When I was a kid we always had a cookie jar on the counter, and yes, it was always filled with cookies. Sometimes homemade and sometimes store bought. At my house we have a cookie jar on the table, but it is not filled with cookies. It is filled with trail mix.

With my oldest child growing in size and appetite, a husband with a late night sweet tooth and me always looking for a way to eat without feeling full while pregnant, I was always getting creative with snacks and fresh produce in the kitchen. One day I realized I was keeping our great trail mix hidden away in the pantry where we’d forget about it until I had this idea:

Enter in the Trail Mix Cookie Jar.

Each time I go grocery shopping, I give my almost seven year old daughter the task and total freedom of finding these items:

-2 nut varieties

-2 seed varieties

-2 dried fruit varieties

When you get home, pour the contents into a clean and clear jar with a ¼ measuring cup for scooping and place on the counter. Tell your kids to come and get it!

You can take this a step further, making the nuts easier to digest by soaking them overnight. Pour them into a bowl of filtered water, mix in a teaspoon of sea salt and allow them to sit until morning. Turn oven on to lowest setting in the morning and rinse nuts, then pour them in a single layer onto a baking sheet and put in the oven for 12-24 hours.

You’ll give them a shake every couple of hours, and decide when they are at the level of crunch you desire. Once done, take out and allow to cool completely before adding to the contents of the jar.

Sample Trail Mix Cookie Jar recipe:

1 bag cashews

1 bag pecans

1 bag sunflower seeds

1 bag sesame seeds

1 bag dried raisins

1 bag of dried peaches, chop to bite sized pieces

One of the many benefits my family sees from utilizing the Trail Mix Cookie Jar is that we don’t experience the blood sugar crash that comes from not eating for hours between meals or snacks. We always know this is an open option for all of us and late night snacking on unhealthy foods (or a run to the grocery store after hours…yuck!) just doesn’t happen. Become a company favorite at work by making a Trail Mix Cookie Jar for your office…believe me, your fellow employees will appreciate a break from the sugar filled baked goods that show up every day!