Granola

I love granola… it’s a staple for me these days. Most weekday mornings I eat three quarters of a cup of plain yogurt and a half cup of my home-made granola. The stuff available commercially, while yummy is full of fat and sugar.  I thought it would be good to post the process for it here. Most of the time I cook,  I feel through the cooking rather than measure things out exactly, so this recipe isn’t exact, it’s a best guesstimate and that means you can make adjustments as you like.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In one giant bowl, mix up the bulk of the granola:

I generally start with  a local, commercially available “porridge mix” that consists of large rolled oats, rolled rye, flax seeds & bran,  but that’s not available everywhere, so I’ll break it down:

-3 cups of large rolled oats (not instant oatmeal or short cook oatmeal, can also substitute part for other rolled grains such as rye)
-1/2 cup flax seeds
-1/2 cup bran flakes
-1/2 cup wheat germ (optional)
-1/2 tsp salt
-Optional: if you want something more protien rich, you can add up to a cup of powdered milk. I have done so but don’t usually.)

In another bowl, mix up the wet/flavour/binding ingredients:

-1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
-1/2 cup sugar free table syrup
-1/2 cup Splenda
-3 tbsp cinnamon
-3 tbsp vanilla extract
-3 tbsp maple extract
-Optional Substitutions: You could use real maple syrup, agave or honey in lieu of the SF table syrup & Splenda depending on your tolerance for sugar. I’ve never done this, so can’t instruct on amounts.

Once the wets are mixed together, slowly combine them with the bulk ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Spread the mixture out into large baking dishes (I use 2: a 8×11 and a 9×13) so that the bulk is only an inch or so deep. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10. You’ll know it’s done when the mixture is totally dry, but not burned. Then take it out of the oven to cool.

While it’s cooking & cooling, prepare the yummy ingredients:

-2 cups of dried fruit. I use something like:

• 1/2 cup raisins (sultanas or thomsons)
• 1/2 cup chopped dried papaya
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apple rings
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

-1 cup cashew pieces, roasted, unsalted (or other nut/seed like: pecans, walnuts, pepitas, or sunflower seeds)

Once the grain bulk is cool, add the yummies and mix thoroughly. Store in an airtight jar. That’s it! There’s so much of it, that I end up using a large Costco pickle container.

I frequently make my own yogurt too. Don’t let the marketing folks at Activia fool you with their patented “B. Regularis” culture. Good old acidophilus is all the yogurt probiotic that you will ever need for a healthy digestive system. It’s simple, much cheaper, and healthier to make your own – the probiotic culture is live and stronger without preservatives or distribution time to kill it off or weaken it.

If you want to start making your own yogurt, post below and I’ll consider posting about it in the future.