Homemade Granola

OK, Suzy Homemaker I am not, but I do like making things with Zach. Especially things that he enjoys eating (see Green Smoothies). Granola is one of his favourite snacks- he likes it with milk, without milk, with fruit, without fruit, with yogurt, without yogurt...get the point. Granola is super easy to make, especially with a 2.5 year old who likes to stick his fingers in everything. This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe that I've adapted to our tastes:)

Ingredients

• 4 cups organic rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped or slivered almonds (I stick whole, unsalted almonds in my Magic Bullet and pulse it a few times)
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup veggie or olive oil (or 1/3 cup applesauce)- I almost always use the applesauce
• 1/3 cup good honey
• 1/3 cup apple juice

Method

Heat oven to 350º. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, nuts, coconut, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk the oil (apple sauce), honey, and apple juice in measuring cup.

Pour the liquid mixture over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Spread onto a large sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, around 30-40 minutes, depending on oven. (OK, my oven usually takes about 20 mins, so check it!!)

Remove granola from the oven and allow to cool completely, stirring occasionally. Store cooled granola in an airtight container.

source

That's it!! Tasty and delicious- very toddler friendly and not too awful for the waistline (note: I said not TOO awful)

Oh, and if you have some dried fruit lying around, toss it in after the granola is cool. Adding flax seeds to the mix wouldn't be a bad idea either.

ENJOY:)

Edited to add: It makes A LOT of granola- at least 7 cups. You've been warned;)