Cereal Trail Mix for Moms (and Kids) on the Go

No Comments | Written on March 13, 2012 at 11:00 am, by Rebecca Coleman

When I was a kid, sugary cereal was off limits except when we went on family road trips. And now that I have kids, the same rule applies in my house. But that doesn’t stop the kids from asking for it when we’re strolling down the aisle at the local market. Every. Single. Time.

Both of my kids (ages 2 and 6) would eat cereal at every meal of the day if I’d let them… but we try to stick to enjoying it twice daily: for breakfast and midafternoon munchies. Breakfast includes a bowl of cereal with milk and a nice bowl of fruit. Then, since we’re often on the go in the afternoons, the cereal (a healthy snack) is generally eaten dry, by the handful, instead of floating in milk.

This weekend, after another bout of fending off kids begging for sugar cereal, I decided it was high time we turn our cereal snacking into something a little more interesting (and healthy). Inspired by this Crunchy Cereal Trail Mix Recipe (and by a box of off-limits sugar-y cereal that happens to contain marshmallows), we gathered all the ingredients for our jazzed-up snack.

My son scooped equal parts Cheerios, mini marshmallows, raisins, and nuts into a large plastic zip bag (easy, right?). Then I checked to make sure it was sealed properly and the kids took turns gently shaking it up until all the contents were well distributed. When we were done shaking, we transferred a few scoopfuls into each kid’s snack container and then headed to the park, where they happily munched the crunchy cereal and nuts while getting a nice sweet bite from the raisins and marshmallows. That they made it themselves only made their smiles wider. I think I found a healthy snack we all can love.