Homemade Trail Mix

Find a few foods that your kids really love (like M&M's or chocolate chips) and you can sneak in a few healthy additions (like nuts, seeds or dried fruit) to this trail mix. They have a healthy, high-energy snack to carry them through the day.

Add in a few things you know they will like:

Raisins
Mini Pretzels
Goldfish Crackers (whole grain would be even better than regular)
Mini Chocolate Chips or Peanut Butter Chips
M&M's candies (use sparingly)

Then add the healthy stuff like:

Kashi's Heart to Heart Toasted Oat Cereal (kids love this cereal as a snack)
Multi-Grain Cheerios
Peanuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts
Pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
Cashews or Almonds
Dried Cherries or Apricots (cut into bite-sized pieces)
Banana Chips or Craisins

In a bowl combine 1/4 cup each of the above ingredients. You can use all or just a few and see which combinations the kids like the best. Put in snack size bags and you have enough for a week of lunches.