Winter season is upon us and it's time to brave those chills by keeping the body warm from within. A lot of people tend to fall sick during this time of the year as the sudden shift in temperature tends to take a blow on our immunity levels. Hence, it gets imperative to boost the body's immune system. While loading on seasonal fruits and vegetables is always a good idea, snacking on nuts and seeds could further help you tread through the nippy weather. This is primarily because they are warm in nature. A combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruits, often called trail mix, could serve the purpose. Just by eating a small serving of these food items every day, you can get hundreds of essential nutrients and minerals. An integral part of every trail mix, nuts are high in proteins and Omega-3 fatty acids that are heart-healthy and weight-loss-friendly.
Not only is it easy to carry, but can also be stored with maximum ease and stays good for up to two to three weeks. You can prepare the trail mix in batches and carry it to your workplace. Apart from keeping the body warm, nuts and seeds also help induce a feeling of satiety, which can further keep those 4pm cravings at bay that ultimately cause you to binge on all things greasy and fattening!
You can add various kinds of seeds and nuts as per your taste. For this trail mix, we have figs, dates, prunes, dried apricots, almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachio, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and flax seeds.
(Also Read: Ditch Fried Foods For These Fibre-Rich Snacks To Stay Healthy)
Just mix all the ingredients in a ratio where 50% should constitute nuts, 25% or more dried fruits and 15% or more seeds. You may also play around with the flavours and add some extras to the trail mix in the form of puffed quinoa, flaked coconut, granola chunks, dried rose petals and more.
Note: You may also add some toasted almonds to the trail mix for an extra crunch.
So without further ado, step into the kitchen and mix together all the above-mentioned ingredients to savour a wholesome and healthy treat. At the same time, trail mixes should also be consumed in limited quantities as excess of anything is bad for health. Go for the right mix according to what it offers nutritionally. If you know of more ways to prepare interesting trail mixes at home, then do write to us in the comments section below.
(This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.)