Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix

Hazelnut Mocha Trail MixThis trail mix has enough chocolate to satisfy dessert cravings but has enough nutrients to offer some good health benefits. It features hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds plus dark chocolate chips and covered espresso beans for a mocha flavor, and finishes off with some dark raisins.

Hazelnuts are a bit sweet and have a rich fragrance, making them excellent for treats. They have been gathered from the large, wide trees they grow upon for many thousands of years and were highly regarded in ancient cultures throughout Asia and around the Mediterranean. The medicinal values of the wood, shells and nuts themselves have varied throughout time and region, from a cure for colds and baldness in Ancient Greece to an aphrodisiac in Medieval Europe. We celebrate them now for their fiber, folate, flavonoids, healthy unsaturated fats, protein and vitamin E, all important nutrients. While they may or may not hold the powers that the ancients believed they are definitely good for our hearts and whole cardiovascular systems, due especially to the antioxidant functions of vitamin E and the ability of the monounsaturated fats to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Their trees also provide good shade for picnics and their branches are low and sturdy enough for climbing.

Hazelnut Grove

Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 10
INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 cups hazelnuts
  • 1 cup dark chocolate covered coffee beans
  • 1 cup dark raisins
  • ½ cup mini dark chocolate chips
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Add all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month (the mix is fine for a few months longer but the nutrition of nuts and seeds is more potent the fresher they are).
  2. Optionally the hazelnuts can be roasted before being added to the trail mix to enhance their flavor. Preheat oven to 275° and insert a baking tray with the hazelnuts and cook for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and roll the hazelnuts around in a dish towel to remove any bits of skin that loosened during the roasting.

Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix

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