G.R.A.N.O.L.A

Monday night the internet went down.  I was lost.  The rest of the family was out and it was just me and the cat.  I was somewhat ticked off as I was trying to catch up on some work.  So with no internet I waltzed over to the couch and was going to start to read when a light bulb when off in my head.  I should try to make something new!

Granola.

Homemade.

Simple.

Delicious.

Ingredients

• 3 Cups Old fashion Oats
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 Cup sliced or chopped raw almonds
• 1/2 Cup Raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 Cup Raw sunflower seeds
• 2 Tbsp. Flax seed
• 1/2 Cup liquid honey
• 1/3 Cup Natural Almond butter
• 2 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 Cup chopped dried cranberries ( or any other dried fruit)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
2. Line a large shallow baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, almonds, cranberries, flax seed, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.  Mix well.
4. In a medium size bowl, combine almond butter, honey and cinnamon.  Whisk together until well blended.
5. Add almond butter mixture to oat mixture and stir using a wooden spoon until the oat mixture is completely coated.
6. Spread mixture onto your pan evenly.
7. Cook for 10 minutes and then remove from oven and give granola a stir.
8. Bake another 10 minutes or so until granola is golden brown and dry to the touch.  Be careful not to burn the granola.
9. Let cool before serving.
10. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip:  Try variations with different dried fruit and nuts to keep it fresh and enjoyable.  I can already see myself trying maple syrup as a honey alternative in the very near future.

With so many great tasting granola in the store these days… I thought I should take a crack at my own.  The store bought granola is usually crammed with sugar to enhance the YUM factor and often baked with oil to enhance the crunch so you are eating a lot of …. well you know.

What is your favorite Granola ingredient?

Have a great Wednesday and I will talk to you at the end of the week.

Take care

zesty