Trail Mix

A low FODMAP trail mix of walnuts, pecans, macadamias, almonds, peanuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, dark chocolate chips, and coconut flakes.

Prep 5 min

Cook 1 min

Serves 10

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan

Ingredients

Total weight: ~410 g across 10 serves (~41 g per serve).

• 1/2 cup (60 g) walnut halves
• 1/2 cup (60 g) pecan halves
• 1/2 cup (70 g) macadamia nuts
• 1/3 cup (45 g) whole almonds
• 1/3 cup (45 g) peanuts, unsalted
• 1/4 cup (35 g) pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup (35 g) sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons (25 g) dried cranberries, sweetened with cane sugar (no apple or pear juice concentrate, no inulin)
• 2 tablespoons (20 g) dairy-free dark chocolate chips, no polyol sweeteners
• 1/4 cup (15 g) unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (optional)

Instructions

Measure

1. Weigh each ingredient into a large bowl. Use grams if you can; nut sizes vary enough that a volume-only measure can easily change the serving size.

Mix

1. Toss everything together with your hands or a large spoon until the cranberries and chocolate chips are evenly distributed. The seeds tend to sink, so give the bowl a second pass from the bottom.

Portion

1. Divide the mix into 10 equal servings of roughly 40 g each. A kitchen scale is ideal; a generous 1/4 cup scoop is a reasonable proxy.
2. Transfer each serve into a small zip-top bag, 4 oz deli container, or reusable snack pouch. Label and date the bags.

Tips & Substitutions

• Portion right after you mix it. Ten labeled bags keep each serving at 41 g; a big bowl on the counter tends to get eaten in double serves.
• Chocolate and nut variation. Drop the cranberries and coconut, bump the chocolate chips to 3 tablespoons total, and add 2 tablespoons of chopped dark chocolate, which keeps each bag well under the dark chocolate serve of about 5 squares (25g).
• Sweet and salty variation. Swap the chocolate chips for 2 tablespoons of pure maple sugar crystals and bump the flaky salt to 1 teaspoon.
• Nut-free version. Replace all the nuts with 1 cup (140 g) pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup (70 g) hemp hearts, and 1/4 cup (40 g) chia seeds, and keep the sunflower seeds at 1/4 cup (35 g) so each bag stays under 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds.
• Skip the raisins. Raisins have a small low serve (about 1 teaspoon (4g)); dried cranberries are easier to keep low across the bags.
• Read chocolate chip labels. Use dairy-free dark chocolate with no xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, or isomalt, since polyol sweeteners are high FODMAP at small serves.

Why This Works

Every serve stays inside the nut serves. Per 41 g bag you get roughly 6 g walnuts, 6 g pecans, 7 g macadamias, 4 g almonds, and 4 g peanuts, each well under the Monash low FODMAP serve for that nut. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds pad the mix at small amounts.

No cashews or pistachios. Both are high FODMAP at a typical handful, and they are the two nuts most likely to turn up in commercial trail mix.

Cranberries and chocolate in small amounts. Dried cranberries sweetened with cane sugar come to about 1 1/4 teaspoons per bag, and the chocolate chips to about 2 g, both well below their low FODMAP serves. Coconut adds 1 to 2 g per bag, also below its tested serve.

Pre-portioning does the work. Nuts are low FODMAP at measured amounts, so the bags hold each serving at the tested portion. Nuts and seeds are also high in fat and fiber, so half a bag is a fine snack size too.

Storage

Sealed bags keep in the pantry for 3 weeks or the fridge for 2 months. If your kitchen runs warm or humid, refrigerate, since the chocolate and nut oils keep better cold. Freeze for up to 6 months.