Trail tested mix: Find the perfect blend of carbs, salt and protein

nce, on a sailing trip in the Apostle Islands, a group of Donna Zimm's friends ignored their own snacks and dug into her trail mix instead.

"I was worried I wouldn't have anything left to eat," the Duluth woman recalled.

She shouldn't have been surprised. Zimm already knew what her friends learned that summer two years ago: Trail mix tastes good, and it's an easy way to keep energy levels high when hiking, biking, sailing or camping.

But commercial trail mix "tends to be really salty and fatty and heavy," said Gayle Coyer, executive director of the Superior Hiking Trail Association.

Enter homemade trail mixes. They're easy to whip up, devotees say, and can be customized to individual tastes. Zimm is a Type II diabetic, for example, and so steers clear of the M&Ms and chocolate chips that chocoholics might throw into their own mix.

When making your trail mix, aim for a blend of carbohydrates, salt and protein, Coyer advises. Those are the nutrients you're most likely to burn up when clambering over boulders or down riverbeds. Cindy Hansen, who owns Sawbill Canoe Outfitters at the end of the Sawbill Trail near Tofte, uses a 3:2:1 ratio -- three parts of nuts and seeds to two parts of dried fruit to one part sweetingredients.

Several trail mix fans -- Debbie Manhart, Coyer and Zimm -- share some of their favorite ingredients. Think of them as suggestions for your own yet-to-be-trail-tested recipe.

Gorp, or "good old raisins and peanuts," is an old standby known to many a seasoned hiker. But when raisins won't cut it, Gayle Coyer turns to dried tropical fruit to keep trail mix interesting.

* Dried apricots

* Dried banana chips

* Dried papaya chunks

* Dried pineapple

* Coyer throws some M&Ms into her mix, and her brother-in-law likes to add Boston Baked Beans -- the candy, not actual baked beans -- to his. The protective candy coating keeps them from melting easily, as can happen with chocolate chips.

* Hazelnuts

* Almonds

* Sesame sticks

Donna Zimm, an avid camper, biker and kayaker who likes to kick around in the Superior National Forest and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, had a trail mix recipe published in Backpacker magazine in 2001. She can describe her approach to trail mix in one word: healthy.

* Dried cranberries, also called craisins

* Dried blueberries

* Wild rice. Cook it until it "pops," or is chewy. Dry overnight on a cookie sheet.

* Raw nuts, such as walnuts and Brazil nuts. The omega-3 fatty acids in these nuts have not been altered by roasting, Zimm said.

* Pumpkin seeds. These are cheaper than nuts and are a good way to add quantity, Zimm said.

* Shredded or grated coconut

When it's made mostly from nuts, seeds and dried fruit, trail mix is pretty healthy.

Still, go easy on it -- Calorielab.com estimates a cup of trail mix has 693 calories and 44.1 grams of fat. AddM&Ms and other ingredients that aren't so good for you, of course, and those numbers jump higher.

Trail mix keeps pretty well, but it's not immune to aging. Nuts can become rancid, and even dried fruit can pass its prime.

When Manhart makes trail mix, she sometimes makes up to six months' worth at a time. She said it does fine if it's stored in a Ziploc bag and is refrigerated.

Also, if you're going camping, consider double- or even triple-bagging it so the smell doesn't entice bears.

Debbie Manhart, store manager for Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth, eats trail mix when she goes hiking or fly fishing and "even for breakfast sometimes."

Manhart tends to avoid salted nuts and doesn't like her trail mix to taste like candy.

"To me, a trail mix is not real sweet," she said.

Among the things she uses when she makes her own mix:

* Sunflower seeds

* Chocolate chips. Though these can melt, Manhart said it usually isn't a problem for her. "If it's extremely hot they have [melted], but it's not an issue usually," she said. If melting is a problem for you, Hansen recommends substituting carob chips instead.

* Cashews

* Peanuts. Here's the only time Manhart will go with the salted variety. "Peanuts are usually better salted," she said.

* Dried, minced dates. Don't go for the whole kind, Manhart advises: "Dates can be really squishy."

* Goji berries are Manhart's exotic addition to her trail mix. These Asian berries are renowned for their health benefits. "They are full of antioxidants," Manhart said. "They're really, really good for you." Manhart said their taste is hard to describe but is closest to a cranberry.