The Favorite Day Trail Mix You Should Leave On The Shelf

When it comes to timeless snacks, trail mix is absolutely on that list. Why? Well, it can appease the sweetest and saltiest of palates. It's the perfect road trip snack or mid-day treat for both adults and children. And it's one of the few snacks you can make at home or buy at the local supermarket, and both versions will taste equally delicious. Plus, you'll have better control of the flavors when you make it at home. Just remember to use the freshest ingredients when making your trail mix. Otherwise, you'll end up with an array of off-putting flavors and textures that are less than appetizing. Unfortunately, you can also run into this problem with store-bought trail mix. Although there are plenty of phenomenal pre-packed trail mixes, there are also a few duds that will make you regret your purchase. A great example of that is Favorite Day's tropical trail mix.

Ranked the worst Favorite Day trail mix by the Tasting Table staff, nothing about this snack works. It's supposed to have hints of various tropical flavors; however, the only distinctive flavor you get is quite repulsive. The dried sweetened mangoes, which are supposed to add some tropical undertones to the mix, have a strange tanginess that's not appealing. Meanwhile, the dried coconut-coated pineapples manage to have zero pineapple flavor and can only be described as cavity-inducing sweet. In fact, the pineapples are so sweet that it feels like someone dunked them in a jar of sugar, left them there overnight, and threw them into the bag. And these aren't the only ingredients that are inedible.

Along with the dried mango and pineapple, this trail mix features sweetened banana chips, almonds, dried sweetened cranberries, roasted peanuts, yogurt-flavored coated raisins, and chocolate chunks. However, the banana chips are the most prominent, which is unfortunate, since they're a textural disaster. They have a hard yet chewy texture that will give your teeth and jaw an unexpected workout.

This trail mix fails to deliver the flavors it promises. The cranberries are supposed to add just enough tartness to cut through the sweetness of the other dried fruits. Instead, the cranberries are unbelievably sour. So, prepare for your lips to pucker when you try one. Although the nuts do provide some crunchiness, that's all they do. Their flavor isn't distinctive enough to mellow out the unpleasant flavor of the dried fruit. And they aren't as tasty as Target claims they'll be. Even the decadent flavor of the chocolate chunks isn't powerful enough to make this trail mix taste any better. Unfortunately, none of the ingredients complement each other.

On its own, dried fruit is usually sweeter and has a much stronger flavor than its fresher selves. Yet, Target used a good amount of sugar to make the dried fruits even sweeter. The reason why the pineapples are unbearably sweet is because there's sugar in the pineapples and their thin toasted coconut blanket. In fact, sugar is included in almost every component of this trail mix. Overall, there are 13 grams of sugar, and 9 grams of that is added sugar. So, one serving, which is ¼ cup, of trail mix has 18% of your daily value of sugar. Considering how sweet and uninviting this trail mix is, you're better off spending your money on a different Target snack.