WAY too much dark chocolate bits. I discovered this because of the bag. 95% of it landed on the floor and I had to bleach out the grout and floor tiles while picking it all up for the trash. Even with that, what was left in the bag was handfulls of little more than dark chocolate chunks. That's where I got the idea, but first lets go back to the bag. These thick zipper bags are the bane of my existence. They are impossible to biodegrade and no recycle place on the planet wants anything to do with any of it. Worse, the zip lock doesn't unlock. First you try to tear open the package. Don't. It doesn't tear straight and then you have a mess if it decides to 'pop' open from tearing open that way. That isn't what caused my disaster. I tried pulling one way then the other than again and the 'zip' wouldn't unzip. I am old. I am weak. and since I had surgery almost a year ago, nothing I eat stays down. I am surviving on bread and protein shakes and anything that will turn to cememet in my stomach so it stays there and I don't cry all day from being so hungry and in pain. I have discovered starvation food from my youth settles like a rock and keeps the stomach at the least feeling full: Overcooked rice or pasta in an oil based sauce, cereal soaked in water, bread followed by pints of water, all fills the stomach and stays there for hours like a rock.
I have been trying different types of trail mix/granola to see if I can get any of that to stay down and provide some type of calories. So far, not so much.
It gets hot in California and the plastic bag package foods seem to do a self vacuum seal when subject to intense heat of storage or while in the delivery trucks. God help us all to figure out how to open the tide pod zip lock bags. I bet a sitcom, set in the California desert to manage laughs about these zip lock bags self sealing in the heat for at least 3 seasons.
After fighting with this bag for a few days and putting it to the side several times, I tried again to pull the sides apart and finally hit it with a rolling pin and the zip lock went pop and over the counter to the floor went the contents.
This trail mix is packed with calories and dark chocolate chunks. Because this is California and it is hot, along with the bag creating a nuclear fusion at the zip lock, the walnuts go stale really really fast. They are awful. But if you can get a fresh bag I am sure they are great. The nuts are whole for the almonds and cashews and the walnuts are halved or quartered. That is still too big. You have to cut them up, all of them or you have to eat each item in the bag one at a time. Which is what I had done with what was left in the bag.
All in all, the trail mix tastes good. I think that is because it is very sweet from the dried berries and the overpowering amount of dark chocolate chunks.
There is an unreasonable amount of sunflower seeds, but because there is also an abundance of everything else, this is forgivable.
While on the floor, picking this up, then the four days following of bleaching the floor, I came up with many ideas.
Split up the contents.
This is reasonably priced. You get A LOT.
If you put all the nuts in one bunch
the polly seeds in a bunch
the dark chocolate in a bunch
the dired berries in a bunch,
you have the mother lode of endless creations!
That is why I am buying another bag
Chop the nuts up for different baking projects (like banana bread).
Chop the berries up to add to cinnamon rolls instead of just raisins, or breads, or puree them for a yen yang thing on homemade cheese danish.
Use the dark chocolate chunks for chocolate chip cookies or to top on cupcakes or in Chocolate walnut zucchini bread.
The polly seeds can be ground for crumb coats, added to breading, chopped up to use inside of breads or toppings for kaiser rolls or bagels, the creative ideas are endless.
Going to give it all a go.....a dream about when, or if ever I will be able to eat again.