Chris Townsend tries some healthy, tasty and filling trail mix
Trail mix is a hill food staple and comes in many varieties, including ones you make up yourself. I love it because it’s so convenient, especially in bad weather. You can just carry a packet in a pocket and nibble as you walk. No need to stop, nothing to unwrap, nothing to prepare. Recently I’ve been trying some Rollasnax Wild Trail Mix from Rollagranola and I’m delighted to say it’s very tasty.
The trail mix comes in three varieties, each in a 55-gram pack. All three have a long list of ingredients, all of them natural – no synthetic flavourings or preservatives. They’re all vegan and gluten-free too. Calorie content is high for the weight as there are plenty of nuts and seeds in each mix. Total fat is high too, though saturated far is low. This trail mix is filling.
Berry & Coconut
This is the sweetest mix, with the most dried fruit. It has the lowest calorie count, though still 212.84kcal per pack. Key ingredients are cashew nuts (21%), coconut flakes (14%), cranberries, and macadamia. More sweetness comes from blackcurrants, red currants, raspberries, blueberries, raisins and coconut sugar. The cashews are dusted with black pepper for a sharp savoury edge.
Salt & Pepper
Unusually the main ingredient in this savoury mix is sweet potato (25%), something I’ve not seen in trail mix before. The only dried fruit is a little apple, the other main ingredients being cashew nuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, Brazil nuts (11%), pine nuts, chia seeds, sesame seeds and hemp seeds. Unsurprisingly this mix has the highest calorie count at 244.58 kcal per pack and the highest fat content at 31.63 grams per pack.
Sweet & Salty
This is a sweet trail mix with a kick, this coming from a touch of chilli plus some salt. The sweetness comes from cranberries, raisins, and coconut sugar and nectar. The savoury side is made up of cashew nuts, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds. Calorie count is 239.67 kcal per pack.
Having tried all of these in the hills I can say I like them all but that the Berry & Coconut is my favourite. I’d be inclined to add raisins or other dried fruit to the others to sweeten them and up the carbohydrate content but then I have a sweet tooth. Overall, they’re all high in energy, healthy, and tasty. The price is quite high but the quality is too.
I do have a little complaint though. The packs aren’t resealable. I wish they were, so I don’t have to put an unfinished pack inside another bag or else decant the trail mix into a zip lock bag at home. This is a very minor inconvenience!
Each variety is available in packs of five at £9.45 or ten at £17.90. There’s also a Variety Pack of twelve with all three at £21.45.