The Gerry Mix

Mama Bear is so amazing. She's always so concerned that she won't have anything for me to eat, even though I constantly tell her the corn tortillas and rice milk she always remembers to get for me are all the "extras" I need when making substitutions on the fly. I know her grocery habits well enough to work around just about anything she dishes out (har har har), and it helps that she usually has on hand just about everything you'd ever need - food or otherwise.

Trail Mix is one of the most perfect snacks, and making your own just makes sense. Buying all the ingredients separately means you've got all this extra stuff to use in other recipes, and it's got to be more cost-efficient. So I scrounged Mama's cupboards, freezer (she's smart and freezes bulk nuts for baking), and candy dishes in preparation for my adventures with Papa Bear, and this is what I came up with. It's not rocket science, but if this list/idea saves you a few minutes of precious time, then my job here is done.

• Rice Chex (and/or Corn Chex - neither are sweetened with malted extract, which comes from barley)
• roasted, unsalted peanuts
• lightly salted cashew halves/pieces
• slivered raw almonds
• raisins
• coconut M&M's - yes, they exist!
• additional semi-sweet choc chips