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It’s back to school time and just because we are homeschooling, doesn’t mean we don’t need to plan ahead.  Between horse riding lessons, dance class, gymnastics and skating lessons, we are plenty busy.  One thing I always have to have on hand is snacks.  Whether we are home or on the go, you can bet I hear desperate pleas for food as if I never feed them.  {I do, I swear!}  A snack before we do our lessons helps them stay focused….or at least that’s what they tell me.

I try to keep a variety of snack foods on hand and always offer them some fresh fruits and vegetables.  Since I know we have a lot going on for the next week or two, I wanted to let the kids help choose some of their snacks.  They have almost as much fun choosing their fruits and vegetables as they do eating them.  Then we got to the snack aisle at Walmart and I told them to each pick out a few things.  Surprise, surprise, they all rushed over to the Goldfish® crackers.  I love that we can pick up a variety pack so they can all get their favorite flavors.  I also picked up a 12 count lunch size pack of xtreme cheddar because – YUM!  The 20 count variety pack is such a hit.  Bonus – the box has a convenient front opening for easy snack grabbing. Not only are they the perfect size snack bags but they are also perfect for what I had in mind.  I told them to choose one or two other things.  I’m clearly the best mom ever – just ask them.

Anyways, my big plan was this – a build your own trail mix station with the things they picked out in the store.  Pure brilliance, am I right?!  I love cooking with kids, but I really love that sometimes, cooking doesn’t involve a lot of work like this Summer Blast Trail Mix recipe.  Anyways, I took a few trays from my kitchen and filled each part with something different.

I arranged the bags of Goldfish crackers along the back of my makeshift snack station and added a few containers for the kids to use.  They chose their favorite flavor of Goldfish crackers and then topped it off with whatever they choose to add in.  They had so much fun making their own trail mix for today.  We also mixed up a big batch to store for the week so we could just refill our reusable snack bags when we needed to head out for the day.  The kids and I had so much fun choosing our own mix ins for our Summer Blast Trail Mix, this was a win for everyone.

Gather your ingredients.

• Goldfish crackers in your favorite flavors.  If you all share a favorite, the bulk packs would be perfect and are on Rollback at Walmart for $5.98. Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) Bolthouse Farms® 10 oz. Baby Carrots or Bolthouse Farms(® 11 oz. juice when you buy any ONE (1) Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish® crackers 30 oz. or larger.  
• Nuts – we used  mixed nuts
• Dried Fruit – we love dried pineapple and dried cranberries
• Mini Marshmallows
• Pretzels

Build your own Summer Blast Trail Mix just the way you like it.

Start with your favorite Goldfish crackers.  Add in your favorites.  I love to mix the cheddar goldfish with some pretzels, mini marshmallows, dried fruit and nuts….so yeah, basically a little of everything.  Shake it up a little and get snacking.  Serve up your Summer Blast Trail Mix alongside your favorite fresh fruits and vegetables to some of your favorite people and let the memory making begin.  They had so much fun building their own snack that I know they will be begging to make some again very soon.  If you need me, I’ll be over here having a picnic  with the kids and eating some fresh strawberries and  trail mix.  See you soon!

What are your favorite trail mix mix-ins?