As a health nut, one of my favorite and most essential food staples is granola. Granola is perfect in yogurt, trail mix, or as a sweet treat. The problem with a lot of the store bought granola, however, is it’s processed beyond belief and loaded with sugar and fat. Luckily, I’ve found my own easy recipe that’s beyond addicting and can be tweaked any way you want. See the recipe below!
Ingredients:
o 1/3 cup maple syrup
o 4 tsp vanilla extract
o 1/3 cup vegetable oil
o ½ cup peanut butter
o Allspice and cinnamon to taste
o 5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (make sure they’re not steel cut!)
o 2 cups dried fruit (optional)
o 2 cups chopped nuts (optional)
Prep:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with tinfoil or wax paper.
2. Combine maple syrup, vanilla, oil, peanut butter, cinnamon, and allspice together in a bowl and whisk together.
3. Add oats, nuts, and fruit to wet ingredients. Mix until combined and make sure the oats are thoroughly coated with the wet ingredients.
4. Transfer mixture onto baking sheet and press down until the mixture is a flat, even layer. Use a metal spatula to help with this.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. My magic number is 42 minutes.
6. Let cool and break into chunks or crumble into small pieces.
7. Enjoy!
The nice thing about this granola is that you can alter it any way you want. I love adding dried cranberries, cherries, and blueberries. Almonds are delicious in this, however any nut can be used. Pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds are great additions, too. For those nights when you’re craving some chocolate, add some chocolate chips into the mix! The peanut butter can also be substituted for almond butter, coconut butter, and any low fat, salt, or sugar varieties. Have fun creating different versions of this and don’t say I didn’t warn you when you become addicted!