A variety of grains and nuts combined with oil and honey make this a recipe for a healthy breakfast cereal.
Homemade, whole grain granola is a great way to start the day with a healthy breakfast. The recipe below should be considered more as suggestions or guidelines than as a recipe that should be strictly followed. Except for the oatmeal and oil and honey, which bind the cereal together, the ingredients are optional, mix-and-match, add your own!
Oatmeal
Traditional rolled oats work best in this recipe, though thick-cut or quick oatmeal can also be used. For the healthiest rendition, use organically grown oats
Nuts
Nuts should be raw and shelled (and organic if possible) and can be any of the following, or a mixture of some or all of them: peanuts (not Spanish), walnuts broken into pieces, broken or chopped pecan halves, chopped almonds, chopped cashews.
Fruit
Fruit should be added only when granola is served. Baking raisins in the granola mix can make them hard or crispy--sprinkled on at the last minute is a better idea.
Wheat Germ and Flaxseed Meal
These are both optional. Flaxseed meal, is easier for the body to digest. The whole seeds also tend to stick in your teeth.
Honey and Oil
The ratio of honey to oil is based on personal preference. The oil is needed to keep the ingredients from sticking together in clumps and from sticking to the pan. The honey is for sweetness. Adjust according to taste.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups oatmeal
- 1 cup flaked or shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 1/2 cup raw wheat germ
- 1/4 cup flax seed meal
- 1/4 cup oil (canola or olive)
- 1/4 honey
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a very large bowl, mix oatmeal, coconut, sunflower seeds, nuts, wheat germ and flaxseed meal.
- Measure oil into a glass measuring cup.
- Add honey to oil in glass cup.
- Add a splash of tap water to oil and honey.
- Place cup in microwave and heat for 15 seconds on high. This will thin the honey and make it easier to mix.
- Stir oil, honey and water together and pour over dry ingredients in bowl.
- Stir thoroughly to coat granola.
- Spread evenly on 2 cookie sheets by spooning granola on to sheets and then shaking sheets to spread granola to edges.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until granola reaches desired toastyness. Check often as many ovens do not heat evenly. Use a pancake turner to stir granola, pushing edges toward center to even out the "doneness" of the granola. It may be necessary to bake one pan at a time if both pans will not fit on the same shelf. If one pan is on each shelf, one will bake faster than the other, depending on the consistency of the oven temperature.
- Cool in pans.
- To store, seal in large plastic bags if in a humid climate. In a dry climate, granola may be stored in an empty oatmeal box.
Top off a serving of granola with several spoonfuls of homemade yogurt and a sprinkling of fruit: anything from banana slices to raisins to blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, even prunes. Add milk and enjoy!
