I’ve always been a HUGE fan of granola. I remember years ago, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I’d get unbelievable uncontrolable cravings for granola. I’d eat it almost every day, with some yogurt mixed in.

Now milk just wouldn’t cut it. It HAD to be yogurt.

Vanilla yogurt.

After that, I only rarely indulged because, well, quite frankly, the boxed stuff only sort of pretends that it wants to be healthy… In fact, it’s loaded with fat and sugar and is sooooo calorie dense that you’re only supposed to eat like a measly half a cup.

HALF A CUP!?!

Come on now, that’s just a tease! At that rate, I’d rather not have any… One bite and you’re done, and not only are you still hungry, but you are then also terribly frustrated.

Another thing is I find boxed granola to be a tad expensive for what it is! Let’s face it, they don’t let you have so much of the good stuff, like the dried fruits and nuts. You get mostly rolled oats and various flakes that have been baked after having being covered in oil and sugar.

Now, there are quite a few granola recipes available on the Net, but when I saw Lauren’s over at Healthy Food For Living, with all its gorgeous pieces of pecans and loads of dried cranberries, I just couldn’t resist, I had to give it a try. Of course, me being me, I had to improvise and add a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but the inspiration is definitely hers!

Trust me, If I had known that making granola was that easy, I’d’ve started like a million years ago. OK, maybe not a million, but at least a thousand! For some reason, I always thought making granola at home was super complicated and that one needed a degree in granochemistry or something to even dare attempt making them.

Sheesh… I was so far from the truth!

If you can roast nuts, you can make granola!

And if you’re anything like me, once you’ve made your first batch and you realize just how easy it is, really, you’ll want to have fun creating tons of new flavor combinations. I just can’t wait for this batch to be gone so that I can get started on a new one!

Mind you, it is awfully good. So crunchy and full of flavor!

Not sure I want it to go so fast after all…

INGREDIENTS
Adapted from Healthy Food For Living

Dry

  • 1 ½ cups rolled oats
  • 1 ½ cups kamut flakes
  • 1 cup soy flakes
  • 1 cup kasha (feel free to sub raw buckwheat groats if you don’t care for the taste of the roasted variety)
  • 1 ½ cups puffed brown rice cereal

Wet

  • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp salt

Add-ons

  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mesure the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until very smooth.
  4. Pour wet ingredients over cereal and stir until evenly coated. Spread mixture on the prepared cookie sheet in an even layer.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove sheet from the oven, stir the pecans into the granola, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the granola is golden brown and crisp.
  6. Remove granola from the oven, toss with the dried cranberries and grated coconut, and cool completely.
  7. Store in an airtight container.

I still like to enjoy my granola with yogurt… only now, I turn this yogurt into a heavenly high protein vanilla custard. Talk about good!

I add just a little bit of soy milk to losen it up…

All ready to enjoy