Homemade Granola

This stuff is awesome. And it's addicting. Just try to eat one handful. I dare you.

The beauty of homemade granola is that you can put whatever you want in it. Don't like raisins? Then don't use them. Try dried cranberries instead. (Which Justin tells me I must call craisins. Umm...why must I?) The recipe is just a jumping off point, and I only follow it loosely, therefore, my measurements are pretty loose as well. I threw in some flax seed for some crunch and extra fiber. You could also use wheat germ. I have made it without either in the past. Isn't this a great recipe? You can't mess it up! You are only limited by your imagination.

There are two big pluses for making granola yourself. One, you can also make it more healthy than the stuff they sell in the grocery store that has lots of oils and sugars in it. This recipe does have some sugar and oil in it, but you control the amount you use and what kind you use. For instance, for the sugar, I used a mixture of honey and agave syrup, which are natural products rather than regular processed granulated or brown sugar. They are also sweeter than regular sugar, so you can use less. Two, making your own granola is cost efficient. Oats are cheap, but good quality granola from the grocery store is not. You can save money by changing up the ingredients that you use. I used cashews this time, because they were on sale.

This time I made a double batch of the recipe and made it into two different flavors. One has chopped cashews and dried cranberries (or craisins, if you must) and the other just has chopped almonds. I'm going to be using it for some granola bars later this week. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Here's the recipe adapted from this website.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA

4 cups of oats

1/2 c of wheat germ or flax seed

1-2 c chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, etc...)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 t salt

1 t vanilla

1/2 c canola oil (I used vegatable oil, because it's what I had on hand)

1/2 c honey

1 c dried fruit (raisins, apricots, dried cranberries, etc...)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine oats, wheat germ, salt, nuts, and cinnamon. Mix together.

Add oil and honey. Toss to coat well.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. It should still be sticky when done, but have a nice toasted brown color.

Remove from oven and toss with fruit.

Allow it to cool and then store it at room temperature.

Serve plain as cereal or with yogurt, fruit, etc...

Enjoy!