So it appears that I am going to be totally cliche today and talk about the weather . . .

But, that’s just because the weather is who we have to thank for providing the craving that lead to today’s recipe.

I don’t know what’s going on where you are but here in Sydney it has been wet and wild!

And soooooooooo cold! And when I say cold I mean cold for us city folk.

And did I mention wet?!

So much rain!!!

And despite all this wet and wild winter weather we’re having, instead of craving hearty soups and classic comfort foods, I find myself craving all things summer.

Fruity salsas, summer style salads, light, fresh dinners and well just all things tropical!!

And then I stumbled across these delicious looking, Pronature brand – 100% natural, dried pineapple pieces and these  naturally sweetened mango cheeky  by fruit for life and it hit me;

Tropical trail mix!!!!!

Yessssss this is happening!

Because –

1 – You guys know how much I love my snacks and;

2 – Let’s be honest, 2 weeks of, rain soaked, school holiday fun trapped inside our teeny, tiny apartment with the most energetic (almost) 7 year old (!!!!) known to man . . . this mama needs as much fuel as she can get!

Or a vacation . . .

Ahhh a girl can dream . . .

Or she can make a big ol’ batch of all natural, quick and easy, healthy homemade tropical  trail mix and close her eyes for a few moments and be transported to her own personal, blissfully delicious, tropical oasis.

Care to join me?!

Our healthy, homemade tropical inspired trail mix is made with just a handful of real food ingredients that I bet you have on hand already.

It comes togehter in one bowl (or even just a giant ziplock bag) in a matter of minutes!

And it also happens to be vegan, gluten free and paleo friendly.

So much to love I tell you!

Another thing I love about making your own trail mix is that not only is it super quick and easy to prepare, but it also happens to be so much cheaper, not to mention so much better for you than a lot of the ones you can buy at the store.

Plus you can customize to suit your own personal taste which I just love, love, love.

You know sometimes you buy trail mix and the fruit to nut ratio is all wrong?

Or there are certain things included that you just don’t really care for (I’m looking at you banana chips) . . . which means you then proceed to spend way more time than you should picking out, or avoiding said pesky ingredient . . . and, even if you manage to pick out and remove all traces of the offending ingredient you can still taste it. . . not cool and seriously disappointing right?!

Well don’t you worry friend, today we are making our very own healthy, homemade, perfectly balanced tropical inspired mix – just the way you like it!

Although, I guess really we are making it the way I like it but, I’m pretty sure you and I are on the same page when it comes to eats, you know what they say – great minds eat alike 😉

Today’s “recipe” , if you could even call it that, is pretty basic, I’ve really just thrown a bunch of my fave nuts and seeds into a bowl along with some tropical inspired dried fruit. Then I added a handful of coconut chips,  given it a good stir and boomshakalocka = done!

One taste of this tropical inspired this trail mix will transport you to your very own, delicious little tropical oasis, just you wait –

Crisp, crunchy almonds, classic cashews and deliciously buttery macadamia nuts are combined with sunflower seeds and pepitas to make our delicious and nutritious trail mix base.

Cranberries and blueberries add that all important burst of light, fresh, tart, tangy, deliciously chewy sweetness.

Mango and pineapple add that all important tropical twist and crispy shards of toasted coconut add a subtly sweet, slightly smoky, crazy, cool coco-nutty crunch.

Can you say yummmmmmm?!

As I said this “recipe” is totally customisable, feel free to play with the ratios and/or ingredients and make it just the way you like it.

Side note – I love bananas but those banana chips are a total deal breaker for me. If you’re a fan clearly we can no longer be friends feel free to add some into the mix. Do what you feel people, make it your own.

Just promise me you’ll make it, asap!

Eat it simply by the handful, serve it with some coconut or Greek style yogurt for a delicious, nutritious, quick and easy powerhouse of a breakfast bowl, sprinkle some on your post workout smoothie or throw in a handful of dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs and call it dessert.

All natural, quick and easy, crisp and crunchy, sweet and chewy, healthy, homemade tropical trail mix;

Make it. Eat it. Love, love, love it.

Healthy, Homemade Tropical Trail Mix {Vegan, Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly}
Makes approx 4 cups of healthy, homemade, tropical trail mix

Ingredients –

1 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup macadamia nuts

2 Tablespoons of sunflower seeds

2 Tablespoons of pepitas

1/2 cup oven roasted coconut chips

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried blueberries

1/4 cup dried pineapple

1/4 cup dried mango, roughly chopped

Method –

1 – Place all ingredients into a bowl (or large ziplock bag) and stir (or shake) to combine.

2 – Store in an airtight container

Enjoy xoxo

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Question of the day –

What snacks are you loving lately?

Feel free to share recipes, or links to recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make your tropical trail mix (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to 🙂

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