My daughter is seventeen months old. She’s been vegan since conception. She still breastfeeds and eats whatever her dad and I eat. She loves beans, lentils, potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, bananas, blueberries, tofu, etc. She also loves her grandma’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and dark chocolate. I have never bought anything “special” for Luna or had to make different meals for her.

Since Memorial day weekend was coming up and we were going on a 4 hour road trip, I thought I should prepare in case she got hungry. I could’ve just packed bananas and a bottle of water and cashews; which she loves, but I decided I wanted to put together something fun for her.

I came upon a site which listed kid-friendly vegan snacks: oreos, potato chips, corn chips, crackers, wafers, all types of candy-- even donuts. I’m sure they are all vegan. As much as a Little Debbie Glazed Cake Donuts may be free of animal products, I don’t want to give her “food” that has ingredients like mono- and diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, artificial flavors, sodium acid pyrophospate, monocalcium phosphate, sodium propionate, potassium sorbate, beta-carotene, or fumaric acid.

To me, food should be what it is, even if packaged. Whenever I get something in a bag, I tend to choose things like “Roasted Plantain Chips” from Trader Joe’s, which are just what they sound like they might be-- plantains, sunflower oil and salt. Or, I opt for their “Popcorn with Olive Oil”, which is comprised of organic popcorn, organic extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. In my view, it's best to stay away from overly processed foods.

The way I came up with Luna’s trail mix was simple-- by mixing her favorite snack foods: sweet and salty.

There are no hard rules for trail mixes. Have fun with it and add in whatever your family enjoys most.

The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients for Luna's Trail Mix:

• ½ cup roasted and salted cashews
• ½ cup roasted and salted peanuts
• 1 cup Salted banana chips/ plantains
• 2 cups salted popcorn
• ½ cup chopped dark chocolate
• ½ cup dried blueberries 

Place the ingredients in a large bowl and stir together until everything is combined. Store in an airtight container and shake again before packing into individual containers.

*Add salt or maple syrup as a possibility, to your taste.

Trail mixes are great for toddlers and very practical when on the go!

Feel free to share your own ideas in the comments!