Homemade Snack Mix

If your kids are anything like mine then they crave the food that comes wrapped in anything crinkly, plastic, foil and/or disposable. Never mind that they will sometimes get homemade mushroom risotto or sushi for lunch - they just want the Lunchables that their classmate is having. Once in a while though, I'll get one of my versions of a popular snack food just right and they'll gobble it up... even in its unattractive, reusable, non-plastic container packaging :)

Such is the case with our homemade Bits and Bites.

Making cereal snack mixes at home is nothing revolutionary. In fact, the recipe is right on the side of the Shreddies box. I've been slowly tweaking the recipe over time and have finally found the perfect balance of sweet and salty for our tastes.

So what's the advantage of making something at home that you could easily buy? (A question that comes up more often than not at this blog, no?) Less salt and a bit more control over the raw ingredients.

lol... couldn't resist - [snooty voice] Mise en place for bits and bites.

Of course, you can't control what strange and wonderful ingredients are used in the store-bought cereal (unless of course you wanna make that too! I'm not that crazy though) but at least you can choose the brand of cereal that is used. This mixture contains Nature's Path Organic Heritage Flakes, Heritage O's and PC Organics Wheat Squares. (Perfect covert recipe opportunity - use whole grain, ancient grain or nuts and seeds to boost up the nutritional value of this snack).

My kids actually like this snack mix enough that we can substitute it for popcorn or chips and they'll consider it a fair trade.

And oh yeah... we, adults, love it too.


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Homemade Snack Mix      Yield: 6 cups

6 cups mixed cereal (nuts, seeds, pretzels, crackers - whatever you wish!)
5 tablespoonfuls butter, melted
3 tablespoonfuls Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoonfuls organic sugar
1 teaspoonful onion powder
1 teaspoonful garlic powder

1. Place the cereal mix into a large bowl
2. Stir together melted butter, Worcestershire, sugar, onion powder and garlic powder.
3. Pour sauce over cereal mixture slowly while tossing gently with the other hand. Toss until well coated and evenly distributed. (You could stir this around with a spoon, but I find that getting your hands oily makes the job a lot easier and results in much fewer smashed cereal bits).
4. Spread over a half sheet pan bake in a preheated 300F oven for 30 minutes. Stir the mixture gently every 10 minutes to ensure even baking (I used a large rubber spatula for this).
5. Cool completely, again stirring every so often to ensure that the cereal doesn't get soggy from steam condensation. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (it may even stay crisp longer than that, but it's never lasted that long in our house ;)