Protein-Rich Trail Mix
I did a lot of camping and hiking growing up in the Canadian wilderness, and so we often had homemade trail mix on hand. If it wasn't for camping, it was for road trips or school snacks. Sometimes it was just GORP, good ol' raisins and peanuts, and other times we convinced our parents to buy gummy bears and Smarties and it was more elaborate. This trail mix is quite simple and contains mainly peanuts and pumpkin seeds, which are both rich in protein. If you can't have peanuts, see the note below the recipe for details on some other nut options. If you're avoiding sweeteners, you can replace the chocolate chips with cacao nibs. The pumpkin seeds and coconut in this recipe are toasted for extra crunch. Feel free to buy these items already toasted or skip the toasting to reduce your prep time. For those who are less restrictive with their carbs, there is a carb booster option below that includes some bits of prune (which is a lower-carb dried fruit). Happy snacking!
Yield: 6 servings of ⅓ cup (41g) each, totaling 2 cups (246g)
Macros (per serving): 235 calories | 9.5g protein | 20g fat | 2.5g net carbs
Prep: 10 minutes if pumpkin seeds and coconut are already toasted and cooled (45 minutes if not)
Storage: at room temperature for as long as the expiration date of any included items.
Macros (per serving): 235 calories | 9.5g protein | 20g fat | 2.5g net carbs
Prep: 10 minutes if pumpkin seeds and coconut are already toasted and cooled (45 minutes if not)
Storage: at room temperature for as long as the expiration date of any included items.
Ingredients:
- ⅔ cup (100g) oil-roasted salted peanuts ✎
- ½ cup (80g) shelled pumpkin seeds, toasted
- ½ cup (24g) unsweetened coconut flakes/chips, toasted
- ¼ cup (45g) vegan keto-friendly chocolate chips ✎
Directions:
- If you have to toast your own pumpkin seeds and coconut, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread the pumpkin seeds out in a single layer on a baking sheet/pan, and toast for 5 minutes. Add the coconut to the pan and toast for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Monitor carefully to prevent burning. Allow to cool completely once toasted.
- Combine all ingredients in a jar or bag and shake to combine. Enjoy!
Other Nut Options: below are the macros (per serving) for replacing the peanuts with 100g of another nut. You may wish to toast raw nuts for more depth of flavor and crunch. You may wish to cut or break large nuts into smaller pieces. Note that the last 2 options here are higher carb options.
almonds (raw): 235 calories | 8.5g protein | 20g fat | 3g net carbs
almonds (oil-roasted, salted): 240 calories | 8.5g protein | 20g fat | 3g net carbs
walnuts (raw): 245 calories | 7.5g protein | 22g fat | 2.5g net carbs
pecans (raw): 250 calories | 6.5g protein | 23g fat | 2g net carbs
macadamia nuts (raw): 255 calories | 6.5g protein | 24g fat | 2.5g net carbs
pistachios (roasted, salted): 230 calories | 8.5g protein | 19g fat | 4.5g net carbs
cashews (oil-roasted, salted): 235 calories | 8g protein | 19g fat | 6g net carbs
almonds (raw): 235 calories | 8.5g protein | 20g fat | 3g net carbs
almonds (oil-roasted, salted): 240 calories | 8.5g protein | 20g fat | 3g net carbs
walnuts (raw): 245 calories | 7.5g protein | 22g fat | 2.5g net carbs
pecans (raw): 250 calories | 6.5g protein | 23g fat | 2g net carbs
macadamia nuts (raw): 255 calories | 6.5g protein | 24g fat | 2.5g net carbs
pistachios (roasted, salted): 230 calories | 8.5g protein | 19g fat | 4.5g net carbs
cashews (oil-roasted, salted): 235 calories | 8g protein | 19g fat | 6g net carbs
Carb Booster: add five (48g) prunes, cut into small pieces. I use scissors for this. Divide into 7 servings of ⅓ cup (42g) each, totaling 2⅓ cups (293g). Macros (per serving): 215 calories | 8.5g protein | 17g fat | 5g net carbs
✎ Notes:
- According to the USDA, oil-roasted peanuts are lower in net carbs than dry roasted peanuts. However, product labels may not agree with the USDA's data. Product labels often show oil-roasted peanuts as having similar net cartbs to dry-roasted ones. With dry-roasted peanuts, a serving of this trail mix has 3.5 net carbs.
- When looking for vegan chocolate chips, look at the dark varieties. They are more often vegan. I am using ChocZero dark chips. Lily's dark chips are also vegan.
- Macros for this recipes are calculated with national nutritional data (i.e. NCCDB & USDA entries in Cronometer) for all ingredients apart from the pumpkin seeds (Bob's Redmill) and chocolate chips (ChocZero dark).
- Macro numbers are rounded. Numbers equal to or greater than 10g are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 10g, 11g, 12g, etc.) and numbers below 10g are rounded to the nearest 0.5g (0.5g, 1g, 1.5g ... 9g, 9.5g). Any numbers below 0.5g are given as is (e.g. 0.1g, 0.2g, etc.). Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.