You have to watch out with some store bought granola, they can be quite fattening.  When someone wants to be healthy and they think that eating granola is a step in the right direction, it can be frustrating to learn how fattening some of them could be!  Granola is usually associated with health and goodness.  It should be heart-healthy and surely not something that will make us fat.  We’ve got chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting to do that!

Granola is usually filled with nuts and yes, nuts can be fattening, but they are the good kind of fat.  I think where the store bought versions get us is with the oils.  They really go overboard cooking it in alot of oil…the more the granola is sticking together in clumps, the more oil and sugar they used to cook it.  I use a very small amount of vegetable oil or canola oil, a heart-healthy oil.

I make my own granola and quite frankly will never again buy it from the store.  There is simply no reason to.  It’s beyond simple to make and I know exactly what I’m putting into it.  Not to mention the store bought ones can be quite pricey!  Also, I really love my granola to have a nice crunch to it and I’ve noticed some store bought ones just don’t measure up.

My favorite way to eat this granola is in low fat vanilla yogurt.  Dear lord, it’s delicious.  Not sure about you, but I like a little crunch in my yogurt.  I add about 2 tablespoons of granola to the little cup of yogurt and mix it all up. So simple!  I have this for breakfast often.

I usually make a large batch, it keeps well in an air-tight container for several weeks.  I would say I make a batch every 2-3 weeks or so.  I get a wave of panic over me when I see my stash is getting very low.  I like to have it on hand all the time.

Here’s what you will need…

Recipe

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup canola oil or vegetable oil (i usually use just a touch less than a 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup agave nectar (or any good honey)

1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, walnuts, pecans and cinnamon together in a large bowl.  In a small bowl whisk together the oil, honey and vanilla extract (if you choose to include it).  Pour the liquid mixture over the oat and nut mixture and mix well.  You do not want the mixture to be soaked.  You just want it coated and slightly moist.  Most of the time I don’t even use all this oil/honey mixture if it starts looking too wet and clumpy.  Use your judgement.

Pour into a large sheet pan (with a rim).

Bake until everything turns a nice golden brown color, roughly 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking.  You really must watch it, it goes from cooked just right to burnt VERY quickly.  The color change is amazing, right?

And look, not one clump.  Not one to be found.

Allow to cool completely before storing.  I like to keep the granola in this ‘plain’ state, as opposed to adding in dried fruit.  Once you add the fruit the shelf life decreases dramatically.  However, it is a nice touch (change) to add some dried fruit to a small portion of the granola to eat immediately.  I like adding dried cranberries and/or dried chopped apricots.