For the love of granola!

Where are my fellow granola-heads? We absolutely love granola in this house. We love it straight out of the container by the handful; as cold cereal with almond milk; on top of a little ice cream with fruit; and, over yogurt. Granola is great because it's not only delicious, but versatile, portable and can be quite healthy (depending on what you add to it). :)


I was visiting with my friend Karen and her precious newborn baby last week; before I packed the kids in the van to head home - she gave us a jar of her delicious homemade granola. This recipe a perfect mix of sweet and salty. It reminds me (a lot) of a Nature Valley Oats 'n Honey granola bar (you know, the ones that break into a million bajillion pieces when you take them out of the wrapper?). I love those bars, but they aren't truly clean. If you love them, too, I think you'll love this!

Here's what you need: 

• 4 c quick oats
• a handful of slivered almonds
• a handful of chopped walnuts (I used pecans because I didn't have walnuts on-hand)
• about a teaspoon of salt

Mix all that with the liquid ingredients:

• 1/4 c canola oil (I used grape seed oil, either will do)
• 1/2 c honey
• 1 tsp vanilla

Here's what you do:

• Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for about 20-25 min. I opened the oven halfway through and gently tossed the granola with a fork just to make sure it wasn't burning.

** Thanks, Karen, for sharing the recipe! ** 

If you want a way to incorporate granola for lunch or breakfast, try the mix I threw together today (inspiration from Willing Cook). 

• 1/2 plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup granola from above recipe
• 1 banana
• 1 TB vegan chocolate chips
• Light drizzle of pure maple syrup

It was basically reminiscent of a (healthy) ice cream sundae...for lunch. Impressive. I think I'll have another bowl tomorrow.

PS. Here's my other favorite granola recipe (from Willing Cook). This one is fruitier as opposed to the sweet/salty variation. So glad I have two go-to recipes now. :)