Story Time Snack Mix

Short winter days and long nights make for the perfect chance to catch up on reading. Back in the day, farmers left their lighter, by hand work, until the wintertime when they could sit by the fire with their families and tell stories as they worked. I have often loved the winter time scene in Farmer Boy were Almanzo and his family sit around the cozy fire and enjoy popcorn, apples, and cider. What after all is a good story without a proper snack to go with it? 🙂

Snacks used to be whatever surplus food item you might have had on hand. One of the very first snack foods in America was popcorn. As corn is a native plant to the Americas, it was consumed in many forms by the Native Americans long before European settlers arrived. Another Native American snack food that was common then is pemmican, the grandfather of our modern day jerky. Pretzels were also brought to the America shores by Dutch and German settlers.

It wasn’t until Victorian times and the turn of the last century, that we see the rise of more portable and pre-packaged snack foods. New items that we snack on every day now, first appeared such as potato chips, candies and cookies. By the 1950s, snacking was common place and even expected.

For this month’s recipe, I have created a snack mix that is sure to please everyone! This snack mix includes a nod to our first American snacks with the pretzels and popcorn, but it also includes lots of nuts, dried fruits and chocolate chips. The beauty of the snack mix is you can really add whatever you want! If you have the time, I recommend roasting your own nuts as it makes them taste so much better! Enjoy!