Make-a-Monster Trail Mix
It’s all about the eyes.
These cute candy eyes are everywhere, and this year, I decided my daughter and I needed to bake up a fun Halloween treat with them. So I bought some, not knowing quite yet what we’d make. Maybe cupcakes. Or candy bark. Or cookies. Or doughnuts! Cute, right?
But while I was spending days contemplating, my daughter was growing more and more restless. Those candy eyes stared at her from the kitchen counter – literally. Finally, I broke down. Okay, okay kid! We’ll do something with the darn eyes already!
10 minutes later, we were building trail mix monsters.
The rules are as follows:
- First, you have to make a monster.
- Then you eat the monster.
- Repeat!
It’s highly fun for kids and adults alike, honestly. And trust me – we’ve been playing with Make-a-Monster Trail Mix every day for the past week, kid’s request. She loves the stuff.
Especially the M&Ms and the candy eyeballs. My little sweet-toothed gal seems to build monsters that have quite a few of both of those. Conveniently.
What I usually do is divvy out a small cup or bowlful of trail mix at a time to encourage her to use – and eat – all of the ingredients in the trail mix – the good stuff too, not just the sweets.
Another option, if you would like to be more health-conscious, is to leave out the candy entirely. There’s plenty of ghoulish goodness you can make with sunflower seeds (teeth!), pepitas (excellent noses!), almonds (for everything!), cashews, dried fruits, healthier cereals … really, you can put whatever you want into the mix, and you and the kids can still have lots of fun with it.
I see you!
I think this Make-a-Monster Trail Mix would be perfect for a kid’s Halloween party, or even just a fun playdate snack/activity. I plan to bring a revised version for preschool snack later this month – no nuts or candy for that bunch, but it should still be just as fun.
Free printable
Here’s a free printable flag for your make-a-monster trail mix! Just download, print it out, cut it out, and use some double-stick tape to adhere it to the top of a bamboo skewer. Be sure to trim off the sharp pointy end (best be safe!) Then just stick it right in to your bowl of trail mix.
Download “Make a Monster – Eat Him Up” printable (PDF)
Make-a-Monster Trail Mix
Holy beastly goodness! Googly eyes, cereal ears, raisin noses, pretzel heads … they’ll love creating creatures with this ghoulishly silly snack and activity rolled into one.
Ingredients:
- 1 (.88 ounce) package candy eyeballs
- 2 cups mini pretzels
- 1 cup corn puff cereal
- 1 cup Os cereal
- 3/4 cup M&Ms
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup pepitas
- 1/2 cup raisins
- Anything else you want!
Directions:
- Pour all ingredients into a large bowl and toss with your clean hands or a large wooden spoon. Done! I like to serve it in individual cups.
- Stores for at least a couple of weeks in a zipper bag or an airtight container.
Gluten-Free Option
Choose gluten-free cereals. Judging by the list of ingredients on my particular candy eyeballs package, they appear to be gluten-free, but please use your own judgment!
Refined Sugar-Free Option
Omit candy eyeballs and M&Ms. Choose sugar-free or refined-sugar-free cereals.
Vegan/Dairy-Free Options
I’m not sure if store-bought candy eyeballs are vegan (sorry). To be safe – or just to have fun – perhaps try this homemade googly eyes recipe. So awesome!
The eyes in here are just awesome! It’s amazing how one little addition to trail mix can make such a huge difference. What a great idea and so much fun too! It makes me smile just to look at this! Cheers!
Who knew your trail mix could stare back at you?! 😉 Thanks Liz. 🙂