Holy Granola, batman!

Have you ever seen a prettier breakfast?!?  I have to tell you, before I came up with this recipe, I was a skeptic.  To me, granola was for hippies and older people.  I've always seen it as something boring and uniformly brown, overly crunchy, and gross.  Our journey on the road of dye-free living spurred me on to create a breakfast cereal (and midnight snack) that was filling AND healthy, beautiful AND delicious.  I think this recipe hits a home run!



Not your average Granola
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Mix in a large bowl, and set aside:
4-5 cups oats (not quick cook)
2 cups sliced almonds
2 cups shredded coconut
2 Tablespoons flax seed, whole or ground


In a saucepan on low, stir together:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

After 2 minutes, pour honey mixture over oats, stir with a spatula, and pour into a 9x13 baking pan.  Bake for 25 minutes, stirring at the 15 and 20 minute intervals.  Do NOT overcook your granola.  There's nothing worse than scalded cereal!  Remove from the oven, give it one last stir and set it aside.  Resist the urge to mess with it for the next hour.

Cinnamon candied seeds and nuts:
In a saucepan, combine:
1/4 cup water
1/2 sugar (I used turbinado)
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt


4 cups of any seeds and nuts. (I used pecans, almonds, peanuts, cashews, sunflower,and pumpkin seeds)

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Add nuts and seeds, remove from heat, and stir for one minute to fully coat nuts.  Remove to an oiled pan with a slotted spoon.  Nuts may not look coated, but TRUST me, they are, so don't pour extra sauce over them!  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from pan to a piece of parchment paper, and let cool.  Don't let them cool on your baking sheet, because they will be stuck, and that's NO fun! 

Once both granola and nuts have cooled, toss together with a package of dried fruit.  I used pomegranate craisins, and the flavors go together SO well!  Store in an airtight container to retain freshness.  That is, if you can bare to put a lid on this beautiful snack at all!  :-)








 










Meredith

Make sure you visit my facebook and Pinterest pages for more meal ideas!