Happy TRAILS

YES, I'm going to tell you all how to make my fabulous, oh, so very fabulous trail mix. Believe me when I say I did not invent this. I'm pretty sure you, me, anyone can come up with this stuff. It is NOT brain surgery -- it's much tastier - - if tastier is even a word. You'd think I'd know if it's a word. I have a degree in English. I should know whether or not tastier is a word, but I really don't care. Are you ready?

Get out a big fat bowl - - then put the bowl to the side because you really need a pen and paper. You need money and you need a way to the market. I choose the health store but I have to be honest here - - I have from time to time gone to WalMart to get these ingredients. Not lying.

Write down the following:

Cashews raw no salt (You'll soon discover I'm big on raw and no salt)1/2 pound
Almonds - whole and again, raw without salt - about a 1/2 pound
Peanuts - whole or half is good, roasted - - oh, threw ya! (1/2 pound)
Walnuts - halves and wash these to be sure you get the shell pieces out 1/4 pound

***At this point you may want to warn EVERYONE that this trail mix you're making has nuts in it. Lots of nuts. Very important note there, very very important.

OK ready - pick up the pen again - -

Raisins - 1 cup or so - I use California raisins, I'm addicted
Cranberries - dried of course, they look like red raisins - 1 cup
Yogurt raisins - you choose the flavor I use vanilla 1 cup
Coconut chips - hard to find this is not the shredded stuff, but the real stuff 1 cup
1 ENTIRE BAG of Mini-M&Ms dark chocolate, you get it on the BAKING aisle
1 cup or so of roasted or honey roasted soy NUTS not soy beans..very important difference if you like your teeth where you left them before you started eating the trail mix OK...soy nuts!

SEEDS: Sunflower (obviously without the shell) without salt too 1 cup
Pumpkin seeds - - no shell, no salt, green little guys - 1 cup

Here's where it gets really good - - and no, you won't find this at the health store. I throw in a bunch of SMARTIES candies sometimes because it surprises my tongue when I get one and I think "Heck, eating healthy is good! Real good!"

OK - - you've bought it all, you're thinking it was expensive and it better be worth it. It is.

Grab that bowl, dump everything into the bowl, and mix it up...mix, mix, mix, this is the mix part of the word trail-mix - - you thought it was the fact that all the stuff was rather mix-match...no, it's the mixing, the mixing, the mixing. Now, say out loud "If all of us just got along as well as this trail mix does, we'd be in much better shape!"

No cooking, no freezing, no nothing -- just scoop it out and eat it. You can store it in bags, put something over the top of the big bowl, or whatever you want - - it's your trail mix now.