Granola is a great addition to your breakfast greek yogurt. It is also a great snack item you can pick on through out the day. However, store bought granola can be very fattening and overloaded with sugar. So that is why I am suggesting you make your own. You become in complete control when you mix your own batch. You can also get very creative by using any spices and flavors you desire. For example, my cousin Shelly, mentioned using spices you would find in Chai Tea, in your granola.

In the last week, I randomly came across two different granola recipes in two different books I have been reading. It must be a sign, right? I thought to myself, I must try to make this. So I did, and it was super easy, satisfying, tasty.

This Granola recipe is from the book, Eat and Run, by Scott Jurek.

INGREDIENTS

• rolled oats
• hemp milk
• coconut oil (to coat bottom of baking pan)
• apple, cored and sliced
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dried coconut flakes
• 2 tbsp of maple syrup or 1 tbsp of agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• sea salt
• 1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2/3 cup golden raisins
• wheat germ (I added, not from original recipe)
• flax seeds (I added, not from original recipe)

DIRECTIONS

• Soak four cups of rolled oats in hemp milk over night. Make sure hemp milk is covering all of the oats. Hemp milk softens the oats, and adds a creamy sweetness. Hemp milk is also rich with omega 3 fatty acids. 
• After oats have soaked in hemp milk overnight. Drain excess milk, that wasn’t absorbed from oats.
• Cut apples.
• Add coconut flakes, apples, cinnamon, sweetener, vanilla, and salt to the oats. 
• Put mixture into food processor. Process for 30 seconds. Scrape sides and process for another 30 seconds, if necessary.
• After processed, transfer to a mixing bowl. Add pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, almonds, raisins, and wheat germ.
• Coat bottom of baking pan with coconut oil. Spread mixture to pan and bake for 2 hours in oven heated to 250 degrees. Check sporadically flipping granola ever so often to make it into crispy golden clusters.

Final Result

So there you have it! This recipe is really easy. And although, it took  2 hours to bake, it is well worth it because it makes your home smell like amazing apple cinnamon!

What is your favorite flavor of Granola!? Lets trade recipes!

© 2013 sweat daily