Granola

This is a healthful, easy-to-prepare granola that contains fruit juice instead of oil. Although it takes a while to bake this in the oven (a half hour), the oven temperature is kept pretty low, so the kitchen doesn't heat up too much, even in summer.

Ingredients

• 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, shelled
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fruit juice such as cranberry or apple (use no added sugar)
• 1/4 or 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
• 1 cup dried cranberries, raisins, or other dried fruit

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, wheat germ, coconut, nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. Add the vanilla, juice, and maple syrup or honey and stir well.
4. Spread the granola mixture evenly across two parchment-covered sheet pans.
5. Bake the granola for 30 minutes, and then remove it from the oven.
6. Allow the granola to cool to room temperature.
7. Add the dried fruit.

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can substitute any of the ingredients for others, and make it slightly different each time. Following are some other examples of ingredients I've used in granola, all with good results.

Dry ingredients, for baking:

• Other kinds of nuts, including almonds, pecans, and even peanut butter—oh, so yummy
• Barley flakes
• Flax seed
• Store-bought cereal, such as puffed rice
• Quinoa (Have you ever tried quinoa? It's a grain-like food that is packed with lots of protein and vitamins and minterals. We'll be sure to feature it a future blog. This stuff is really fun to work with.
• Millet

Wet ingredients, for baking:

• Various extracts, including almond, lemon, or peppermint
• Brown rice syrup
• Canned pumpkin, especially with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and grated or ground ginger

Other yummies to add after baking:

• Chocolate chips (my fave is dark chocolate, especially when including peanut butter—can there be a better combo?)
• Fresh fruit, including sliced bananas, strawberries, and blueberries
• Dried fruit such as currants, chopped dates, or chopped apricots

I've been eaiting this for most breakfasts for the last few years, and I never get tired of it. There's so many ways you can adjust the recipe to get different results.

She said

I like making big batches of the granola. Once it's fully cooled, I pack it up in multiple freezer bags and store it in the freezer. Then I remove a bag at a time, and store it in the fridge until it's time to pull it out for breakfast.

What do you like to eat for breakfast? What kinds of ingredients would you like to put in this recipe?