Granola

I do love a bowl of vanilla yogurt with fruit and granola for breakfast.

Sure, you can buy granola at the grocery store, or even better, homemade from a place like Uprising Bread. But it’s expensive, and could be loaded with tons of extra oils and fats.

Making it at home is much cheaper because you can go to a bulk food store and buy just what you need for your recipe (which, in most cases is only about a 1/2 cup), and you also have a lot more control over the nutritional and fat content. And it’s surprisingly easy.

Now, Granola is definitely higher in fat than many breakfast cereals. However, it’s packed with mostly good fats that come from nuts and, despite its smaller portion size, it’s packed with protein.

This is a very “loose” recipe. Use it as a guideline but feel free to substitute and swap out which nuts and fruits you prefer.

Granola

(source: Better Homes and Gardens)

• 2 cups rolled oats (NOT instant rolled oats, the large, old fashioned flaked kind)
• 1/2 cup coconut (non sweetened)
• 1/2 cup larger nuts: almonds or peanuts, whole, chopped or slivered
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (shelled)
• 1/4 cup sesame seed (I used flax, same size, higher nutritional content)
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1/3–1/2 cup dried fruit: raisins, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, apricots, whatever you like
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (I prefer maple syrup)
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla or maple flavouring

Method

• In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients except the fruit, honey or maple syrup, flavouring and the oil.

• Mix the oil and honey/syrup with the flavouring.
• Mix the wet ingredients into they dry, until they are well incorporated.
• Spread in a thin layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet, and bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

• Stir the granola well at 20 minutes and return to the oven for about another 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and stir in the fruit.

• Allow to cool. The granola will crisp up as it cools.
• Break into chunks and store in an airtight container.

Nigella’s version is also very nice. I haven’t yet tried the Chocolate version, but it looks good.