Keep Afterschool Hunger at Bay with Homemade Trail Mix

My kids get home from school at 2:30 p.m. That leaves a crazy amount of time between the end of school and dinner. In order to keep them from eating everything in their path as soon as they walk through the door, I need to be prepared with fast snacks that they can grab as soon as they get home, because honestly, there is no wrath quite like that of hangry teens.

via GIPHY

Snacks need to be something that will satisfy them, but not fill them so much they don’t have an appetite for dinner. Enter homemade trail mix. There is nothing easier to make in the world, especially when you use Great Value Granola Bars (something you likely already have on hand for snacks) as your base. Granola bars are great on their own, but also wonderfully versatile and can be used as a topping for parfaits, in cookies or as a topping on muffins.

I love using Great Value Granola Bars ($1.50 for a package of 8) as the base for our Homemade Trail Mix because it adds a light touch of sweetness and great flavour. I’ll share the recipe below with you but remember that the ingredients are not hard and fast. If you prefer raisins over cranberries, add those. Like peanuts over cashews? Then go for it. You are only limited by your imagination for this one.

I like to use a combination of Great Value Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and Great Value Chocolate Chip, Marshmallow and Graham Granola Bars for ours, but feel free to use any combination for yours. The only thing you may want to stick with here are quantity guidelines so you don’t make too much that will go stale.

Finally, kids can make this ON THEIR OWN, mamas. So hand them the guidelines and let them prepare it themselves.

[yumprint-recipe id=’93’]Of course, as parents to growing kids we need to be prepared so here are 10 perfect snacks on top of this Homemade Trail Mix to always have on hand.

• Tangerines, apples and bananas.
• Great Value Granola Bars
• Smoothies (keep Great Value Frozen Berries on hand)
• Mini Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
• Nuts (Great Value again for the win, what can I say, I like my dollar working for me)
• Hummus and pretzels.
• Mexican Roasted Chickpeas
• Frozen Berry and Vanilla Yogurt Pops
• Slow-cooker Applesauce
• Oatmeal Snack Bars

This post is sponsored by Walmart Canada, as part of the We Love Great Value Granola Bars program. In exchange for this review, I have received special perks in the form of products and/or compensation. All opinions on this blog are my own.