Game nights require snacks that are easy to eat one-handed without being messy. A DIY trail mix bar is perfect for long nights of gaming!
Our friends Adam and Laura are visiting all week, which can only mean one thing – lots and lots of board game playing! We’re now working around nap times and bedtimes for their little girl, but we’ve still managed to squeeze in at least 2-3 games a day during her sleeping hours. We’re nothing if not determined to get in all the game time we can!
We’re also ramping up our game time with our other friends as well. Now that the weather is getting decidedly more chilly, more and more of our social activities are headed indoors. Hosting game nights are one of our favorite ways to entertain because they can be as low-key or energetic as you’d like – it all comes down to the games you choose!
Because it is nearly impossible for me to entertain without providing some sort of handmade food or drink, I’ve been on the search for more game night-friendy snack options. This means snacks that are easy to eat with one hand between turns. They also shouldn’t require piles of napkins – nobody wants to wash their hands between every turn!
Snack mix and candied nuts are obvious choices, but I’ve been wanting to find something a bit more interactive and fun to serve. So when NatureBox offered to send me a few of their snacks to try, I realized that a DIY trail mix bar would be perfect. I’d put out my NatureBox goodies with a bunch of bite-sized sweet and savory snacks and let people build their own mix!
The NatureBox snacks were a perfect addition to our trail mixes. I chose a variety of their sweet and savory options: praline pumpkin seeds, honey crunch crisps, oat bran dipping’ stix, baked cheddar potato sticks and mango orange fruit chews. All of the crunchy snacks arrived fresh and crisp, while the fruit chews were specially packaged so that they didn’t become rock hard before we could eat them. The honey crunch crisps were my favorite, with a subtle sweetness that would work well in both sweet and savory mixes. But I’m also enamored with the praline pumpkin seeds – I think they’d be good in pancakes, too!
If you want to make a build-your-own trail mix bar for your next party, here are some snack ideas:
Anything bite-sized from the NatureBox catalog
Mini marshmallows
Chocolate chips or candies
Raisins or other dried fruit
Candied nuts (I also like NatureBox’s sweet blueberry almonds, based on past experience!)
Crystallized ginger
Shredded coconut
Cheese crackers
Air-popped popcorn
Breakfast cereal
Granola
Pretzels
Roasted nuts or seeds
Just put everything out in small bowls or ramekins, give your guests some bowls and let them go to town!
Want to try some NatureBox for yourself? They are offering Savvy Eats readers a free trial box with a full-sized bag and four single-served pouches to help with your healthy holiday snacking. If you choose to subscribe and join NatureBox, you’ll receive five different snacks every month. You can choose the snacks you want from the catalog, or let them surprise you with their carefully curated selections! Each of their snacks contains wholesome ingredients, with no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors, zero grams trans fats, and no high fructose corn syrup.
Click here to start your free trial with NatureBox! *
*Fine Crumbs: Free trial is available for new and US subscribers only. Not valid on gift subscriptions and may not be combined with any other offers.
P.S. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that help make Savvy Eats possible.