Doesn’t Harvest Trail Mix sound wonderful? It is and today (August 31) is National Trail Mix Day!
This trail mix is so simple. Yet so satisfying. It’s gluten-free Harvest Trail Mix, of course.
That’s important to know because many trail mix recipes—and certainly, most ready-made trail mixes—are not gluten free. They include gluten-full foods like unsafe oats (always use certified gluten-free purity protocol oats—although I’m even skipping those for now due to these recent testing results which show a huge jump in gluten in oat products labeled gluten free (and even some certified gluten-free purity protocol oat products have tested gluten-full)), pretzels, cracker pieces, and bagel chips.
When I first made this trail mix, I was headed out for a blogging retreat in the mountains with my good friend Linda (formerly Gluten-Free Homemaker) and wanted something healthy with a protein boost to snack on during my road trip and in between our meals.
A Harvest Trail Mix came to mind. I thought about the ingredients I had on hand that would make a tasty snack concoction—raw pumpkin seeds, walnuts, sliced almonds, unsweetened coconut flakes, Medjool dates (which were nice and chewy as I’d had them for a while), coconut oil, and honey.
I came up with this trail mix recipe. I loved it and Linda loved it.
The coconut flakes, Medjool dates, coconut oil, and a wee bit of honey (which is added after baking the other ingredients) give this mix just the right amount of sweetness. I am sure I will make this mix again and again.
In fact, Linda later told me that she started making this trail mix for her own family. Often. As they also loved it.
She reported that her family likes it made with more honey so don’t hesitate to up the honey if you and yours decide you like it just a little bit sweeter.
In addition to being ideal for road trips and vacations, this snack mix would also be great to pack for hiking and camping. Add some of this trail mix to a bowl and add milk and you’ll have a tasty breakfast. With some banana slices added to that bowl, you’ll have a terrific breakfast!
Feel free to sub in other seeds and nuts and even add in small amounts of other dried fruits, like cranberries and blueberries, per your own preferences. I think that pretty much any of these combinations are going to yield a very tasty and filling Harvest Trail Mix. Note that if you increase the total amount of mix significantly, you may need to add both more coconut oil and more honey.
Other Gluten-Free Snack Ideas and More
~ 50 Healthier Gluten-Free Nut-Free Lunchbox Treats here at gfe
~ Coconut Date Energy Balls from Everyday Gluten-Free Gourmet
~ How to Recover from Being Glutened from gfe and your favorite gluten-free resources
~ Keto Mini Corn Dog Muffins from Elana’s Pantry
~ Roasted Wasabi Almonds from A Year of Slow Cooking
~ Sweet and Crunchy Snack Mix and Classic Spicy Snack Mix here at gfe
~ Sweet Ginger Sriracha Roasted Cashews from In Johnna’s Kitchen
Harvest Trail Mix Recipe
![This Harvest Trail Mix can be eaten for breakfast, a snack at home, road trip food ... in fact, it's perfect any time you need a protein-rich, tasty treat! [from GlutenFreeEasily.com] (photo)](https://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Harvest-Trail-Mix-Gluten-Free-Paleo-Vegan-400-1.jpg)
This Harvest Trail Mix is so simple, yet so satisfying! You'll want to have it with you whenever you're leaving home---for hiking, for road trips, for lunch at school or work, etc. Feel free to sub in other seeds and nuts, and using maple syrup instead of honey is equally delicious. Small amounts of dried fruit such as cranberries and blueberries would also be nice. If you increase the total amount of dry ingredients significantly, you may need to add more coconut oil and more honey. I used a dry measuring cup to measure my coconut oil. You might get by with even less coconut oil if sticking to my recipe ingredients and amounts. Try starting with 3 tbsp and see if after stirring all looks moistened. If so, that might be all you need.Harvest Trail Mix
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Melissa says
I see you in the “Healthy Life” picture. =) Such a good photo of you! Also, that’s tatting! I found several table cloths, runners, etc. in my mom’s belongings. My great aunt had made them. Treasures, for sure!
Oh, and I always love the idea of trail mix/granola. Yours sound delicious, especially with “super local” honey. I make a similar version on a regular basis. It’s also good blitzed in the food processor with a little butter or more mejool dates and used as a pie crust.
I want to hear more about this lovely blogger getaway. Beautiful scenery!!
Melissa
Shirley says
Melissa–You have such a sharp eye, my dear. 😉 Thanks so much for the sweet compliment! Tatting is such gorgeous work, isn’t it? You have some lovely family treasures for sure. If you ever make your way here, you’ll see that I am a lover of old linen tablecloths, crocheted doilies, tatted pieces, and more. The piece shown belongs to Linda’s mom, but it definitely made my trail mix look more appealing. 🙂
I love your idea on blitzing trail mix to make a nice pie crust. I’ve done something similar with simply nuts and butter, but I could definitely see this mix–or a slight variation–making a great pie crust. Thanks for the idea!
Our blogger getaway was productive and refreshing. A good mix of work, good food, laughter, sweet dogs, and fresh air in beautiful scenery!
Shirley
Cassidy @ Cassidy's Craveable Creations says
This looks delicious Shirley!!! Plus, I think I already have everything I need to make it, YAY!
Shirley says
Hi Cassidy–Thanks! I love it when a recipe pops up that I want to make and I have all the ingredients on hand. 🙂 Hope you enjoy—now or later!
Shirley
Nancy says
Perfect timing on this posting. We are going to be on the road again in a few days, headed for home in Florida. I was planning on making some road snacks today, and this sounds wonderful!
