Homemade Granola

So, I cannot even tell you how yummy this homemade granola recipe is; and oh, how good for you! This recipe is super easy too. I tweaked a few granola recipes to get exactly what I wanted.  Also, cooking from scratch may take a little time and effort to get used to, but in the long run it saves lots of money, less chemicals, and time spent investing in teaching your children how to cook.

You can look up Kind Bars which are a pretty healthy snack, but they are very expensive if you have a big family especially. They are about $15 for 12 bars. So that would be a little like two snacks for my family. So, that’s why I decided to make homemade granola.

My parent’s raised me for part of my life overseas, so my mom made everything from scratch. You could not just go to the store and pick up convenience (processed/box/canned) foods. She made things like homemade pop tarts, homemade breads and desserts, homemade apple crisp and cinnamon rolls. As you live in the States for a while, life is so busy people do not tend to cook from scratch much.

The more I have researched health and how the US is plagued with so many diseases, I believe a lot of the problem is chemicals in our foods, over eating, and not gaining the proper nutrition we should from what we eat. I try to eat as raw as possible. I love the book, The Hallelujah Diet! It’s mostly a plant-based diet, and I have tweaked it a bit to fit my needs. I am not a vegetarian, but I try to be careful throughout the week to eat as much natural food as I can.

First thing’s first, make sure you have all your ingredients on hand. Use a large bowl and wooden spoon. You can tweak these ingredients if you like. The ingredients were kinda pricey at first, but I have enough to make another batch, and it made a huge container. The only thing I would have to purchase again for a second batch is the oats. Or I would just buy cheap oatmeal next time. If you cannot afford all the healthiest ingredients, just pick and choose which ones you want. I would just be careful not to use bleached white sugar. Personally, I think it’s probably the worst. (I am not saying I never eat white sugar, but very rarely.)

Add all ingredients into the bowl except for the raisins.

I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Oats.

Wheat germ is really good for you and adds a lot of fiber. My children’s doctor told told me most children do not get near enough fiber. She said they need about 13 grams of fiber daily, and one apple only has about two grams. I was stunned!

Flax seed is a super food. Absolutely so many health benefits if you want to read up! You could also add Chia seeds if you wanted.

Make sure you use unsweetened coconut if you can. Sometimes, it can be hard to find.

Almond slices…

The recipe I had called for sunflower seeds, but I didn’t have any. Also, I could not find sunflower seeds that were not already roasted and salted. All the nuts I buy are raw. Walnuts are very good for brain health (if you do not buy them cooked), so I tend to stick with them. 🙂

You can use raw unfiltered honey, pure maple syrup, or Agave Nectar.

I wish I  would have had Stevia or another more natural sweetener. Brown sugar is not the greatest, so you can substitute it for whatever you like the best.

Make sure whatever oil you use that it is cold-pressed if you are trying to go the healthiest route. Any heat applied in the oil making process kills most of the good in it. I love this avocado and coconut oil. If I were trying to keep it really healthy I would only use this avocado/coconut blended oil, extra virgin olive oil, Udo’s Choice Perfected Oil Blend, or flaxseed oil.

Cinnamon…

Add your pure vanilla syrup. If I had the choice I would use organic vanilla because of the additives in this one.

I used iodized sea salt (because I am hypo-thyroid, I keep the iodized salt).

Stir all your ingredients.

Spray a large baking pan with non-stick spray. You may need two pans so that you can spread the layer really thin. This is a huge pan!

Spread evenly.

I baked at 170 degrees, the lowest temperature on my oven, for 20 minutes. After the twenty minutes I stirred it, and cooked for another 20 minutes. You can also dehydrate this recipe, but I do not have one and couldn’t find dehydrator sheets locally. This is why I chose to bake on the lowest setting. I let the granola cool, and then I added 1 cup of raisins. The raisins are optional. You could even add dark chocolate chips if you want!

Voila! Now, you have a nice, healthy snack for you and your family. I always feel so much better the more I eliminate processed foods.