Trail Mix – Good or Bad?

Is this bag of Trail Mix good for you? I shop at Trader Joes. I love Trader Joes. But like everyplace else that sells food, you still need to be careful when buying snacks. Is this a healthy snack?

Would it help if I opened the bag? Is this particular brand of Trail Mix good for you?

Ok. How about now? Let’s read the label…

Rainbow End Nutrition Label

The answer is a resounding NO.

If you just look at the mix, it contains WAY too many chocolate bits. I love chocolate, but this has just way to much sugar in it and the label tells you the same thing. All of the calories in a quarter cup come from sugar and fat. Well, technically not all, just 126 of them. There is also only 1 gram of fiber and basically no vitamins. If you are like me, you would eat at LEAST a 1/2 cup per sitting. That’s 280 calories, or about 30 minutes on a treadmill.

Trader Joe’s has alternatives that don’t have the chocolate in them, although if you’re counting calories they are still high in calories. This particular bag contains no chocolate but has MORE calories than the one with chocolate chips. In fact, most trail mixes are not a good snack if you are watching your calories as they have a lot of fat and sugar. A handful of almonds or cashews would be much better for you than a bag of trail mix.

The lesson here is to read the labels and look for snacks that aren’t so high in fat or have added sugars.

All the best!

John