Superfood Trail Mix Bites are a no-bake, easy to make, nutritious, and healthy superfood snack that can be made gluten-free too.
This energy ball recipe is made with healthy seeds and nuts, all the trail mix essentials. Protein-packed energy bites are great for any time of the day.
When busy families are on the go, eating nutritious foods can be a challenge. Often we resort to pre-packed options. These are often not the best choices.
Most times they are filled with unhealthy ingredients, even some you cannot pronounce. This DIY trail mix recipe contains superfoods, nuts and seeds. You CAN pronounce all the ingredients, and they are easy to find too. Healthy snack balls are made in minutes.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for these trail mix energy balls can be found at the bottom of the post.
Have you ever made homemade granola bars? So much better than store-bought. YOU can customize them with all your favourite ingredients.
I even have a chewy version too. Perfect for after school, taking on hikes or just when you need a pick me up.
What Do You Put In Trail Mix Bites?
These little bites are a powerhouse of nutrition, and even if you don’t have time for breakfast, these will help prevent you from skipping the most important meal of the day. Easy to pop a couple of these in your mouth as you run out the door.
You will need:
- oatmeal
- nut butter
- coconut oil (affiliate)
- agave nectar or honey
- cacao nibs (affiliate)
- pumpkin seeds (affiliate)
- goji berries (affiliate)
- chia seeds (affiliate)
- pistachios (or other nuts)
Feel free to swap in other nuts or seeds if you like. Other options would be:
- flaxseeds
- hemp seeds/hemp hearts
- sesame seeds
- sunflower seeds
- cashews
- walnuts
- pecans
- Brazil nuts
- almonds
- pine nuts
This superfood mix is easily customizable. Looking to make it gluten-free? Be sure to use gluten-free oats. I like to use old-fashioned oats since they have more texture. Honey is a great alternative to the agave.
Is Trail Mix Healthy?
Nuts and seeds are the primary ingredients providing the protein element. Homemade trail mix recipes are the best since YOU can control what goes into them.
Portable, nutrient and calorie-dense. Traditional trail mix also includes dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, banana chips, apricots and more. Dried fruit is used since it has a longer shelf life and is more portable.
The more nuts and dried fruit in your trail mix, the better. It’s totally possible to overdo it even with the healthiest blends.
Candies or chocolate chips are a frequent addition. These offer little nutritional benefit. Dark chocolate is packed with powerful antioxidant compounds and needs to be at least 70 percent cocoa.
Eating nuts and seeds daily is an easy way to get nutritional benefits including reduced risk of heart attack, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, hypertension, and diabetes.
The serving size for most trail mixes is ¼ cup, which is about one handful.
How To Make Homemade Superfood Energy Balls
This is an easy no-bake recipe. Even the kids can help with this.
- Combine the dry ingredients is a bowl.
- Heat the nut butter, coconut oil and agave in a small saucepan.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients together, forming into balls.
- Place in a sealed container, and keep in the fridge until ready to eat.
Once you have the ingredients mixed together, you will have to work rather quickly so the mixture does not dry out. If this happens it makes it very difficult to squeeze into balls. You may also want to rinse off your hands a few times throughout the process.
Take a few minutes to make a batch of these superfood mix energy protein balls. You can snack nutritiously all week long without added chemicals and preservatives.
Looking for more healthy recipes using nutritious ingredients?
Homemade muesli recipe is better than store-bought. If you love Alpen cereal, this is BETTER!
Oatmeal donuts are baked and packed with LOTS of healthy ingredients. Who says you can’t have donuts for breakfast?
Kefir oatmeal pancakes are hearty and packed with protein. They are freezer friendly too. Make a batch up on the weekend, and easily warm up on busy weekday mornings.
Hemp heart cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day. Gluten-free and dipped in dark chocolate.
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Healthy Trail Mix Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups oatmeal (you can also use gluten free oats)
- ¾ cup nut butter
- 1 tablespoons coconut oil
- ¼ cup agave nectar (you can also use honey)
- ¼ cup cacao nibs
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup goji berries
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ cup pistachios (crushed)
Instructions
- Combine all dry ingredients into a bowl, mix, and set aside.
- In a saucepan heat the nut butter, coconut oil and agave nectar (or honey).
- Cook over medium heat, mixing often until the ingredients melt together.
- Remove from heat and pour over dry ingredients.
- Quickly mix together using a large spoon, spatula or your hands.
- Working quickly, so the mixture does not dry out, grab a handful of mixture and squeeze firmly into balls about the size of walnuts.
- Place in a sealed container and keep in the fridge.
- Snack…and ENJOY!!
Nutrition Information
Notes
Once you have all the ingredients combined, you have to work quickly to make the balls before the mixture dries out.
You may want to rinse your hands a few times during the process.
Ch
I have a camping trip in a few weeks – this sounds like the perfect snack to take along with me
Chef G
Yes for sure…have fun camping!!
Tina Dawson | Love is in my Tummy
I’m going to try and hustle this up quickly before I set off on camping this weekend!
Chef G
Have fun and ENJOY!!
Tara
Such a great on-the-go snack! Love how portable they are. Will definitely need to try these.
Chef G
Hope you give them a try!!
Sarah
I have a minor obsession with trail mix, but now that they’re in these little bite size servings…my obsession may be taken to a whole new level!!
Chef G
HAHAH…hope you give them a try.
Platter Talk
These will make a great midAM snack! Love the combo.
Chef G
Yes they are perfect for that.
Amanda
These sound delicious. I like that you mentioned gluten-free oats. I also like that I can substitute ingredients. Looking forward to trying these.
Chef G
They are fun to play with. You can never go wrong with any combination.
Aish Padihari
I’m going to make these for our hiking trip this weekend. thanks
Chef G
They would be perfect for that.
Renee
These are such tasty little snacks any time of day. I love how you can totally substitute ingredients (if you don’t have one or like one), and use something else. These are great!
Chef G
Thanks. They are the perfect snack…and you can experiment all you like. They will always taste great!!
Helene Cohen Bludman
I love snacking on nuts and seeds. These sound really good.
Chef G
They are delicious.
Renz
These look delicious. Sure thing for me to have as a snack at my desk.
Chef G
Yup..perfect for that!!
Rosey
I do like thing that are easy to make, tasty and good for you too. I also love that this uses walnuts: my fave.
Chef G
I used pistachios…but you can certainly use walnuts.
Star Traci
These look terrific! I love healthier snack options, especially ones that are easy to take along on an active day.
🙂
Traci.
Chef G
Yes…perfect for taking along.
Emily
These look like a great snack option! My kids start school tomorrow (eek!) and I am always on the look out for healthy snacks for them. Thanks for this recipe and idea!
Chef G
You are welcome…enjoy!!
Liz Mays
I love that you put pistachios in these. These are such a great snack and energy bite!
Chef G
Yes we totally agree. My husband has a couple everyday after work.
Ashley @Irishred02
I have made similar bites but not with all the yummy things you put in here. I will have to try these out for the kids
Chef G
You can really use any ingredients you like. They will always taste great.