The first granola recipe I tried had TWO cups of oil for 12 cups of oats. Ten years ago, I thought nothing of it.
I’m nuts about granola, and I always assumed that it was good for me—until a friend shared her granola recipe with me and I realized how much oil and sugar hid under the guise of ‘healthy.’ I started playing around with granola recipes, and came up with this healthier version.Preheat oven to 300˚
Place the following ingredients in a blender jar:
1 13.5 oz. can of coconut milk
1 can of apple juice concentrate thawed
3 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoons of vanilla
¼ cup oil
Blend for about 30 seconds.
In a VERY large bowl, mix together:
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup flax meal
12 cups of whole rolled oats
3 1/2 cups of brown sugar
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread a portion of the granola about an inch think on a large cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan (it’s nice to have a pan with high sides) and place in oven for about an hour and thirty minutes—stir the granola every 20 minutes. After the first hour of baking, add:
2 cups pecan pieces
1 cup almond slivers
If you bake two pans at a time, make sure you exchange the pan on the top rack with the pan on the bottom rack each time you stir the granola.
Allow the granola to cool thoroughly before placing the granola in an airtight container. If you like, once the granola has cooled, add chopped craisins or raisins.
If you’d like to know why I eat the way I do, read my Healthy (er) Choices Manifesto.
