This past weekend, we were in charge of bringing a kid-friendly snack to Jo Jr.’s T-ball game. Instead of bringing the typical pre-packaged snack, I decided to get a little creative.

Last week, I bought one of those giant cartons of multigrain Goldfish at Kroger because I had a $1.50 coupon and they were on sale for $3.99. If you do the math, I only paid $2.49 for a giant 30 oz carton! As I was brainstorming what to bring for the T-ball game snack, I thought, how can I use up some these Goldfish crackers?

I started looking on Pinterest, and I got the idea to make a protein-packed and energizing Goldfish trail mix. The best part was, I could make it with stuff I already had in my pantry!

Trail Mix for Kids – So Many Choices!

In today’s world of food allergies, sensitivities, different diets and preferences, trail mix is a great versatile snack! You can make it gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, non-GMO, organic, vegan, and the list goes on!

For my trail mix, I try to add one ingredient from each of these categories: salty carbohydrate, sweet carbohydrate, protein, dried fruit, and candy (optional).

Salty Carbohydrate

• Goldfish
• Cheez-It crackers
• pretzels
• bugles
• cheese balls or puffs
• wasabi peas
• rice crackers
• rye chips
• Ritz Bits cheese crackers (Trader Joe’s makes an organic version)
• popcorn (add this in right before serving or they’ll go stale)

Sweet Carbohydrate

• any kind of cereal
  • Chex
  • Cheerios
  • Fruit Loops
  • Corn Flakes
  • Cap’n Crunch
  • Annie’s organic bunnies
  • The list is endless…
• graham crackers
• animal crackers
• Ritz Bits peanut butter crackers (Trader Joe’s makes an organic version)
• mini Belvita crackers

Dried Fruit

• raisins
• blueberries
• cranberries
• cherries
• figs
• mangos
• shaved coconut
• dates
• apricots
• pineapples

Protein

• nuts
  • peanuts
  • almonds
  • hazelnuts
  • walnuts
  • pecans
• seeds
  • pumpkin
  • sunflower
• dry roasted chickpeas
• dry roasted edamame
• moon cheese (sooooo good!)
• Skippy P.B. Bites (these melt, so avoid if eating outside in hot weather)

Candy

• yogurt/chocolate covered raisins/cranberries/nuts
• chocolate/peanut butter/white chocolate chips
• M&M’s (use seasonal colors if you want to be festive)
• gummy bears
• fruit snacks
• candy corn (for fall)
• marshmallows (add these in right before serving)

A Trail Mix for Everyone

The best thing about trail mix is that you can make any combination of ingredients you want! Just pick one ingredient from each category and mix equal parts of each ingredient together. Personally, I put a little bit less candy if any at all, but it’s up to you!

T-Ball Trail Mix (Nut-Free)

• Multigrain Goldfish
• Multigrain Cheerios
• raisins
• moon cheese
• marshmallows (optional)

Dairy-Free Trail Mix

• pretzels
• graham crackers
• dried cranberries
• pumpkin seeds

Gluten-Free Trail Mix

• rice crackers
• corn Chex
• dried mangos
• dry roasted edamame

Vegan Trail Mix

• popcorn
• Cascadian Farm Organic Fruitful O’s
• dried blueberries
• almonds

You may be interested in:

DIY Toddler Travel Toys

Best Green Smoothie Recipe Ever

Affordable Birthday Party – Celebrate Your Child’s Birthday Without Going Broke

Print Recipe

Trail Mix for Kids (and Everyone Else Too!)

This recipe for Kids' Trail Mix is super easy and versatile. It gives you endless combinations so your kids never get bored! Change up the ingredients for your loved ones who require dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, vegan, organic, etc.! Everyone in your family will love this energizing and filling snack!

Course

Snack

Cuisine

American

Keyword

healthy, healthy recipe, kids, protein, snack

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

0 minutes

Passive Time

0 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 1 cup salty carbohydrate goldfish, pretzels, bugles, cheese balls, wasabi peas, rice crackers, rye chips, popcorn
• 1 cup sweet carbohydrate any kind of cereal (chex, cheerios, fruit loops, etc), graham crackers, animal crackers
• 1 cup dried fruit raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, figs, mangos, shaved coconut, dates, apricots, pineapples
• 1 cup protein snack nuts (peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, etc), seeds (pumpkin, sunflower), dry roasted chickpeas, dry roasted edamame, moon cheese, Skippy P.B. Bites
• 1/2 cup candy (optional) yogurt/chocolate covered raisins/cranberries/nuts, chocolate/peanut butter/white chocolate chips, M&M's, gummy bears, fruit snacks, candy corn, marshmallows

Course Snack Cuisine American Keyword healthy, healthy recipe, kids, protein, snack Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 0 minutes Passive Time 0 minutes Servings people Ingredients 1 cup salty carbohydrate goldfish, pretzels, bugles, cheese balls, wasabi peas, rice crackers, rye chips, popcorn 1 cup sweet carbohydrate any kind of cereal (chex, cheerios, fruit loops, etc), graham crackers, animal crackers 1 cup dried fruit raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, figs, mangos, shaved coconut, dates, apricots, pineapples 1 cup protein snack nuts (peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, etc), seeds (pumpkin, sunflower), dry roasted chickpeas, dry roasted edamame, moon cheese, Skippy P.B. Bites 1/2 cup candy (optional) yogurt/chocolate covered raisins/cranberries/nuts, chocolate/peanut butter/white chocolate chips, M&M's, gummy bears, fruit snacks, candy corn, marshmallows

Instructions

1. Mix 1 cup each of a salty carb, sweet carb, dried fruit, and protein in a large bowl. Then mix in 1/2 cup of candy if desired. If using popcorn, cheese balls/puffs, or marshmallows, mix these in right before serving.