Homemade Granola Recipe

Granola is a great snack- but have you ever noticed the amount of sugar in the store bought kind? It's outrageous! It's super easy to make your own and it keeps well in the fridge or freezer.

Prep time: 1 hour. Makes 8 cups (unless you double it, which is a great idea when making granola because it is a fabulous snack as well as breakfast). 3 ½ cup organic rolled oats½ cup sesame seeds

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup pumpkin seeds

½ cup almonds, chopped (or other nut, like pecans or walnuts)

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp sea salt

½ cup coconut oil or butter

½ maple syrup, agave or honey

½ cup dried raisins

½ cup dried dates, chopped

½ cup dried fruit of your choice (cranberries, apricots, apples, etc)

1 tablespoon nut butter (optional)

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

¼ tsp almond extract (optional)

NOTE: So long as you have the oats, sweetener, & oil then you can basically add whatever dried fruits, nuts and seeds that you would like.

Directions: Preheat oven to 325. In large mixing bowl, combine oats, seeds, nuts and spices. Mix well. In small bowl, mix together oil or butter (melted), sweetener and nut butter and stir. Add the optional extracts. Slowly pour wet ingredients over dry then use a spoon to stir, evenly coating the dry ingredients with the wet. Spread on a cookie sheet or shallow pan and bake until granola is dry and golden (30-45 minutes). To toast the granola more evenly, turn/stir it on the cookie sheet every 15 minutes. Store the granola in a airtight jar or tupperware container.