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As a mom of an active Kindergartener, preschooler and baby, snacks are life. We never leave home without snacks. While we have our favorite pre-packaged snacks, I love making snack mixes because I can control the ingredients, be creative and include ingredients my kiddos and I enjoy eating. Yes, I enjoy snack mixes quite a bit, too!
Snack mix, or trail mix, gives your children a variety of things to eat and makes snacking fun! They are tasty and a healthier snack option for the kids and adults alike! Making your own trail mix is convenient and easy to customize to your family’s personal food preferences. It’s also an inexpensive and great on-the-go snack option for your family! You can make a large batch of it like I do and keep in an airtight container. When it’s time to snack, just scoop or pour some into a sandwich bag or bowl and enjoy!
Usually when I put together a snack mix I use what we have in our pantry to start. When building our snack mix, I like to include some salty and some sweet ingredients.
This recipe for a Very Berry Baby Trail Mix is the one that got me started with making snack mixes for my own kids. I stumbled upon this recipe and started building snack mixes in the spring/summer to bring along with us when we visited playgrounds and the pool.
Steps for Building Your Own Snack Mix
When I make a snack mix, I always start with a base of cereal. Plain old Cheerios are always a good go to, but we’ve used Honey Nut Cheerios, Chex Mix and Honey Grahams. We’ve even tried the Multi-Grain Cheerios and Pumpkin Spice ones during the fall. Choose a cereal your children enjoy.
Next I add in another crunchy item such as cheddar crackers (Goldfish or Turtles from Aldi, which are a favorite in our house), Teddy Grahams, pretzels (mini ones or pretzel sticks work great), or popcorn. Animal crackers are another great addition. We buy the large jar from Costco, but also occasionally buy the box from Aldi.
After that, I add dried fruit. Raisins or dried cranberries are tasty! Or you can use freeze-dried fruit….apples, strawberries, mangoes, or bananas. These are all a nice sweet addition. I also add in puffs for added fruit/veggies. My 6 and 4 year old still enjoy puffs. Our favorite brand is the Happy Baby ones! I always buy them at Target and keep a few cans on hand in the pantry. I typically buy them when they are on sale. Same with the freeze-dried fruit.
The final component I like to put in our snack mix is yogurt melts. I usually buy a few bags when they are on sale at the grocery store. These add another tasty element to the snack mix. They are sweet, smooth, colorful and a fun shape! This trail mix component is another way to sneak in some additional vitamins and minerals. Even though my kids aren’t babies anymore, they still enjoy eating these!
We are a nut-friendly house and enjoy adding walnuts, unsalted peanuts or cashews to our trail mixes. However, this can easily be left out if your family has a nut allergy.
When assembling our snack mix, I use one of these large cereal containers or OXO pop containers. I start by filling the container with a full canister of puffs, two bags of yogurt melts and two bags of freeze-dried fruit (or a cup of raisins/dried cranberries). Then, I add in a cup of the other ingredients I am choosing to use (Goldfish, Turtles, Pretzels, Teddy Grahams, Animal Crackers, etc.). Finally, I fill the rest of the container with the cereal I am using. I put the lid on and gently shake the container to evenly distribute the ingredients. Another option is to mix in a large bowl and scoop into snack sandwich bags ready to grab and go.
Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are another great ingredient to include in a trail mix. They are crunchy and add some healthy fats. I often forget about these ingredients, but recently started buying pumpkin seeds. They definitely add a nice crunch to the snack mix!
If you want to add a sweet addition to your snack mix, feel free to include some chocolate candies like M & M’s or chocolate chips. I love doing this when making snack mixes for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day, Easter or Christmas. We enjoyed making this special red and pink Valentine’s Day snack mix with friends.
You can even involve your kids in the process of making the snack mix. My kids love to help in the kitchen. If you don’t want to make a big batch of it at once, give each child a smaller bowl or snack container and set out the ingredients. We love these snack containers because they allow us to enjoy snacks without the mess. Putting the ingredients into a muffin tin is a fun option, too! I would put some cereal in their bowl or snack container first. Then distribute the other ingredients into each section of a muffin tin. Let the kids build their own snack mix!
A fun extension would be to count and graph the number of each snack mix component. As a former elementary school teacher, I love finding ways to build the brain, practice foundational skills and help my children learn something. You can even use our printable Snack Mix Graph included in our free Resource Library 😊 Just click here or the image above to get access to it along with many other free printable activities and resources you can use with your kids. Discuss which ingredient has the most and which one has the least. Engage in a conversation about the different ingredients, using descriptive words like crunchy, salty, sweet, chewy, soft, etc. Talk about the colors used in the snack mix. Talk about their favorite ingredients. Compare the shape and sizes of each ingredient. Building snack mix together is a wonderful brain building opportunity for your children!
Building your own snack mix is easy, inexpensive, fully customizable to your family’s food preferences and fun to do with your kids. Snack mix is the perfect on-the-go and healthy snack option for your family. What ingredients will you include in your snack mix? Feel free to share your favorite combinations below 😊
Your guide to building snack mixes for kids is brilliant—making healthy snacking fun and educational. Thanks for the creative ideas
Thank you so much for your comment! We love making them and there are so many fun combinations to try!