I don’t know why I haven’t been making granola all this time. For some reason it seemed like a daunting task, but it totally isn’t!  Mix ingredients in bowl, place on cookie sheet and put in oven.  Doesn’t get much easier than that!  Not to mention CHEAP!  Wowsers.  Regular granola is so expensive compared to homemade.  As always, with something like granola, watch portion size.  Its easy to eat more than you should, with it being so delicious.  But you can always pre-portion them out in ziploc baggies to make it a quick snack to grab to add in with your greek yogurt, cottage cheese or anything else you’d like to add some deliciousness too!

Oh and thanks to my Facebook peeps for sharing a couple of their favorite recipes.  A particular one I used as inspiration was Wendy’s recipe from I See Fit People. Her recipe is here. Great if you like peanut flavor. I chose to keep mine wheat free (actually gluten free) & peanut free.  I’m also a BIG fan of raisins in my granola.

Homemade Granola

Makes 26 servings (6 1/2 cups total)

Ingredients

3 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup ground flax
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or sucanat)
1 tsp cinnamon

(The following ingredients, you could switch up for whatever combo you like! But here’s what I used)

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup raisins

(Wet ingredients, you’ll need these for whatever combo you do)

2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup honey or agave (if your honey is creamy, you’ll need to melt it down)
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (or another oil of choice)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl mix together all your dry ingredients, including all the add ins like nuts, seeds, raisins etc.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients.  Add them to the big bowl of dry ingredients.

Mix until well coated.  Spread on a parchment paper lined or non-stick cookie sheet in a thin layer, similar to this…

You’ll probably get about 3 cookie sheets full as I did.  Place the first 2 batches in the oven side by side (if your oven is big enough). Bake for 20-30 minutes until just brown.  Watch closely after 20-25 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Allow to cool and store in an airtight container and store at room temp, or freezer for a longer shelf life.

Nutrition (per 1/4 cup serving)   Calories: 102   Fat: 4 g   Carbs: 15 g   Fiber: 2 g   Sugar: 7.6 g   Sodium: 10 mg   Protein: 2 g

Other add in ideas:

coconut flakes
sesame seeds
wheat germ
chocolate chips (after its cooked)
PB2 (mix into dry ingredients)
unsweetened cocoa powder (mix into dry ingredients)
dried cranberries
peanuts
sunflower seeds
cashews

Enjoy your granola-making!