I like to consider myself a pro road tripper by now. Over the last six years of living in North Carolina, we took many five hour road trips to visit friends and family. On top of that, I've moved cross country three times (plus a handful of back and forth trips during the summer) and had countless family trips growing up. I'm no stranger to spending 5-8 hours in a car and having to find ways to entertain myself as well as keep myself fed. I used to just grab a pack of powdered donuts or a candy bar when traveling, but over the years I've lost my taste for that kind of junk food especially on road trips. One of the best ways to make sure you avoid having to eat junk food or gas station snacks is to prepare your own snacks ahead of time. This road trip trail mix is the perfect solution!
Trail mix is always a favorite snack of mine. Until recently, I had never tried making it on my own and always bought store-bought versions. Then I finally tried making my own and realized how fun it can be! The best part about making your own trail mix is you can easily add in current cravings or stay away from adding in ingredients you may always pick around in-store bought trail mixes- for me, it's pretzels, I always pick around them!
You can also utilize pantry items that you may not use regularly or have extra of for the time being! Once you figure out the basics that are needed to make an amazing trail mix, the options are endless. So I decided to break it down for you and give you a step by step list of ingredients you need to make any trail mix!
Using this guide plus whatever is available in your pantry is the perfect way to create an effortless trail mix recipe that is perfect for the road. Make a large batch of trail mix and then pour into smaller baggies for each person traveling with you or a few for each person, depending on how long your road trip is. If you're traveling in the summer, be mindful of which types of sweets are more likely to melt than others.
If you want to go even a step further, you can easily make this trail mix into a snack pack for each person by adding in a small Gatorade bottle, a pack of Orbit gum and a Chewy chocolate chip granola bar. Add these all together for a convenient snack pack for the road!
I decided to sprinkle on just a bit of cinnamon to give the rice cereal a bit of flavor and also to break up the sweet and salty flavors of the mix! The only big salty item I had in the mix was the peanuts, though the peanut M&M's provide their own sweet and salty element as well. That's one of the things that make trail mix so iconic, blending so many flavors together!
Easy Trail Mix
This easy trail mix is perfect for taking on the go!
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice cereal
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup M&M's
- ยฝ cup peanuts
- ยฝ cup mini marshmallows
- dash cinnamon
Instructions
- Toss all ingredients to combine.
- Add a few dashes of cinnamon (optional).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: ยฝ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 266Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 75mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 3gSugar: 34gProtein: 4g
With this trail mix snack pack in hand you're ready for the best summer road trip ever!
eclecticmommy says
What a great idea to add a little cinnamon. I tend to pick around the bland cereal. #client
Madison says
Agreed! It's just the little extra spice that it needs!
Jo-Anne says
Nice
Chelsie Carr says
Dustin LOVES trailmix and I'm thinking it might be cheaper/healthier for us to make some for our move from Idaho to AZ in a couple of weeks!
Madison says
YES! You definitely should make a big batch ๐
Christine Everyday says
Yummm this sounds so good! I love the idea of the mini-marshmallows!
Madison says
They're just so good ๐
Laura Jean Gilleland says
Yum! Homemade trail mix is my favorite!
Madison says
Thanks Laura! What do you usually put in?
Laura Jean Gilleland says
I love putting in chex mix, pretzels, cashews, chocolate chips or m&m's, marshmallows (if we are going to eat it in the near future) and butterscotch chips! Sweet and salty all the way ๐
theladylawyer says
Yum! I need to make this for snacks for work
Madison says
It's perfect for that!
Paris says
I've never tried making my own trail mix either, but your's sounds so easy! I can't wait to try it out!
Madison says
It's so easy! And you can really customize it ๐