Homemade Granola







When I first started cleaning up my diet, I started with my breakfast. I used to eat Cascadian Farms Granola Cereal. Needless to say, the ingredients were not so good. It included food that was not considered clean eating. I was definitely misled by the cover of the box which said it was organic and natural. I found a recipe from 100daysofrealfood.com for homemade granola. I tweaked the recipe to make it my own. I used some ingredients from the cereal I liked previously and then added flavors that I liked. Homemade granola does not last very long in my apartment. I love adding fresh fruit and milk with it. When I first started dating my boyfriend, I made it for him to take with him to work. He loved it. He requested that I make it this weekend for him. He now has a whole batch for breakfast at work. It's really simple to make and very satisfying.




Granola Cereal


3 cups rolled oats
3 cups of whole wheat puffed rice
1 cup nuts (I use whatever is on hand. I like almonds. This particular picture contains walnuts)
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Also need – parchment paper



Directions


Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Cover a rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients together in big bowl
Heat the butter, honey and vanilla together in a small saucepan over low heat.
Pour the hot liquids over the dry ingredients and stir together with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.
Spread mixture onto prepared pan in one even layer. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes
The granola will become crisp as it cools at which point you can break into pieces or break it up into small chunks by pounding it in a zip lock bag. Store in air tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.








“As for my own surfing, let's just say that when the waves start pushing 10 feet, I get this tremendous urge to make a sandwich.”

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