Recipe: Popcorn Trail Mix (article: A Popping Good Trail Mix)

POPCORN TRAIL MIX


2 cups air-popped popcorn
1 1/2 cups unsweetened whole-grain oat dry cereal
1/4 cup golden raisins
3 Tbsp. dried blueberries
3 Tbsp. dried cranberries
3 Tbsp. dry-roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. chopped dried pineapple
2 Tbsp. roasted pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp. dry-roasted sunflower seeds

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes 5 cups or 10 servings

Per serving: 91 calories, 3 g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 15 g. carbohydrate, 2 g. protein, 2 g. dietary fiber, 37 mg. sodium.

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A POPPING GOOD TRAIL MIX

Hitting the trail may mean going for a heart-pumping hike or piling into your SUV for a trip to the mall.

Either way, if you expect to be out for a while, and particularly if youngsters are along, snacks are probably part of the expedition.

Snack bars and mini-bags of cookies, dried fruit, or fish-shaped crackers are easy to grab and eat on the go, but trail mix remains a popular choice, too. In theory, it is a healthy snack high in fiber, protein and natural sugars.

At least that is what Paul Hadley, who claims he invented trail mix at his California farm, intended. The store he opened near the San Jacinto Mountains in 1931 was a popular stop for day-trippers and health nuts looking for an energy boost. To satisfy them, Hadley combined dried fruit with nuts and seeds and dubbed it trail mix.

If trail mix still followed this model, it would be dense in calories but also rich in valuable nutrients and heart-healthy unsaturated fat. But most trail mix today, like many snack bars, is closer to candy than health food, usually including chocolate, marshmallows, or a sweetened breakfast cereal along with other high-calorie ingredients. These sugary foods make more of a dessert than a healthful snack rich in good nutrition.

One way to keep trail mix fun, chunky and easy to eat out of hand is to include popcorn. Another snack food whose value is often diminished by sweetening or drenching in fat, plain air-popped popcorn, actually a whole grain, provides as much fiber in one cup as a serving of oatmeal or a slice of whole-wheat bread. In this trail mix, popcorn is combined with a basic, round oat cereal that is whole-grain and minimally sweetened. Dried berries, plus sunflower and pumpkin seeds add a variety of flavors, texture and color. This version contains dried pineapple, which can often be found processed with a minimum of sugar and no sulfites. If you can find it, it is pleasantly sweet yet tart, giving this trail mix flavor adults and kids enjoy.

From: Dana Jacobi
Source: the American Institute for Cancer Research