Trail Mix: Curb Your Cravings With This Healthy Snack

Here’s why you should be reaching for this healthy snack pre-workout, post-workout or just in-between your meals when hunger strikes.

Snacking for good health

Snacking may have got a bad name because the term ‘snack’ is often used for processed, high-calorie foods such as chips and cookies, but nutritionists and health experts around the world cannot emphasize enough on the importance of snacking and its many benefits. Eating healthy bites between meals can promote satiety and suppress over-consumption during the main course. A ‘good’ snack, such as a trail mix, not only provides instant energy (especially great to counter the mid-day slump) but is also packed with nutrients.

A versatile choice

For those who may not know it, a trail mix is called so because it was developed as nutritious and fulfilling food to be taken along on hikes. Easy to carry, it offered hikers an instant energy boost and made them feel full for long. A combination of ingredients, a trail mix typically includes nuts, seeds and dried fruits tossed together with a little bit of salt or lightly roasted.

Today, this delicious snack is recommended by diet experts and nutritionists as a good pre-workout, post-workout and a mid-meal snack for busy people. So, whether you are looking for a nutritious mid-meal munchie or a crunchy addition to your breakfast oats, a quick energy booster before a gruelling workout or a light and wholesome party starter, a trail mix is a versatile choice.

Get more from less

To cater to a variety of tastes and people with nut allergies, trail mixes are available in a variety of permutations and combinations. For example, it could be a mix of berries, nuts and seeds, or dried pineapple and nuts, or roasted seeds and dried fruit with nuts, and so on. A traditional trail mix—with peanuts, walnuts, almonds or cashews, dried fruits such as raisins and cranberries as well as sunflower or pumpkin seeds—is rich in protein, antioxidants, fibre and comes packed with a host of vitamins and minerals.

A review published in Nutrition Journal states that increasing the consumption of nuts and dried fruits could help reduce the risk of chronic diseases. “Nuts and dried fruits are healthful foods because of their nutrient profiles. They provide dietary fibre, potassium and a variety of health protective bioactive compounds. Nuts also are a source of protein and monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA),” says the review.

Note: With a trail mix, less is more so make sure you manage your portion size to keep your calorie intake in check. Also, look out for additives such as sugar and salt as these can nullify all the goodness of a trail mix.