Confession Time.
See that bag of chocolate chips down there. I could eat it in one sitting. I really could.
I would feel a little less guilty about consuming straight up chocolate chips if they were in a trail mix.
Enter the pantry challenge. I found half-full bags of dried cranberries, cashews, pecans, slivered almonds, and of course, chocolate chips in the pantry.
Hence, Pantry Trail Mix.
A delightful, healthy, guilt-less snack.
(Think Super Bowl party. Not that this trail mix will last that long. Perhaps I’ll make another batch!)
Now, go check your pantry…and see what kind of fun trail mix you can come up with!!! Let us know what you mixed in your Pantry Trail Mix!!!
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great idea! Just made mine – M&M’s, left over Wendys sliced almonds from a salad, dried cranberries, Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters and freeze dried apricots!
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Good idea! Your pictures are looking great!
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You’ve inspired me to make a pantry trail mix of my own– chocolate chips, some nuts I bought for a recipe and never used, dried cranberries leftover from Christmas, some M&Ms left over from Halloween, and who knows what else I’ll find.
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Twitter: inthebagblog
January 12, 2010 at 11:26 am
I have a whole slew of half bags of holiday baking ingredients and I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with them – until now. I have chocolate chips, toffee chips, pecans, dried cranberries and blueberries, and some dates. What a great idea!
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None of the items would last long enough to make a trail mix. Which is why I do not buy the items necessary for trail mix.
How do I make cookies with the grands? Pillsbury cookies in the butter/chese aisle–It makes the kids happy. (I send the cookies home with the family. It makes everybody happy.)
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For Me: Dry roasted peanuts, raisins, cheddar pretzel pieces, honey nut Cheerios and peanut M&Ms
For my Daughter: cheddar goldfish, raisins, chocolate teddy grahams, honey nut cheerios
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Twitter: apichea
January 12, 2010 at 1:04 pm
When I saw your tweet yesterday about this, I was instantly intrigued. And now I’m salivating… that looks SOOO yummy (and healthy, too)!! I’m definitely heading towards the pantry…
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In my experience you can’t make trail mix for under $5, nuts are just expensive. taking into account that you already have all the ingredients on hand and don’t have to purchase them to make the trail mix it’s “cheap” but really its deferred expense because next time you go to bake you have to repurchase the nuts. tasty idea though.
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Twitter: LifeWithLess
January 12, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Great idea! I’m always wondering what to do with those odds and ends items I find in my pantry.
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I do this a lot to clean out the snack cabinet. Most recently ours was made up of; chocolate chips, just bunches cereal, pretzels, ranch gold fish, golden raisins, cranberries, the remainder of a can of planters energy mix and a lost little baggy of gummies (gummies are a rare treat in our house)
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Great idea. Need to raid my pantry for some ingredients.
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your trail mix looks delicious. i might try your recipe. i make trail mix on a regular basis. i eat a small handful each morning, because i always wake up hungry and ready for breakfast. that “buys me time” to get my shower without feeling weakened by hunger. anyway, my trail mix is cheerios, honeynut cheerios, peanuts, m&ms, and raisins. I always have all those ingredients on hand anyway, so i don’t consider it an extra expense. my leftover nuts from baking stay in my freezer so i can use them as needed- we bake all year ’round; except for the peanuts which i buy in a big container at walmart, because we like to snack on peanuts.
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That is a really great idea to use up the stuff in your pantry to make a trail mix.
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I love making my own trail mix! Cranberries are a yummy addition!
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Just made some up…chocolate chips, slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and shredded coconut…yummy!!
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For my 3 year-old daughter:
Pantry “trail mix”
pretzel goldfish
broken up vanilla wafers
cheerios
raisins
dried apricots (slices were quartered to be about the same size as the raisins)
chocolate chips
for the grown-ups:
Go Lean Crunch (Brand name) cereal
coconut
chocolate chips
sliced almonds
dried apricots (quartered the apricots to be about the same bite-size as the cranberries)
dried cranberries
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