I fell in love with hiking the summer I lived in Denver, CO. My bestie and I explored many hiking trails throughout the beautiful Rocky Mountains. In my opinion, there are several components to a great hike, and one of them is the right kind of food and enough of it. Considering the high calorie demand hiking creates, a calorically dense food such as trail mix is the perfect choice.

It’s really simple to create your own trail mix combination, but here are a few things to consider when choosing your “components” for the mix.

Salty factor: Salt is important when you’re sweating. The hotter or more humid the day, the more you’re going to sweat and the more water you lose. While replacing fluids is crucial, you also need to eat a little salt via your food or fluid while out on the trail.

Caloric factor: The typical components of trail mix include a variety of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, which are calorically dense; just what you want while hiking.

Sweet factor: Taste preferences change while exercising. Foods you many not normally eat, taste great on the mountain, and vice versa. And more importantly, adding dried fruit to your mix adds quick carbohydrates, which fuel your muscles and brain.

Here is a delicious trail mix recipe with all the necessary factors: salty, sweet, soft, and crunchy.

Trail Mix Recipe

1 cup Almonds

1½ cups Sunflower Seeds

1 cup sprouted pumpkin seeds

½ cup Dried Cranberries or Goji Berries

½ cup Incan Goldenberries

If you want to add some chocolate, try these chocolate covered coconut (if the weather is hot, the chocolate may melt).

Mix all. Makes about 5 cups.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods