roasted trail mix

A quick hello from vacation!  We’re currently in Costa Rica—thankfully—after quite the crazy day of travel.  It’s our first big trip since our honeymoon to Ireland four years ago.  Not counting trips home or the trip to Telluride Bluegrass Festival where we were camping with 8 friends + didn’t shower for 5 days straight.  This is a bit more luxurious, and we are loving it.  We’ve never gone on a beach vacay together either, making this extra special.  The main reason for the trip is our good friends Ann + Chris [from Denver] are getting married.  I’m so honored that they asked me to capture their big day in such a breathtaking location and also made it possible for us to come on this trip.  We couldn’t be any more thrilled to be here celebrating with their families, our friends, and Ann + Chris all week long.

And now for a little food…

I know what you’re thinking.

A recipe for trail mix?  Really?  Just throw nuts and fruit together and call it a day, right?

Wrong!

Well, sort of.  You got the nuts + fruit part right but there are a few more ingredients and steps that make this a killer trail mix recipe.  Plus, the ratios are pretty important as well.  At least for me! 

The most crucial part to this recipe is using raw nuts and roasting them in your own oven.  Sure you could keep them raw or buy pre-roasted nuts at the store, but roasting them at home is just that much better.

And in the last 5 minutes of roasting you add the flaked coconut.  Toasting the coconut is definitely worth your time.  If you’ve never had toasted coconut you are in for a treat.

Instead of adding plan dark chocolate chips or chunks I decided to to use dark chocolate covered sunflower seeds.  The crispy crunch and slight chocolaty sweetness really brings the whole mix together.

The type of dried fruit doesn’t matter so much.  Pick your favorite.  Any will do.

I decided to use raisins [my personal trail mix fruit favorite], chopped dried dates, and banana chips.

Whenever I buy trail mix at the store there is typically one ingredient I don’t like which gets avoided as I eat my way through the bag. 

But not with this!

Each handful is the perfect mix of everything I love.  And hopefully everything you love too.  Feel free to customize this with your favorites.

And now to the ratio part…

Print this!

Roasted Trail Mix

vegan, gluten-free

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1.5 cups raw almonds
• 1 cup raisins
• 12 dried figs, de-stemmed + quartered
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate sunflower seeds
• 3/4 cup unsweetened banana chips
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375* degrees.
2. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a large baking sheet and toss with the salt. 
3. Roast for about 15-18 minutes turning once after 10 minutes.  The nuts should be golden brown.
4. Add the coconut and roast for 5 more minutes, turning once half way through so the coconut browns evenly.  Keep a close eye on the coconut as it burns very quickly.  If it’s not roasted enough after 5 minutes, continue to roast until it’s to your liking.
5. Let the nuts and coconut completely cool.  I placed them on a fresh pan and put them in the fridge to speed up the process.
6. Once cool, add the other ingredients and mix together.
7. Store in a sealed container or sealable bags.

notes: The salt definitely does not fully stick to the nuts after roasting.  It adds only a slight saltiness.  If you prefer a saltier mix I would toss the raw nuts with 1-2 Tbsp of oil and 1/2 – 3/4 tsp salt before roasting.

The other great thing about making trail mix is that you don’t have to buy full bags of each ingredient.  If you have a bulk bin section in your grocery store it allows trail mix making to be easy + cheap!

I don’t know when the last time was that I actually made trail mix.  I typically stock up at Trader Joe’s when I’m back at home in Ohio.

Never again! 

Comments, emails, tweets, etc. will all be answered next week!  Thanks for your understanding.

Ashley

Sweet Grilled Peaches n' Cream Cheese Toast

Wait.

Didn’t yesterday’s recipe include fruit + cream cheese?  Well, so does today’s. 

I often forget about the deliciousness that is cream cheese until I find it lurking in the back of the fridge behind 3 jars of salsa, 4 jars of nut butter, pickles, ketchup, and the like.  Those little tubs are so good at hiding! 

When I do come across cream cheese it’s in 1 of 3 states:

1. opened—most likely months ago—and moldy
2. unopened, expired, and moldy
3. unopened, expired, but miraculously not moldy

I grew up adoring the combination of rye toast, cream cheese, and black raspberry jam.  Just thinking about the partially melted but super creamy texture when spread on a piece of crispy toast makes me weak. 

As soon as you taste this you will understand why I couldn’t wait even one day longer to share. 

Now don’t jump to conclusions thinking all I did was spread cream cheese on toast then throw a grilled peach on top.  While that would be excellent in itself, you know there had to be something else involved.

Like a marinade for the peaches.

And a crunchy, toasted topping.

It can serve as a fancy but simple breakfast, a fun appetizer, or even dessert.

This recipe has no rules.

Except that you should most definitely make extra. 

Print this!

Sweet Grilled Peaches n’ Cream Cheese Toast 

gluten-free // yields 6-8 slices of toast

• 6 pieces of gluten-free bread*
• 2-3 large peaches, slightly soft to the touch
• 3 tablespoons raw honey
• 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin unrefined coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
• cream cheese
• oil to grease the bread

1. Preheat your grill to about 400 degrees, med-high.
2. Whisk together the honey, melted oil, vinegar, and salt until well combined.
3. Slice the peaches into rounds that are about 1/4” thick.  I like to cut a thin “heel” piece off first then cut the slices.
4. Coat the slices in the wet mixture on both sides and place on a plate.
5. Very lightly grease your bread with oil.
6. Heat a dry pan over med-low and toast your pecans stirring every minute until lightly toasted then empty into a bowl.
7. Toast the coconut the same way then remove from the pan.  It will burn quickly.
8. Grease your grill grates then place the peaches and bread on the grill leaving enough room to flip.
9. Grill the bread for about 1-2 minutes per side until lightly toasted, and grill peaches for about 2-4 minutes per side until nicely charred.
10. Whip/mash your cream cheese with a fork to soften then spread a thick layer on each slice of toast.
11. Place a peach round on top and sprinkle with toasted pecans + coconut.
12. Or, let the toast cool and chill the peaches.  Once cooled, you can assemble in the same way and serve cold.

notes:  If using gluten free bread go for a thick bread like millet or brown rice bread.  If using gluten bread I recommend using a very sturdy bread, not a soft sandwich bread.  If your peaches are too ripe, they will have a hard time being flipped on the grill.  You want to use a firm peach that has just a little give to it.

Ashley