When old friends Enjoy Life Foods told me they were sending me their updated trail mix product, now in new packaging and renamed "Seeds and Fruits" of course I said "bring it on." They make all of their products in a dedicated nut-free facility and they are free of the top 8allergens plus a few more.Trail mix that is also nut-free AND delicious is extremely difficult to find. Well, the search is over because Beach Bash and Mountain Mambo Seeds and Fruit are available at Whole Foods markets and other grocery stores: check the Enjoy Life Foods web site for a store locator.
Each mix has a wonderful blend of sunflower seeds and dried fruit: the Mountain Mambo flavor kicks it up a notch by adding Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Between my two daughters, Mountain Mambo disappeared almost immediately. And that's OK because it is a healthy snack in addition to being nut allergy-friendly.
The Seeds and Fruit are so good I really wanted to try them in a recipe. I saw an after-school snack recipe in a food magazine that used peanut butter and all sorts of other off-limits ingredients and decided to create my own version. The addition of Seeds and Fruit to the mix was a hit, let me tell you. I also used another of our allergy-friendly faves, SunButter, and the following snack has become a favorite around here.
I understand that some of you can't use sunflower seeds or sunflower seed spread. In this case, you can tweak the following recipe for your needs. The best part is that it is a NO BAKE treat.
Enjoy!
SunButter/Trail Mix Granola Balls
Ingredients:
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup SunButter sunflower seed spread (any variety)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or dairy-free spread)
1 cup crisp rice cereal
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1/4 cup Enjoy Life Seeds and Fruit (or dried fruit/chocolate chips, your choice)
Method:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine honey, SunButter and butter or dairy-free substitute; stir until loosened and combined. Remove from heat.
Stir in remaining ingredients until well combined.
Drop by teaspoons (I use a mini ice cream scoop) into paper mini cupcake liners (Target has some Halloween-themed ones right now). Place on a rimmed baking sheet and set for at least 15 minutes but the longer they set, the better they are.
Serve! The rest can be placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator; they'll keep for about a week.
Note: I was given no compensation for this review, other than food samples.
