This post is part of Snack It To Me Week– a week full of recipes for my favorite snack mixes. The posts are: Fairy Berry Trail Mix, Sour Patched Trail Mix, Cherry Cordial Snack Mix, Mango Lassi Trail Mix, Apricocious Trail Mix, Raisinably Delicious Snack Mix, Happy Endings Trail Mix, My go-to prepared snacks.

Life has been missing a little bit of its sparkle lately. Things that used to make me happy are just sort of there. My hands don’t want to knit anymore. My lips have been having a hard time remembering how to smile. My heart has started to feel a little heavier. I think I might have a case of the mean reds. 

“The blues are because you’re getting fat, and maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid, and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?” – Holly Golightly

Yes, Holly, I do.   And I needed some cheering up, so I thought putting sunshine in a jar might help.

Today’s gluten-free trail mix is just that. Sunshine and childhood all bottled up. Dried pineapple is intensely sweet and chewy. The coconut flakes are just crunchy enough. But the real star of this mix is the glodenberry. Also called the  Cape Gooseberry or the Inca Berry, they are native to South America. They are both sweet and tart, just like some of my favorite candies – without all the chemical junk. They are supposedly full of bioflavonoids, vitamin A, betacarotene and anti-oxidants. They even contain a bit of protein. (The internets call them a superfruit. I call them candy.)