After that loaded lasagna post I felt that I needed to follow-up with something healthy. I’ve been thinking about McDonald’s fruit and yogurt parfaits which naturally leads me to think about that little dab of granola that they put on top.
Whenever I start thinking about a certain food, I figure its my body’s way of telling me that there is something in that food that I need. As I considered the fruit and yogurt and granola all having a party together, I realized that my body is screaming for me to feed it something that is nutrient dense. I could almost here it yelling, “Hey! You’re killing me here, lady! Give me the good stuff, or else…”
I have been using the Granola recipe from my mother in-law, Mavis, for a long time and find it to be the best one that I have ever tasted. The only changes that I have made to it are to add flax seeds and cinnamon. Seeeeee, I can keep up with current good-for-you-food-trends as well as the next person. Flax seeds in granola are trendy, but they also happen to be healthy.
As per the flax seeds, sometimes I give them a whirl in my blender before I add them to the granola. You have to crack a flax seed to get to the healthy stuff. Otherwise, guess what? Whole flax seeds use your bowel as a slip n’ slide and go right on through to the outside. (I’m a nurse; I talk about stuff like that and don’t even bat an eye.) As for the cinnamon, besides making this granola taste heavenly it, too, has a few health benefits such as helping to reduce blood sugar levels in diabetics. But heck, that’s a story for another post.
/
Best Everyday Granola
Ingredients
- 6 cups rolled oats
- ¾ cup wheat germ
- ½ cup coconut
- ¼ cup flax seeds, ground or whole (I used whole for this recipe)
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- ¼ cup sunflower kernels
- 1 cup chopped nuts, your choice of nuts - mix and match to equal 1 cup.
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup salad oil, grapeseed, walnut, canola or coconut recommended. DO NOT use olive oil - bleh!
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract, I have also used almond flavoring. Yum!
- dried fruit, optional (added just before serving - do not add during baking, see note)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
- Mix oats, wheat germ, coconut, flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower kernels, nuts and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
- In a medium size bowl mix together the brown sugar, honey, oil, and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.
- Divide between two 9- x 13-inch baking dishes or pans. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring every 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow granola to cool in pans. After the granola has cooled, using a pancake turner, gently slide the turner beneath the granola to break it up. Store in a zip-style plastic bag or other container of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
I like to eat a bowl of granola as a cold cereal with milk and dried cranberries sprinkled on top. I have also used it to make granola bars, as a snack for plain ol’ munching, and in a fruit and yogurt parfait. Life is good. Oh, and when the Holidays roll around, try this Pumpkin Granola for a fun change of pace.
/
i’m trying not to buy food that won’t be completely used in the next week. reading this blog makes it hard. question though: how would you make this a granola bar? do you have to use corn syrup? i’m morally opposed to corn syrup.
Yes, Miss Becca, you can make granola bars without corn syrup. I have a recipe for you posted on 9/1/10 at http://thatssomegoodcookin.blogspot.com/2010/09/granola-bars.html
I see in the picture you have cranberries added to your granola. Are they meant to be mixed in with the other dry ingredients or added after the baking process?
Thanks!
I put them on after baking. The original recipe that I had, called for raisins to be put in the mix while it was baking. I found that the raisins would burn when I baked them with the granola, so I stopped. I also tried mixing the raisins into the granola after it was baked, but I found that the raisins dried out too much. So, I chose to leave the granola and the raisins or other dried fruit separate from each other until the granola was ready to be eaten.
Raisins used to be standard in granola because few other dried fruits were available. Now we have the luxury of having many different dried fruits which we can toss onto the granola. My personal favorite is dried cranberries followed closely by dried cherries. Guess I like tart things!
Tricia told me about your blog, I love it! I made this granola the other day and it is a big hit. My 2 yr old could munch on it all day (as could I). Thanks!
Hi Ashlee! Thanks for dropping by. It’s good to hear from you. Tricia’s going through a granola phase in her pregnancy right now, so she would probably steal it right out of your 2 year old’s hands at this point! Have a great day. ~Terri
Hi Terri…I made this granola last week and man oh man is it delicious. I made a breakfast parfait with some of it sprinkled over Greek yogurt and fresh berries….breakfast never tasted so good. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe,
Carol
Carol, thank you so much. I’m glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks, too, for putting the recipe along with your suggested alterations on Taste of Home.
To anyone reading this comment, check out Carol’s version of this recipe on the Taste of Home Community Forum.