instead of raisins. Because I now follow a low fat diet and this site is dedicated to that way of eating, I have adjusted this recipe accordingly.
Nutrition Facts
Sumac Ginger Trail Mix Blend
Amount per Serving
Calories
83
% Daily Value*
Fat
5
g
8
%
Saturated Fat
0
g
0
%
Cholesterol
0
mg
0
%
Sodium
50
mg
2
%
Potassium
109
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
7
g
2
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
0
g
0
%
Protein
1
g
2
%
Vitamin C
0.3
mg
0
%
Calcium
8
mg
1
%
Iron
0.7
mg
4
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe? Customized it?Let us know how it was in the comments!
Sumac ginger blend: Sumac, ginger powder, and salt. Find the recipe in the trail mix photo-link below.
Spicy Ginger garlic blend
Spicy Ginger Garlic Trail Mix Blend
Use the spice blend for popcorn, trail mix, or add it to your favorite sauces.
If you do not have popped sorghum grain, or have not done so before, you can follow the directions as written in this blog post or use standard popcorn (use about 1.5 to 2 cups instead). Optionally toast the nuts, which will take about 4-5 minutes at the toast setting.
Add the sorghum or popcorn, raisins, cashews, and walnuts to a mixing bowl and combine.
Spritz mixture with water or balsamic vinegar, and add about 1-1.5 tsp of the spice blend, and combine. See notes for variations.
Notes
This recipe does not use oil to stick the spices onto the trail mix, so if you store the mixture for later use some of the spices may fall off. If you do not spray with vinegar or water, just combine without it and give the blend a quick mix before eating. This mix is also excellent as a savory porridge topper or salad topping. It is recommended to use sparingly due to the fat content of the nuts. If you use this as a topper, you may want to chop the nuts into small pieces if they are whole. The spice blend can be used for roasting vegetables, or within salad dressings, so you may want to make extra and save the leftovers.Note: I used coconut for the original version of this recipe instead of raisins. Because I now follow a low fat diet and this site is dedicated to that way of eating, I have adjusted this recipe accordingly.
Nutrition Facts
Spicy Ginger Garlic Trail Mix Blend
Amount per Serving
Calories
85
% Daily Value*
Fat
5
g
8
%
Saturated Fat
0
g
0
%
Cholesterol
0
mg
0
%
Sodium
51
mg
2
%
Potassium
109
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
8
g
3
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
0
g
0
%
Protein
2
g
4
%
Vitamin A
10
IU
0
%
Vitamin C
0.3
mg
0
%
Calcium
8
mg
1
%
Iron
0.7
mg
4
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe? Customized it?Let us know how it was in the comments!
Spicy blend: Minced onion flakes, ginger powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and salt. Find the recipe in the trail mix photo-link below.
Peanut Cinnamon blend
Peanut Butter Cinnamon Trail Mix Blend
Use the spice blend for popcorn, trail mix, or add it to your favorite sauces.
If you do not have popped sorghum grain, or have not done so before, you can follow the directions as written in this blog post. Optionally toast the peanuts, which will take about 4-5 minutes at the toast setting.
Add the sorghum, raisins, and peanuts to a mixing bowl and combine.
Spritz the mixture with the water, if you want (although peanut flour generally sticks well on its own), and add about 1 Tbsp of the spice blend, and combine again. See notes for variations.
Notes
This mix is also excellent as a sweet porridge, oatmeal, or dessert topping. It is recommended to use sparingly due to the fat content of the nuts. If you use this as a topping, you may want to chop the nuts into small pieces if they are whole.This recipe uses peanut flour, which is an organic and defatted product that does not contain processed sugar. Most powdered peanut butter products contain processed sugar, but you can find peanut flour (aka powdered peanut butter) without sugar mixed in online.This recipe does not use oil to stick the spices onto the trail mix, so if you store the mixture for later use some of the spices may fall off. If you do not spray with vinegar or water, just combine without it and give the blend a quick mix before eating.Note: I used coconut for the original version of this recipe instead of raisins. Because I now follow a low fat diet and this site is dedicated to that way of eating, I have adjusted this recipe accordingly.
Nutrition Facts
Peanut Butter Cinnamon Trail Mix Blend
Amount per Serving
Calories
59
% Daily Value*
Fat
3
g
5
%
Saturated Fat
0
g
0
%
Cholesterol
0
mg
0
%
Sodium
27
mg
1
%
Potassium
109
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
6
g
2
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
0
g
0
%
Protein
2
g
4
%
Vitamin C
0.3
mg
0
%
Calcium
10
mg
1
%
Iron
0.5
mg
3
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe? Customized it?Let us know how it was in the comments!
Peanut flour and cinnamon blend: peanut flour, cinnamon, sea salt, and stevia. Find the recipe in the trail mix photo-link below.
No oil for the trail mix?
Here are oil-free ways to make the seasonings stick:
You can omit the oil if you remember to give the trail mix a quick toss before eating it in the event the spice falls off your ingredients. This works especially well with the powdery spices (peanut flour, onion and garlic powders). I re-made these trail mixes a few times and it worked quite well. The spices don’t completely stay on the mix, but you certainly get a flavor kick regardless.
Spray a bit of balsamic vinegar or sweetened water on (dissolve sugar or use a liquid extract), as done in these recipes.
Toss with a bit of hot sauce.
Squeeze on some citrus, such as lime or lemon juice.
The peanut butter powder sticks really well all on its own.
And then it was time to snack it forward to my blogging buddy!
Jessica develops recipes for 88 Acres, and sent me a couple of their bars. The flavors are Apple & Ginger, and Triple Berry and I can’t wait to try them out. You can check out their site here for some of the other flavors!
She also sent a couple of UGo bars (Coconut Date and ANutter are pictured) that look fantastic – handmade and vegan. Also a bag of Chickpeatos — Tomato Basil. Oh my gosh, I can’t wait – I have tried a few different types of roasted chickpeas, and can’t get enough of them.
Do you have some favorite spice blends that you’ll try out on your own trail mix?
Or favorite vegan snacks to share?
Let me know in the comments!
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However, please note that although I did receive these snacks “for free”, they were not from the company being discussed but as part of this snack exchange from the person who made the recipe they use, and had not tried them yet at the time of writing… so I could take the pictures 🙂 I have no further knowledge of that relationship apart from what is described here — full transparency!
Jen deHaan
Jen is a plant-based nutrition enthusiast and vegan living in British Columbia, Canada. She has over 20 years experience in software, graphics, and art, including many years in Silicon Valley corporations. Jen completed the Developing Healthy Communities graduate program at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Jen really likes dogs and dancing too.
