I have two teenage boys, and most days, a house full of their friends. So, I’m constantly on the lookout for healthy snacks for kids. This Nut-Free Trail Mix fits that bill, and then some!
My boys love that this Nut-Free Trail Mix is full of plump golden raisins –they seem to consider anything that involves dried fruit a good snack. If your child attends a nut-free school, you’ll love that this trail mix has a base of pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and is nut-free. Best of all, this healthy trail mix is easy to throw together if you need a quick kids snack!
Nut-Free Trail Mix
Ingredients
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
Instructions
- Place pumpkin and sunflower seeds on a large baking sheet
- Roast seeds at 350°F for 15 minutes
- Cool seeds for 1 hour
- In a large bowl, combine seeds, dried fruit, chocolate, and salt
- Serve
You can make this trail mix without roasting the pumpkin and sunflower seeds, but it won’t taste nearly as good, or have a nice roasted nutty flavor. You can also soak and dehydrate your seeds. Dehydrating nuts and seeds makes them taste amazing and removes their phytic acid, which is a double win. This trail mix makes a great party snack for adults if you sprinkle in some chili powder.
Need more snack ideas? If you’re looking for easy snacks, check out my 10 Great Snack Recipes for Picky Eaters post.
I like to keep this healthy trail mix out on the counter as an after school snack. That way, the boys and their friends can grab a handful when they walk in the door, or while they’re doing their homework and I’m preparing something more substantial. I often make the squad my Paleo Bagels (quite a hit served with smoked salmon cream cheese), or Green Eggs!
Does your child attend a nut-free school? If so, please leave a comment and let us know your favorite nut-free snacks ideas for their lunches!
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Glenn says
Hi Elena this sounds so good. I don’t like raisins though. Is there something you recommend to substitute?.
Thanks
Glenn
Elana says
Glenn, any dried fruit will work in place of the raisins.
Sherry says
I appreciate a recipe for trail mix without tree nuts, due to my extreme allergy. So, thank you! I follow weight watchers (most of the time) and am wondering if you would know a point per serving value for your recipe? Or where I may be able to find that information? Thanks :)
Elana says
Hi Sherry, here’s a link to more info on nutrition:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Elana
youngbaker2002 says
hi Elana! i have a question that i really need answered as soon as you can. i wanted to make your paleo chocolate birthday cake and do something special with it and i was wondering … is this cake super fragile? i mean would it hold up to some assembly? i heard that some times the coconut cakes fall apart easily, and i just wanted to ask before i went ahead and made it and wasted a lot of expensive ingredients. not to mention that i’m taking it to a potluck. :)
i would really appreciate a response.
thank you so much for your time and effort!
oh and PS. does that cake have a really eggy taste? sometimes the coconut cakes do you know. :)
thanks so much again Elana!!!!!!! :) :) :)
Elana says
Hi there, thanks for your question. I haven’t tried assembling this cake other than putting one layer on top of the other, so not sure how much it can handle. I don’t think this cake tastes like coconut, but remember, everybody is different! If you do make something wild, please leave a comment and let us know how it turns out :-)
Gerry says
Are your recipes good for diabetics
Elana says
Gerry, very much so. They are all grain-free and extremely low in sweeteners :-)
Cynthia says
Elena, love your recipes and your passion
One comment – did you know that golden raisins have sup
Lphur dioxide on them? Unless you have a different source. Love to know what it is.
Elana says
Hi Cynthia, thanks so much for pointing that out! I will no longer purchase that product for my family and have changed the link in the recipe above. I really appreciate your feedback :-)
Lori says
Yummy recipe! I make a “cereal” similar to this recipe and use Tempt milk on it (hemp and coconut milk). But i have a question about how long to soak seeds. I’ve read so many different things on the internet about how long to soak them. Also, how do i dehydrate them without a dehydrator? Hope someone can help me!! I’d like to remove the phytic acid. Thanks!
Leslie says
Your oven may have a dehydrator setting, or be able to “bake” at a temp 115 degrees or lower.
Lori says
Thank you! I just checked and I can set it for that temp. Any idea how long to leave them in there?
youngbaker2002 says
till they are completly dry. if you store them before they’er dry they will mold. as to how long to soak them, this is the chart i use:
2 hours: cashews, Brazil nuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts
6 hours: almonds, pumpkin seeds , walnuts. pecans
8 hours: sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, radish seeds, pistachios, hazelnuts
cover the seeds\ nuts with water and stir in a little salt. i usually put in about 1 tblsp. for every 2-3 cups of nuts but it doesn’t matter a whole lot. i just eye ball it.
then you rinse the nuts well after they’ve soaked and put in either your oven or the dehydrator.
hope that helps you Lori! :)
Laura says
I love your idea of making a cereal out of this. I find that a smallish bag of trail mix at the local grocery store is $13. That seems like of pricy. I love how I can make pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds myself. The more I know about what’s in my food, that happier I am.
Lori says
Out of sheer desperation i came up with the idea of a “cereal” using nuts and seeds instead of oats and other grains. It’s limitless what you can put in it, I suppose. But I put in sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, raisins, shredded coconut AND flaked coconut. Flaked coconut makes it “feel” more like a cereal when you eat it. And I buy all these things in bulk at my co-op so I don’t have to spend a fortune on a whole package of one ingredient.