Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?  I hope this morning finds you with your feet up, a big cup of something warm in hand, and maybe even a slice of leftover pie for breakfast.  I think it’s allowed today in the effort to manage your leftovers!

It’s hard to imagine that we’ll ever feel hungry again after the feasting, the seconds, possibly thirds and all the prospective noshing on leftovers this coming weekend.

But we will, and with the hectic holiday season officially kicking off at some stores as early as last night, you are going to need to be armed and ready when you get a little hungry during your shopping excursions or party hopping.

This week I am sharing with you what I am calling my Holiday Survival Mix.  Well, it’s actually not my recipe, but it’s what I’ve renamed it and I think you’ll really love whipping up a batch for yourself, your family and possibly some friends.  Here’s the backstory.

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Last weekend, I had Saturday to myself so I decided to get a head start on my holiday shopping.  Why is it that when I am on a mission, I often end up empty handed?  Does that ever happen to you?  Grrr.

I left pretty early for my shopping expedition as my destination (the outlets) was about 45 minutes from home.  I had my coffee, but was still pretty full from a dinner party we’d hosted the previous night so I skipped breakfast.  I thought I would be fine as I wasn’t planning to be gone for very long.

Wrong.

Several hours, 16 text messages to one daughter about a possible gift and a complimentary bottle of water from one store later, I was pretty darn hungry and my outlet options were not appealing.  The Altoids in my car were not going to do it either.  So, I found my best option on the way home – a slice of pizza at a restaurant that I like.  Not the best, but hardly the worst, right?

It got me thinking that I needed to prepare something healthy to carry in my purse or my car, especially during the hectic holiday season.  I am not a big fan of packaged bars (another easy solution) so I turned to a favorite recipe from Ellie Krieger that she calls her High Energy Mix.

I have seasonally renamed the recipe to Holiday Survival Mix because it is hopefully going to get me (and you) through the inevitable hangrys that accompany the upcoming season.  Since it’s so easy to make, I ended up making a bunch that I am going to give to my friends so they can be armed and ready for their holiday season too.

This mix has a 2 to 1 nut-to-fruit ratio and is studded with raw almonds, raw pumpkin seeds, roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds, raisins, cranberries (unsweetened if you can find them, but mine had some added sugar) and chopped apricots.  I won’t tell anyone if you decide to add some dark chocolate candy pieces in there (yum)!  I hid mine from the camera, ha ha!  You can substitute other nuts and fruits if you’d prefer, but keep the ratio 2 to 1, according to Ellie.

I purchased 16 ounce Ball jars at my local hardware store which come in two shapes.  The tall jars conveniently fit in my car’s cup holder.  Now there are really no excuses.  You can also portion out the mix into 1/3 cup servings and place in plastic bags to stick in your purse or a coat pocket.

My husband will get the Papa Bear jar with the clamp top to take to work…

Packaging them up is half of the fun.  My favorite place to purchase ribbon is my local Paper Source.  Their ribbon comes in beautiful colors and multiple widths.  It is so luxurious and really dresses up your finished product.  They have labels and tags like the white Christmas tree below.  Target always has fun holiday tags too like the Santa hat and snowflake, but hurry as they will go quickly!  You can put the jars in clear cellophane for gifting…

Or just keep it simple with a label, some ribbon and maybe a jingle bell from the craft store…

I already gave a jar to my great friend, Priscilla who came into town from Chicago for an overnight on her way to see family on Cape Cod.  Let’s just say I am not sure the mix made it to the Cape as she really loved the flavor combination!  (Thank you to Priscilla for helping me set up a couple of the shots for this blog post too!)

Holiday Survival Mix would make a great hostess gift, teacher gift, Yankee swap contribution – you name it!

Or just whip some up for yourself.  When you are stuck in the mall or traffic, you will thank me!!!

PS – I made this Pot Roast with Porcini Mushrooms for our friends who came to dinner before my doomed shopping excursion.  It was really delicious. The recipe feeds a bunch and is great comfort food.

PPS – Loved this article on NPR.org, Your Adult Siblings May Be The Secret To A Long, Happy Life.  Take a look!

Let me know what you think in the comments!