Steve?s Morning Glory Granola

This year for Christmas my friend Steve gave me homemade granola. I savored the granola each morning for breakfast with a little yogurt, honey, and some fresh fruit. Honestly, it was one of my favorite gifts this year, from one of my favorite people in Juneau. When my stash of Steve’s granola ran out I set upon making my own healthy blend without refined sugar and only a little oil. Many of the granolas available on the market are full of fat and sugar and are ridiculously priced. Organic rolled oats are cheap when bought in bulk, puffed rice is affordable, and dried fruit is easy enough to find.

Do yourself a favor and make this delicious cereal the way you want it. I didn’t find puffed rice in town until after I’d made my first batch. I’ll probably add a cup of puffed rice to my next granola attempt. If you’re having a hard time finding it in Juneau, check out the Foodland hippie aisle: look on the bottom row of the cereal section.

Feel free to add your favorite ingredients, use brown sugar instead of honey, throw in a little dried coconut, your favorite nuts, and mix the dried fruit up a bit. I made my version of the cereal based on my tastes and it was great, for me. I’ll admit that my granola wasn’t as good as Steve’s special blend. My version does have a depth and a spice of its own, much to the credit of chopped almonds and an addition of dutch cocoa powder.

Ingredients:

- 4 cups of rolled oats

- 1/2 cup of chopped almonds

- 1/2 cup of dried apricots

- 1/2 cup of raisins

- 1/2 cup of honey

- 1/2 cup of applesauce

- 1 Tbs canola oil

- 1 Tbs cinammon

- 1 Tbs dutch cococa powder

- 1 tsp each of allspice, nutmeg, clove

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

- Preheat the oven to 350

- Mix the oats and chopped almonds with spices & dutch cocoa in a large bowl.

- Make sure your honey is warm enough to mix together with your oil.

- Mix oil and honey in a small bowl with a fork.

- Integrate oil & honey mix into the oat mixture.

- Stir with a wooden spoon, until oats and nuts are coated.

- Pour onto a 13 X 18 X 1″ sheet pan or a large Pyrex.

- Bake for 45 minutes, making sure to stir the mixture every 5- 10 minutes.

- After 45 minutes, take granola from the oven to cool.

- Add the dried apricots and raisins. mixing well.

- Keep your amazing granola in an airtight container.

Serving suggestion:

Add 1/4 cup of granola to a 1/2 cup of low-fat plain or Greek yogurt, top with a tiny drizzle of honey, and a chopped banana for a perfect breakfast.

- 1/4 cup is 2 WW points.

Share