The Best Fall Trail Mix Ever!

Wow, two posts in one week, who am I? I need to calm down. Anyway as you know it is finally Fall. Autumn, if you wish. I love this time of year for so many reasons, most of which are your typical girly responses: pumpkin-flavored everything, big sweaters, pretty leaves changing colors, riding boots...yeah yeah yeah I'm obsessed with all that. BUT I especially love the types of foods that come along with this season. And as a dietetic intern I feel like it is totally appropriate to discuss my favorite fall snack.

Yup. It's the best. I love it because you can mix together anything you want and call it trail mix.

Pretzels, crackers, and peanuts? Salty trail mix.

Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, and Nerds? Candy trail mix. Wait what?

Donuts, cupcakes, and chocolate chip cookies? Diabetes trail mix. Why not? I can tell you a million reasons why not but I'll spare you.

Okay maybe you can't mix together anything but you get my point. Almost anything. At the hospital it is the first full week of October which means that the chefs are getting pretty creative with incorporating their featured food of the month--pumpkin (duh)--into a ton of recipes. Yesterday they came up with this killer trail mix that I just had to share.

Ingredients:
- Cheerios*
- Dried cranberries*
- Raisins*
- Pumpkin Seeds*
- Shredded coconut*
- Chopped walnuts*
- Chopped almonds*
- Drizzle of honey
- Sprinkle of cinnamon
- Chocolate chips*

*Amounts aren't listed because some people like more of one thing than the other, etc. I'd say a safe bet is half a cup of each. Equality for all ingredients!

What you do:
- Mix the Cheerios, dried cranberries and raisins in a big bowl.
- Toasted the pumpkin seeds, coconut, walnuts, and almonds in the oven for a few minutes.
- When they are all warm and toasty mix them into that big bowl with the cheerios, etc.
- While everything is STILL WARM, add the honey and cinnamon. You don't need a lot just a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Mix it all up and wait for it to cool.
- Once everything is cool add the chocolate chips. Be extra sure it is cool or you'll make a big chocolate-y mess.

That's it. Try it. It's amazing. Bye xo