Shirley says
Hi Nancy–I love it when perfect timing occurs! I hope you enjoy this mix and have safe travels back home to Florida. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this post via social media, Nancy!
Shirley
Linda says
This trail mix is so good. It was perfect for our autumn retreat, but like you said, it would be great for so many situations. I like Melissa’s idea of using it in a pie crust!
Shirley says
Linda–Thanks for taking the time to comment and sharing your review! Your endorsement shows that this recipe is tasty and nutritious, but not too sweet. 😉 I really like Melissa’s idea for using it as pie crust as well!
Shirley
Sarah || Celiac in the City says
This sounds like the perfect mix for traveling! And like you mentioned, you can add all kinds of different combos of ingredients. I have some dates to use up, so this would be perfect! Hope you ladies had a lovely time.
Shirley says
Sarah–I had lots of ideas for what I wanted to make, but not much time and I needed something protein packed vs simply sweet. This recipe is an ideal way to use dates! I love using them after they have a little age and are chewy and caramel-y. 😉 We did have a wonderful retreat–thanks! Thanks again for also featuring this recipe in your wonderful Tuesday list roundup! 🙂
Shirley
Alisa @ Go Dairy Free says
I’ve never tried this combo Shirley, it sounds sweet and delicious! I hope the trip was a blast!
Shirley says
Hey Alisa–We had a great—and even productive—time. 🙂 This trail mix is not overly sweet; it has just enough sweetness. 😉 The toasted coconut flakes might just be my new favorite thing!
Shirley
Susan says
This sounds wonderful Shirley. Can you explain the reason for the coconut oil and heating in the oven? I would probably just throw everything into a bag! Thanks.
Shirley says
Hi Susan–Thanks so much. 🙂 While I’m a fan of simple nut and seed mixes “as is” myself, baking the ingredients brings out the sweetness, especially with the coconut flakes. The coconut oil also adds a bit of sweetness and keeps the raw nuts and seeds from being too dry. It’s a really great mix. I hope you’ll try it!
Shirley
Vicky says
A blogging retreat in the mountains, this sounds wonderful! We would have to travel miles and miles to find some mountains. This is what I love about Canada – the wide open spaces and the glorious lakes and scenery. We do have our favourite places to visit here, such as The Lake District, but everything seems to be so much more scaled down and far away!
This trail mix sounds lovely, we like to make our own too. Did you use your own honey? I just read a comment about the tatting and had forgotten I taught myself to do that when I was a teenager. I also used to crochet, in fact I still have a crocheted waistcoat I made in the cupboard (pink, white and navy blue). I expect that will be in fashion soon, all the ’70s clothes we used to wear seem to be making an appearance in the shops over here. Happy memories!
Shirley says
Hi Vicky–Oh, I do love the mountains. Our mountains pale in comparison to the Canadian Rockies and other scenery there, but we still love the Virginia scenery. As far as The Lake District, that is on my “to visit list”!
I did use our own honey, which is saying something as we are on the very last quart! We’ve lost our last two hives and Mr. GFE has moved on to helping a friend establish beehives as a new beekeeper. We are hoping that he is in a better location and will have more success than we have had recently.
How cool that you can tat, Vicky! I know how to crochet and knit. I’m much more proficient at the former, but have never made anything beyond afghans, hats, scarves, and slippers with either method. I am amazed that you crocheted a waistcoat! I hope it will be back in fashion soon because I want to see you wearing it once again—please send photos! 🙂
Shirley
Vicky says
Oh I didn’t know you’d lost your hives, that’s sad, but it’s great that your husband is still involved. I hope they are successful. Haha! I don’t think I’ll be wearing the waistcoat ever again!
Shirley says
So far, so good with helping our friend get started beekeeping. If he does well, we might put a hive of our own on his property.
Hehe on the waistcoat! Why do you still keep it? Because it’s your handiwork? Wondering if someone else might appreciate it and wear it. Or maybe it’s worth framing as art now. 😉
Vicky says
Actually, I still have it because my Mother doesn’t throw anything away and I found it in a wardrobe, it brought back memories. I certainly won’t be framing it, lol!
Shirley says
Hehe on not framing it! 😉 Treasures like that are a hoot, aren’t they? We found quite a few of both Mr. GFE’s and mind when going through boxes in our garage. Almost none of them made the “cut.” LOL
Kaila (GF Life 24/7) says
This sounds like an amazing trip! I love the landscape photographs and the Harvest Trail Mix sounds like the perfect flavor combination. The sweetness sounds delicious. It was wonderful to find your recipe through Gluten Free Fridays, and I can’t wait to browse your blog a little more. 🙂
Shirley says
Hi Kaila–Welcome to gfe! 🙂 Thanks for coming over from Gluten-Free Fridays and the kind feedback! Will check out your blog as well! The Harvest Trail Mix is actually not too sweet, which I love.
Shirley
Bethany says
Looks great. I bet my sister would love it.
Shirley says
Thanks, Bethany! 🙂
Shirley
swathi says
Harvest trail mix looks delicious, I can eat any time, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop. pinning and tweeting.
Shirley Braden says
Hi Swathi–Yes, it’s great any time! Thanks for all the sharing. I appreciate you and Hearth and Soul Blog Hop!
Shirley
Tai East says
I love trail mix! I’m definitely going to pin this as well as try out this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
Shirley Braden says
Hi Tai–Welcome to gfe! 🙂 I’m so glad that trail mix is one of your favorites. I hope you’ll really enjoy this recipe when you give it a try and I so appreciate you pinning it! I visited your site and want to congratulate you on your new children’s book. I’m going to order it for my great nephew!
Shirley