This simple trail mix recipe is a great way to curb your hunger until the real food comes.

Are you always hungry before meal time? Are you always trying to sneak a roll, biscuit or a little snack before dinner? Are your kids tugging at your shirt sleeves after you get home from school or work?

If so, I have a snack pack for you! This simple little treat in a jar or bag can keep everyone smiling. Trail mix is an ideal snack food on the trail, before meal time or for afternoon or evening snacks. It is lightweight and easy to store, very energy rich, providing quick energy from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit and/or granola, as well as sustained energy from the mostly mono- and polyunsaturated fats in nuts.

Every now and again it is time to let loose and give yourself a break. This quick and easy recipe is great to have around and is very versatile. I have used it at dinner parties before chicken winds and bruschetta or for kids birthday parties or even sitting down watching the Jays game on TV. The combination of sweet and salty just makes you want more.

Ingredients

• Small Pretzels (1 Cup)
• “O”-Shaped Toasted Oat Cereal (1/2 Cup)
• Roasted Almonds (1/2 Cup)
• Candy Coated Chocolates (2 Tbsp)
• Raisins (2 Tbsp)
• Cashews (1/4 Cup)

Method

Put all 6 ingredients in a bowl. Using mixing spoons to toss until combined. Makes about 2 1/2 cups. Store any unused portion in an sir tight container or ziploc bag for later. Obviously without being to sharp in math if you want to make a large batch for a bigger crowd you can just multiply each ingredietn accordingly.

I really hope you enjoy it and if you have any other ideas for what you like to add to your trail mix – I would love to here from you.

Our society has forced alot of us to eat on the run or have very little time to prepare meals.  Whether your in the corporate world, busy parents with kids or just plain busy – having tips to prepare healthy quick meals is a big help.  I put together a few simple ways to be effective and cost efficient that you can try when preparing your next meal.

1. Prepare Food Immediately from the Grocery Store

Whether your chopping green peppers for stir fry or seeding and slicing a cantalope – Doing this right way and storing in ziploc bags can save you valuable time during meal preparation and also allows you to make healhier choices when you have a huge munch on.

2. Make a weekly meal plan

Check family members’ schedules before deciding which nights to cook. To increase family involvement, ask everyone to pick and schedule one family meal a week. Having a plan also makes writing shopping and “to do” lists easier.

3. Cook once, eat twice

Double favorite recipes, freezing extra servings in easy-to-thaw portions. Freeze extra cooked chicken breasts for quick salads, quesadillas, enchiladas, and soup.

4. Streamline shopping

Keep a running grocery list of items needed by category, such as breads, meats, and produce to reduce “emergency” trips for missing ingredients.

5. Get children involved in making dinner

Besides benefiting from the obvious creative aspects of cooking and the boost to their self-esteem, there are the more practical bonuses of developing math skills and learning how to eat well. Also if they are helping you with meal time – then you are not being distracted and things will move quicker.

6. Time is money

Take help where you can get it. “Sometimes it’s worth the added cents to choose raw deveined shrimp over shrimp you have to clean, or chicken cutlets over the breasts you would have to trim and split,” I also uses canned foods, such as beans, tomatoes and stocks, because of the time savings in certain situations.

7. Plug in the Slow Cooker

Although it might seem like a contradiction, slow cookers actually make quick work of getting a meal on the table. Just toss the ingredients in the cooker in the morning, and dinner is ready when you get home.

8. Keep your pantry stocked

The pantry being the building blocks of fast meals: basics such as pastas, rice, broths, stocks, canned tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, and canned beans.