I have been a cereal addict for most of my life. There have been many lunches and dinners where I was too lazy to put something together and just enjoyed a bowl of milky, crunchy goodness. My husband and I wanted to get away from all the high-fructose corn syrup cereals, so we switched to more “natural” ones. When Gabriel started wondering why he had to eat sugarless oatmeal while we pulled out the boxed breakfast, I realized I should evaluate our breakfasts a little more. Even though all these cereals had no HFCS, they were still full of sugar, refined grains (aka, more sugar), and pretty pennies. We did a couple weeks without cereal, but got tired of oatmeal and eggs.
I had made granola before, for special treats, but they were always either full of sugar, tasteless, or pricey (because of all the delicious nuts and dried fruit).
I finally came across this recipe from “Pure Goodness,” and modified it to fit our needs. We love it! And I feel totally fine with giving this to Gabriel for breakfast, soaked in coconut milk happiness, or, when I get around to it, delicious homemade coconut milk yogurt (and before you think that sounds like way too much, I’ll confess that I have a yogurt maker appliance that literally just plugs into the wall. It’s easy, and it works!).
I usually double this recipe, and make it every 10 days to 2 weeks. This is the only cereal we have on hand anymore, and we can now have a variety of granola, eggs, and hot oatmeal. It’s very flexible, so play around with it until you like it too!
If you want a “special treat” granola that tastes better than ANY store bought cereal I’ve ever had, check out this one: http://ohsheglows.com/2012/10/12/cinnamon-bun-granola-recipe-halloween-treat-a-thon/. While you’re at it, gorge yourself on the entire blog.
There are a couple tricks I use for every granola recipe now: heat the liquids and salt together before combining with the dry oatmeal, bake on parchment paper, and let the granola sit for a while on the hot pan after removing from the oven (this is how you get the glorious clusters!).
Tropical Coconut Granola (Single Recipe)
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
¼ cup honey
1/6 cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
Dash of cinnamon (optional)
1-3 Tbsp. ground flax seed (optional)
Raisins, dried fruits, nuts (optional)
- Heat oven to 300 F
- In a large bowl, combine oats, shredded coconut, and optional nuts
- In a small saucepan cook honey, oil, vanilla and salt over medium heat until the mixture just begins to simmer.
- Pour honey/oil mixture over oats and coconut flakes, optional cinnamon and flax seed, and stir with a wooden spoon until the well combined.
- Spread out granola on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place in oven, bake for 10-15 minute increments, then stir granola. Repeat until well-toasted, normally 30-40 minutes.
- Cool on baking sheet. Add dried fruits when cooled. Stir in airtight containers for up to two weeks. Can also refrigerate or freeze for longer shelf life.
Recipe adapted from: http://www.puregoodness.net/recipe-nutrition/tropical-coconut-granola/
Granola
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.