{clean} mixed nuts

My husband used to love Monster Mix. The salty nut mix with candy coated chocolates and raisins. He probably still would enjoy eating it but this {clean} mix satisfies him just the same and is MUCH better for us.

This can be altered to whichever nuts you love. I do encourage you to be open minded to all nuts. Prior to eating clean I didn't care for pecans or walnuts and now I love them both. If you haven't had a pistachio I highly recommend it as it's my favorite nut right now! YUM!

The first important thing to think about when making your own raw nut mix is the amount of sodium. Many, many nuts are LOADED with sodium. It's best you use VERY little sodium to make it a truly healthy {clean} snack.  Make sure you read labels. Pick nuts with NO added oils in them. Raw peanuts should read in the ingredients: PEANUTS. I use ONE type of nut with a little salt. For this mix I decided to use roasted (50% less salt) almonds. Roasted does strip the nut of some of it's nutritional value but since it's a small amount I went with it this time. 

Next up, the sweets...I use {all natural 60% or greater} dark chocolate chips and raisins. The raisins I use are AWESOME! I am so glad I talk to complete strangers at Trader Joe's because this is how I found out about these little nuggets of sweetness.  The woman that recommended them was from out of town and stocking up on them like her life depended on them. Ok, maybe just her life for a month or so. They are called TJ Jumbo Raisin Medley.

There are MANY benefits to eating raw nuts. The RAW types can help lower cholesterol and lower high blood pressure. If you are trying to tell yourself that the same is true for salted and sweetened nuts you are sadly misleading yourself from the whole truth. Many nuts are high in Omega 3 fatty acids which helps protect your heart among other things. ALL nuts contain fiber which aids in digestion and protein that helps you feeling fuller longer. 

Please don't let the fact that nuts are high in fat steer you away from this healthy crunchy snack. Trust my results that eating a healthy, full {good} fat lifestyle pays with positive rewarding results. There are also studies that show that going "nuts" for nuts can help with weight loss! 

{clean} mixed nuts

Here's what's in the recipe in the picture...

Ingredients:

Approx 16 oz of all nuts listed. You want a lot more nuts than sweets.

• raw walnuts
• raw pecans
• raw peanuts
• raw sunflower seeds
• raw pistachios
• roasted {50% less sodium} almonds
• approx half a bag of {all natural 60% or greater} dark chocolate chips
• approx half a bag of TJ jumbo raisin medley

Dump all ingredients into a large airtight container, shake and you are ready to go.  I measure out 1/2 cup servings in a bowl at home OR in plastic container for on the go. Even my daughter enjoys this mix but she isn't a huge fan of walnuts and pecans....YET :)

UPDATE 2013: I now leave out the raisins in my mix.