Homemade granola

So I even did this ahead of time so I would be able to post amidst our chaos... No such luck! Here we go!  This recipe has been lovingly altered from my mother-in-laws recipe! nothing beats home cooking. 

Homemade granola!  (If you want to know about the chaos in our life, you'll just have to wait for a personal blog post on my "estranged normality" blog)

Granola is super easy to make and so much healthier than store bought. This is the only cereal I eat now. A little almond milk and an apple cut up with granola... Nothing tops it for a hunger crusher!!

First you bake the oats for a while to get them good and dry, with a little crunch. 

Then it gets fun. You melt together your sweetener and your fat. I always use honey and coconut oil. Now, you may be thinking "well Krysta that's a lot of sugar and fat!" And to that i say, "read the nutrition facts and ingredient list on your granola... This is much healthier. It is a healthier sugar and a healthier fat, and less of it! Your body will use it properly, and digest it with proteins (nuts and seeds) and healthy carbs (oats and fruit)

After your oil and sugar are melted (coconut oil should be a solid at room temp or you don't have the real stuff), I like to add a splash of vanilla (homemade: vanilla beans and vodka that have soaked for a couple months).  You could also add some spice or other flavour at this point such as cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or a different extract such as almond. Orange zest might be nice in here around Christmas time too. Haven't tried that... (It might curdle milk though I guess). 

The other fun part is picking your add ins. 

It can be anything really. Seeds nuts brans, unsweetened raw of anything. Coconut is very nice in here. I usually add some hemp seeds, flax meal, chia seeds, and lots of pumpkin and sunflower seeds. I like to use up the last bits of stuff so this recipe had some chopped Picans and walnuts that have been sitting for a while. Almonds are always nice in here too. 

Measure everything out and combine it with your pre-cooked oats. Then spread it all on a few lined cookie sheets. 

I like to stir half way through my baking time. And the time baking is more of a suggestion. For a more browned granola bake longer. For a lighter one bake less. 

That's it!! Easy peasy! (I usually double the recipe when I make it). 

Homemade granola:

6 cups large flake rolled oats

3 cups healthy add ins

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 tsp vanilla (or other flavour)

Bake oats on a large cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Pour into a large bowl and combine with add ins. 

Heat oil and honey until warm. Stir in vanilla and stir into dry ingredients. 

Pour into two cookie sheets and  bake one sheet at a time at 350 degrees for 8 minutes, stir, and bake another 8 minutes.

Pour back into the large bowl to cool, stirring occasionally so it doesn't all stick together. 

Store in an airtight container.