It was Thursday night at 8:30 pm when the kids reminded me they needed a snack for daycare the next day (since my kids are gluten and dairy-free, we provide supplemental snacks for them to go along with the fruit or veggie that is served, but of course, due to allergies at the daycare, it needs to be nut-free too).
Exhausted from working all day (and running around to activities with the kids at night) and brimming with hope that I might still manage to sneak in a workout (spoiler: it didn’t happen) I frantically looked around the kitchen hoping for divine inspiration and the ingredients to make it possible.
This time, luck was on my side and this nut-free trail mix was born. So, I grabbed a large bowl, threw a bunch of stuff into it, coated it with a bunch of other stuff, and baked it in the oven. Boy, was I happy with the result! So happy in fact, that I ended up eating way too much of it and had to make a second batch (if you write cookbooks, you have an excuse to do this – it’s called ‘recipe testing’). I have to warn you – this stuff is addictive! The kids gave it rave reviews too.
Nut-free Maple-Roasted Trail Mix
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Ingredients
- 4 cups of Rice Chex cereal
- 1/2 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup of raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- pinch ground nutmeg
- pinch ground cloves
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix together Chex, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
- In a small pot over medium heat, melt coconut oil. Remove from heat and stir in maple syrup until well combined.
- Pour over the Chex mixture and mix until evenly coated.
- Pour onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Roast for 20-25 minutes or until Chex are crisp, making sure to stir every 10 minutes or so.
- Remove from oven and stir in raisins and cranberries.
- Let cool completely before storing in the pantry in an air-tight container.
