Posted August 23, 2018

In Cooking, Nutrition, Recipe Redux, Snack

I am around food a lot. A lot as in ALL DAY LONG. My day job is on the campus of the University of Southern California as the on-campus Dining Dietitian. Having an office inside of a residential dining hall is pretty darn convenient. When I want a snack, I have super easy access.

School just started and our students on the meal plan have UNLIMITED meal swipes into the dining halls. However, while they may come into our halls as many times a day as they want, it may not be very convenient for grabbing a quick snack. A very popular topic students like to ask about is snacking. What types of snacks should they keep in the dorms and what are suggestions for snacks to keep in backpacks? Luckily I have a black belt in snacks. Yes, I borrowed that from one of the best movies of all time, Troop Beverly Hills. 🙂

Here is just a small sampling of some of my current favorite snacks:

(PS….this post was not sponsored and I don’t get anything from mentioning names. I just like the products I mentioned. )

Crunchy & Salty: Beanfields bean chips, crispy chickpeas, roasted seaweed snacks, whole crackers & pretzels, popcorn, chile lime popcorn trail mix (recipe below)

Salty, Not Crunchy: olives, Brami lupini bean snacks

Nuts n’ Seeds: almonds, pistachios, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, pepitas, peanuts, individual packets of almond/peanut butter

Eat More Veggies: pre-cut veggie crudites, baby carrots, Love Beets ready to eat roasted beets, celery sticks, bell pepper strips, broccoli and cauliflower florets

Fresh n’ Fruity: fresh berries, grapes, tangerines, apple slices, pomegranate arils, dried fruit

Dips n’ Creamy Things: hummus, Better Bean tubs, baba ghanoush, tzatziki, Siggi’s icelandic skyr (yogurt), Chobani A Hint of Flavor greek yogurt

Meaty: beef jerky, turkey jerky, meat bars, chicharrones

Wrap Around: turkey or roast beef wrapped around celery sticks, whole grain tortilla with sliced banana, cinnamon and peanut butter, hummus, snap pea, basil and almond wrap

Stuff in Cups: oatmeal cups, Bob’s Red Mill Muesli cups, Dr. McDougall soup cups, pre cooked quinoa and rice cups, Chef Soraya Eat a Bowl cups

Sweet Treats: Miss Jones Baking Co single serve desserts in a cup, dark chocolate chips, Cocomels chocolate covered coconut caramels, Hail Merry Meyer Lemon cups

For this month’s Recipe Redux challenge, reduxers were asked to create crunchy snacks. I love trail mix, but I want a little more crunch than what most mixtures have. The answer to my problem is popcorn. Pair that with almonds, dried apricots and chile lime seasoning and you’ve got a great sweet n’ savory snack that’s perfect for study time, football watching time or whatever time.

Pin Chile Lime Popcorn Trail Mix recipe for later HERE

Chile and Lime Popcorn Trail Mix

chile lime almond dried apricot popcorn trail mix in white bowl and marble background

Print Recipe

Sweet n’ savory snacks are the best! This popcorn based trail mix is lighter than traditional trail mixes, yet super tasty!

Author: TastyBalance Nutrition
Yield: Makes 2-3/4 cups 1x

Ingredients

Scale

½ teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Tajin chile lime seasoning (or other brand such as Trader Joe’s)
2 cups unsalted air popped popcorn
10 dried apricot halves, quartered (1/4 cup quartered)
½ cup whole raw almonds

Instructions

In a small bowl thoroughly combine the olive oil and the Tajin.
Place the apricots and almonds in a large bowl and add the Tajin paste. Stir to coat.
Add the popcorn and toss to combine
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Keywords: popcorn, chile lime, almond, snack, gluten free, dairy free, vegan