I’m a conservative when it comes to trail mix politics. I won’t go near one at the store if it has dried pineapples or brazil nuts; I would say that even pumpkin seeds are pushing it for me. The best trail mix is the simple kind you grew up with.

This is a classic mix with a few different nuts, chocolate M&Ms and of course lots of peanuts. My 5-year old self would probably pick out the chocolate first and leave the raisins behind but I’ve come to appreciate them more and more.

Pay attention to whether the nuts you use are salted or unsalted. I’d recommend only using salted peanuts and unsalted cashews and almonds for the best flavor. Roasted nuts are more traditional but use whichever you think have the best flavor.

Lunch Box Trail Mix

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 5 cups or 20 servings):

• 1 1/2 cups roasted salted peanuts
• 1 1/2 cups whole almonds
• 1 cup whole cashews
• 1 cup M&Ms
• 1 cup Raisins

Method:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
2. Store in an airtight container and keep in a cool place when not eating.

New England doesn’t have a standard cuisine but it certainly could. Between the apple cider doughnuts, glazed Dunkin Donut’s munchkins with jimmies and Boston cream pies there’s a lot to love(mostly carbs).

And then there’s this trail mix. You won’t find the typical gang of peanuts and raisins; instead we have cashews and almonds with dried cranberries. White chocolate instead of milk chocolate adds a sweetness to match the tartness of the berries. The flavors are simple but purely addictive, especially paired with some local apples and Vermont cheddar slices.

You could use raw almonds but I think roasted just have such a better flavor and texture. Similarly you could use raw cashews but I think you need something salted in the recipe to add a balance to the sweet.

Cape Cod Trail Mix

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 3 1/2 cups)

• 1 cup roasted, salted cashews
• 1 cup roasted almonds
• 3/4 cup craisins
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chunks

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine and mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Keep in an air-tight container at room temperature when not eating.

All that’s missing is a bag of Cape Cod potato chips—never the baked or reduced salt kind.

What I’m about to say may be sacrilegious so read on at your own risk.

I don’t really like coffee. I used to love it but now I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve drank it in the past year. I’m a much bigger fan of tea now.

The one exception is chocolate covered coffee beans. I’ve probably spent a small fortune on those alone; I really can’t get enough. I’d much rather wake up to a handful of those than a cup of coffee any day.

This trail mix has all the flavors you could want in a fancy Starbucks coffee drink: Vanilla, almond, chocolate, white chocolate, and coffee. When I do drink coffee, it’s always black, but a trail mix with just coffee beans wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. I threw in some raisins, too, because those are healthy and that makes the rest of it healthy by association, right? If you don’t want to make the vanilla sugar almonds, you can always buy flavored almonds and substitute them instead or just use regular roasted almonds.

Perk Me Up Trail Mix

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chocolate covered coffee beans
• 3/4 cup white chocolate
• 1 cup seedless raisins
• 2 cups vanilla sugar almonds*

*Vanilla sugar almonds

• 2 cups almonds
• 2-3 heaping Tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 Tablespoon liquid sweetener(corn syrup, agave, maple syrup, etc.)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all of the ingredients for the almonds in a bowl and mix together.
3. Lay the almonds out in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 20-30 minutes, jostling occasionally until the liquid evaporates and the almonds turn golden. Remove and let the almonds cool completely before continuing.
4. Toss the almonds, white chocolate, raisins, and chocolate covered coffee beans together. Store in an air-tight container for up to a month.

The best part of waking up is this in your cup.

If I remember anything from high school biology, it’s that monkeys are one of are closest relatives.

We like bananas; they like bananas. We like peanuts; they probably like peanuts. We like chocolate; they’d love chocolate if anyone were weird enough to give chocolate to a monkey.

Basically, monkeys have good taste in trail mix. And we do, too. This snack is packed with just things monkeys(and people!) would like.

I could only find Reese’s peanut butter chips so those are what I used. If you’re looking for something more natural, Sunspire makes really good peanut butter chips which you can find at some Whole Foods and natural food stores.

Monkey Trail Mix

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup banana chips
• 3/4 cup salted peanuts
• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix together.

It doesn’t get much easier than that.