What is your favorite kind of candy? Are you a chocolate lover or do you prefer fruit flavored chewy treats? Do you have a hard time getting through the grocery store check-out without slipping a sugary treat on the conveyor belt, hiding it under another item like you’re still 5-years-old trying to get one over on your mom. It’s ok, people love candy you don’t have to hide your obsession.
Candy bars are popping up at weddings more and more; they’re relatively easy to set up, treats come in various colors so it’s easy to match to your decor, and guests love edible favors. Are you thinking about having a candy bar for one of these reasons? It’s certainly not a bad idea, because most people don’t even know they’ve eaten an entire bag of M & M’s until they’re gone. However, there are alternatives to the candy bar that everyone can enjoy. You know what people love just as much as they love a bag full of candy, a bag full of their own trail mix!
Don’t turn your nose up, hear me out. When you go to a bar, do you feel ignored if the bartender doesn’t pass you nuts or popcorn as soon as you sit down? Are you the person that picks out the sesame sticks and wasabi peas, and then offers the rest to someone else? Everyone has a favorite or favorites when it comes to trail mix ingredients. A trail mix bar set up is no different than it’s sweeter counterpart, and you can leave your reception feeling like you made a healthy snack decision for all in attendance, who cares what they do on their own time (they could very well take the mix and find some candy pieces to add to it later).
The staples for a trail mix bar:
- Sesame Sticks
- Peanuts
- Almonds
- Raisins/Dried Cranberries
For some, just one of those staples is enough for them. However, there are fun options that increase traffic at the bar:
- Dark chocolate M & M’s/chips (dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate)
- Dried fruit (bananas, pineapples, mangos, papaya, apples, coconut, etc.)
- Sunflower seeds
- Wasabi Peas
- Seaweed chips
- Peanut butter chips
- Popcorn
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
- Cereal pieces (gluten-free)
- Dried carrots
- Garlic powder
- Cayenne pepper
- No-salt spicy herb mix
- Cinnamon
The options are truly endless. You’re custom trail mix bar can offer your guests both a sweet and/or salty bag of snacks. The trail mix bar ingredients may not match the flowers and linens in the room, but there are beautiful ways to make sure it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
The only guests who might complain about a trail mix bar are the ones who aren’t legally able to partake in the open bar. Solution, adult only reception!
What are your favorite trail mix ingredients?
Do you prefer sweet or salty?
