Trail Mix Bar- Serving Size?

leahschroeder

Hey everyone!

For our wedding reception, we are going to have a trail mix bar station. We will have different ingredients (granola, m&m's, pretzels, etc.) and guests will be able to make up their own little bags of trail mix as party favors. We're going to have between 170-200 people there. Has anyone done this before and knows how much of the ingredients we should get? We're definitely buying in bulk, but as far as how much to buy- I just have no idea. Thoughts?

southernbelle0915

Personally, I would save your money on this and put the money toward a couple of passed apps at a cocktail hour. 

If you're sure you want to do this, when I go backpacking, my trail mix consists of any mix of:

- various nuts (outside peanuts: almonds, cashews, pecans, macadamia, pistachio..)

- white chocolate chips / butterscotch chips

- dried cherries / cranberries / blueberries / other fruit

- sesame sticks

- banana / apple chips

- coconut flakes

- raisinettes

mysticl

I think that would be really expensive and people wouldn't really get much out of it. My only advice is leave all peanuts and tree nuts out unless you are 100% certain no one has a peanut or tree nut allergy.

JMalettas

 I don't know the proper portion sizing for this, BUT, as it doesn't seem to be popular amongst the last posts, I just want to say, this seems like an awesome idea! I'd totally love a trail mix bar! I agree, that staying away from nuts might be a good idea, but you can totally make nut-free trail mix anyways! I don't see an issue with this, and would be stoked to see it!

 *J

csuave

No experience with this.  I would figure out the bag first.  If a bag can hold a measuring cup worth of stuff (or other measurement but lets use 1 cup for illustration) then take 1 cup x 200 to get total cups needed.  Buy ingredients that add up to the total cups needed.  Of course you will have to make adjustments based on size and popularity....you will easily go through more M&Ms than raisins for example and pretzels will go a lot further because they fill a bag faster. 

I went to a wedding that had three huge bowls of popcorn put out later in the evening: butter, cheddar and caramel.  I made a bag and ate some at the reception and then happily took the rest home to eat later.  You might want to consider popcorn instead, it could be a lot easier.

mysticl

snippet17 said:

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mysticl said:

I think that would be really expensive and people wouldn't really get much out of it. My only advice is leave all peanuts and tree nuts out unless you are 100% certain no one has a peanut or tree nut allergy.

QFT.  H and I found out last night that a wedding we were planning to go to has cupcakes with peanut butter and trail mix with nuts for all of the guest. H can get an allergic reaction to peanuts and peanut butter by it just being in the same room as him.  So even though he would not eat the trail mix, people at the wedding would be and he could get sick by this.

That's exactly what I was thinking of when I wrote this. I was at a conference and during the break they brought in snacks.  The snacks were a variety of cookies placed at each table. One of my table mates had stepped out during the break, when she walked back into the room her eyes began to itch from the massive amount of tree nuts now in the room.  They removed all the nut containing cookies from our table and provided us an alternative and she had to be incredibly cautious about what/who she touched in the room.  

leahschroeder

None of our guests have peanut allergies, so we're not too worried about it. I'm also planning on keeping them in a sealed container just in case. Our wedding is next Saturday, so we're definitely going with the trail mix plan since that was what we had decided at the beginning of the planning process. Thanks for the concerns, everyone!

gingerbride82

golden grahams, mini marshmallows, choc chips for a S'more mix.  

I've also seen it done with popcorn varieties, cheddar, butter, caramel, kettle corn..  

jmaj9909

Hi Leah,

Did you end up doing this?  Our wedding coordinator suggested this and we are definitely having a trail mix bar for our favors.  It suits us and our healthy lifestyle and we are avid mountain bikers so we are using the idea of 'Happy Trails.'  I hope it was a success for you and would love any advice you have if you went through with it.  

We are expecting the same amount of guests and plan to buy in bulk.  I am planning most likely on a gluten free vegan mix to accommodate everyone.    However I may also make the vegan mix in a small quantity for those who need it since that can get expensive.

Did you over/under estimate?  How did you determine how much to buy?

We are using 4x6 inch cloth pouches with a stamped design on the front.  

Thank you in advance,

Alyssa

nessiemmmkay

southernbelle0915 said:

Personally, I would save your money on this and put the money toward a couple of passed apps at a cocktail hour. 

If you're sure you want to do this, when I go backpacking, my trail mix consists of any mix of:

- various nuts (outside peanuts: almonds, cashews, pecans, macadamia, pistachio..)

- white chocolate chips / butterscotch chips

- dried cherries / cranberries / blueberries / other fruit

- sesame sticks

- banana / apple chips

- coconut flakes

- raisinettes

Off topic... But your trail mix sounds so good!