By Nancy Smorch, Foodie Bitch
Do you ever find yourself craving something crunchy? I know I do – especially in the late afternoon. Whether it’s merely a habit, something I’m lacking in my diet, or simply the need for something other than fruits and vegetables, occasionally as the late afternoon hours roll around, I find myself looking for something to munch on that gives me a little crunch (and not a carrot!).
Well, today, and the last few days for that matter, I found myself with such cravings. So rather than reach for the gluten-free crackers with pasture butter, which is what I usually go for, I decided to get a little more creative and put something together that would not only satisfy my craving, but would also provide me with more nutrients.
When I was at the store the other day, I stocked up on a number of different organic nuts and other snacks that would make for a good homemade trail mix. So I went to the nut and snack drawer and pulled all of them out and put together a quick and fun snack to hold everybody over until dinner.
I had quite a nice mix going: macadamia nuts, pecans, roasted pumpkin seeds, raw cashews, chopped dates, coconut flakes, and banana chips (almost all organic, of course). But something was missing. I was remembering my granola based trail mixes I used to make when I was a kid (granola, raisins, marshmallows, coconut and M&Ms), and then it hit me that I should add some chocolate. Since M&Ms really aren’t in the picture anymore, I thought I would utilize some of the Bulletproof Executive’s new chocolate bars I just ordered. They are actually quite good – don’t expect them to taste like a Hershey bar or anything (that would be gross), but they are good-quality chocolates. And, they provided the missing link, for my snack mix. I just chopped up one of the bars and added it in.
Anyway, here’s what I actually put into my Late Afternoon Nutrient Packed Snack Mix:
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
6-8 soft dates, chopped
1 dark chocolate bar (at least 70% cacao)
Mix them all together and enjoy!
Look around in your pantry and refrigerator and see what you have that you could make a snack mix with. Maybe you have some superfoods you could add in? Maybe some goji berries? Some chocolate-covered hemp seeds? Hmm… I’m going to have to go back and add a few things, now that I’m thinking about it!