I finally made my own granola! And you know what, it was so easy. And totally worth it because you can control the sweetness and put in your favorite ingredients (many granola cereals have tons of sugar). AND, according to my personal food taster, it was better than any cereal we ever bought. OK, he is easily pleased, but seriously, it was good! The maple gives it a smoky flavor, and the sweetness was just right.
Only takes an hour, with just a few minutes of preparation:
Ingredients:
3 cups of Rolled Oats (I like the Jumbo ones)
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped (or other nuts)
a handful raw sunflower seeds (or other seeds)
1/2 cup real maple syrup (or you could use honey - use more if you like it sweeter)
1/2 cup coconut oil (or other vegetable oil, but this is by far the healthiest)
1/2 cup dried fruits (i used golden raisins, goji berries and dried cherries)
Obviously you can really change this recipe around, depending on what you have in your kitchen. But here are the basics:
Mix the oats, chopped almonds (I chopped them myself, takes about 5 minutes) and seeds with oil and maple syrup until well coated. (Coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils, especially for cooking because it can withstand high temperatures.) Spread evenly on a big baking sheet/tray. Bake at 120-130 C for one hour. Toss it around with a spatula every 15-20 min to make sure it's evenly cooking. When it's out of the oven, add the dried fruit - and that's it!
We had it for breakfast with soy/rice milk or layered with yogurt+ricotta and homemade raspberry jam. It also makes a lovely, personalized gift.
Soon...gotta try granola bars.