I love granola on yogurt!

Try it anyway it may grow on you!

It is a lot lower in calories than adding milk and Greek Yogurt has protein.

Did you know you should get 30

grams of protein with every meal

This will help you get there.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT RECIPES AND COST A LOT LESS TO MAKE AT HOME THAN BUYING IN THE STORE

I LIKE ORGANICS SO FIND THE ORGANIC VERSIONS OF THESE INGREDIANTS AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH THE RESULT.

KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR BAKING METHOD AND MORE RECIPES

What a pleasure, to start your day with a tummy–filling bowl of delicious whole–grain granola! And it’s easy to make your own. Just stir together everything but the dried fruit, and bake till crunchy. Add your favorite fruits once it’s cool. Put it on top of Greek yogurt with fruit flavors and enjoy or take it as a snack for later in the day. Make your own yogurt parfait. Layer with fresh or frozen fruit, yogurt with granola at the top layer.

7 cups (1 1/2 pounds) rolled oats, uncooked
1 cup (4 ounces) flaked unsweetened coconut (optional, but good)
1 cup (4 ounces) stabilized wheat germ
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sliced almonds
1 cup (4 ounces) diced pecans or walnuts
1 cup (5 ounces) sunflower seeds, raw or toasted
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (11 ounces) pure maple syrup*
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) vanilla extract
5 cups (about 20 ounces) mixed dried fruit** (raisins, cranberries, cherries, diced pineapple, diced apricots, chopped dates, or the mixture of your choice)

*Pure maple syrup (as opposed to maple-flavored cane sugar syrup) makes a MUCH tastier granola. If you use "fake" syrup, be advised you’ll have to use a lot more to get the same degree of sweetness; probably an additional 1/2 cup.

**Our Fruitcake Fruits, 20 ounces of tasty dried apricots, raisins, pineapple, dates, and cranberries, is the perfect size for this recipe.

In a very large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds. Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour over the dry mixture in the bowl, stirring and tossing till everything is very well combined; a spoonula or large stirring spoon work well here.

Spread granola on a couple of large lightly greased baking sheets; a half-sheet pan is ideal. Bake in a preheated 250°F oven for about 90 minutes, stirring the mixture with a heatproof spatula, spoonula, or turner every 15 minutes or so. You want to bring the granola at the edge in towards the middle, so it all browns evenly. And reverse the baking sheets in the oven (top to bottom, bottom to top) each time you stir.

When the granola is a light–to–medium golden brown, remove it from the oven and cool completely on the pans. Transfer the granola to a large bowl, and mix in the dried fruit. Store in a tightly closed container at room temperature for several weeks; freeze for extended storage. Or portion into pretty patterned plastic bags for gift-giving.
Yield: about 18 cups, about 4 1/4 pounds granola.

Since when did one of my all-time favorite snack foods, crunchy granola, turn into a lifestyle designation?

From a Google search I recently did on “crunchy granola”:

“Slang of the Week: crunchy-granola (adjective)

“Example: Janet knew John was crunchy-granola when he came to pick her up in a rainbow-colored 1974 VW Microbus.

“…crunchy-granola students (named for the food they ate) could be easily identified because they were the only ones wearing Birkenstock sandals. Nowadays, lots of people wear Birkenstocks, but it’s still pretty easy to spot crunchy-granola types. Also called earthy-crunchy, they wear natural fabrics (especially hemp) and long hair, sometimes in dreadlocks. They tend to be vegetarians, shop at the Whole Foods market and give money to Greenpeace.”

Well, there’s no more satisfying snack than a handful of this just-sweet-enough, crunchy-nutty-oaty, maple- and vanilla-scented granola. Add it to yogurt; make trail bars with it; eat it with milk (or cream… oo-la-la!), and bake, pack, wrap, and give it as Christmas gifts.

Try doing all THAT with a bowl of oatmeal.

Come to think of it, perhaps the use of crunchy granola to describe an erstwhile hippie derives from the fact granola is an over-the-top riff on oatmeal. Just as a “crunchy granola” is an over-the-top riff on… well, Joe the Plumber.

Kinda like putting Mick Jagger and Pat Boone side by side, eh?

I know which one I’d pick.

Crunchy Granola.

The hardest thing about making your own granola is simply gathering the ingredients. Let’s start with the dry stuff. Clockwise from left, you see diced pecans, stabilized wheat germ, sliced almonds, unsweetened coconut, and sunflower seeds. You can probably pick this stuff up at a market that sells in bulk out of bins. Or you can certainly find it all here.

Here’s a better view of the coconut. It’s nicer than regular supermarket coconut—finer cut, and not gooey-sweet.

And here’s my favorite all-around dried fruit mix: our combination of apricots, golden raisins, pineapple, dates, and cranberries. I love this in cookies, muffins… and granola, where it really shines.

And here’s the bulk of your granola: oats. Use old-fashioned, rather than quick oats.

Maple syrup and vanilla give this granola over-the-top flavor. For the syrup, I use Grade B cooking maple, a dark, assertively maple syrup. If you use store-bought pancake syrup, increase the amount by about half to reach the same level of sweetness. And, you’ll be missing the maple flavor. This syrup is expensive; but if you can afford it, as an indulgence, it’s so worth it.

As for the Vanilla Bean Crush—aromatic, flavorful, laced with vanilla bean seeds and crushed bean. Superb.

So, let’s get all of our dry ingredients ito a big bowl. You probably can’t see that these ingredients aren’t floating in thin air, but are in fact in our big styrene mixing bowl, which I use for pie filling, fruitcake, and other big mixing jobs, like granola.

Mix to combine. A dough whisk works well here.

Next, measure the maple syrup and vegetable oil. Since I’m pouring into a measuring cup I don’t really need the scale, but I just automatically weigh everything, since it’s fast and easy.

Stir in the vanilla.

See the crushed vanilla pods and seeds?

Whisk together…

…and pour over the dry ingredients.

Mix to combine.

Nothing sticks to the whisk.

Line two half-sheet pans with parchment.

Divide the granola between the two pans.

Spread it right to the edge.

And here’s my well-loved hang-around-the-neck timer. You’re going to bake the granola for about 2 hours, stirring it every 15 minutes. I like this timer because it automatically resets itself to 15 minutes each time it gets to zero.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and bring the edges of the granola in towards the center. This ensures that it all bakes evenly. The easiest way to do this is simply to grab a corner of the parchment, lift, and slide the granola around the edges in towards the center.

Do the same with the sides, rolling the granola on the outside in towards the center.

Shake the pan and use a spatula to spread it to the edges again.

Continue to bake until the granola is golden brown.

Remove it from the oven. Looking good, eh? Once the granola is completely cool, lift the piece of parchment, and funnel the granola into a bowl.

Pour in the dried fruit.

Stir together, using a spoon, your whisk…

Or your clean hands, an excellent tool.

Done!

And look at that clean pan.

Ready to enjoy.

Serve with fresh fruit and milk, or just as is. Granola is a delicious whole-grain breakfast, snack, or gift. For Mick, OR Pat.

Read, rate and review (please!) our recipe for Crunchy Granola.

Buy vs. Bake

Buy: New England Natural Bakers Organic Apple, Raisin, and Walnut Granola, $5.29/lb.

Vermont Maple Granola

Bake at home: Crunchy Granola with real maple syrup, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, cranberries, apricots, pineapple, pecans, almonds, golden raisins, and dates, $6.70/lb.

Yes, it does cost more to make this granola than to purchase many ready-made granolas. You can save a considerable amount of money by sweetening with corn syrup or honey instead of real maple syrup; or by cutting back on the array of dried fruits (e.g., substituting golden raisins and cranberries for the apricots, pineapple, and dates). This is, admittedly, a deluxe granola, as the recipe is written. And its taste, texture, and just-baked freshness are out of this world… In this case, you get what you pay for.

And you thought store-bought granola was tasty? Wait'll you try your own fresh, homemade version!

7 cups rolled oats, uncooked
1 cup toasted coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup almonds, sliced or broken up
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped or broken up
1 cup sunflower seeds, raw or toasted
1/2 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
additional dried fruit/nuts as desired

In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, wheat germ, nuts, seeds, and milk powder. Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the salt, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour over dry mixture in bowl, stirring and tossing till everything is very well combined.

Spread granola on a couple of large, lightly greased baking sheets. Bake in a preheated 250°F oven for 2 hours, tossing and stirring mixture every 15 minutes or so. Remove pans from oven and cool completely. Transfer granola to a large bowl, and mix in raisins and additional dried fruit, as desired.

It's easy to make your own granola. Stir together everything but the fruit, and bake till crunchy. Add your favorite dried fruits once it's cool.

Pina Colada Granola

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dairy free, whole grain
Hands-on time:	20 mins. to 25 mins.
Baking time:	1 hrs 20 mins. to 1 hrs 20 mins.
Total time:	Overnight, 1 hrs 40 mins. to 1 hrs 45 mins.
Yield:	4 1/2 cups
Andrea BrownPublished:	01/01/2010

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups traditional rolled oats
1/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup stabilized wheat germ
1/2 cup diced pecans
1/4 cup diced walnuts
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon coconut flavor
1/8 teaspoon pineapple flavor
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups mixed gold-toned dried fruit; diced pineapple, diced apricots, and/or golden raisins