Let me just begin with the fact that this post has been a long time coming. Buying boxed granola cereal for $4.50 a pop, though delicious, was frustrating. Why do I have to pay a million dollars for such a satisfying breakfast? Well, I decided that I didn't. Armed with zero knowledge on how to make granola I went to the store. There I bought things that I thought would be yummy, this such as, walnuts, sliced almonds, and crasins. The one thing I did know though was that granola needed rolled oats, and not their evil twin instant oats. Ok, Ok, instant oats aren't evil. They make a great quick snack and can be handy. But any time I've used oats is for baking, and using instant oats will only result in mushy nastiness, and must be avoided at all costs.
Getting back on track.... I picked up my oats, went home aaaaaaand... procrastinated. It's ridiculous to think that I was actually afraid to make granola. But really, who wants gross granola, then it just becomes a large waste of money and effort. About two weeks after I bought all my materials, my desire for granola finally outweighed my fears and I set to it. Since I had never done this before, I scoured my dozens of cook books and all of the internet for a starting point. The internet seemed to only yielded super sweet recipes drowned in brown super and maple syrup. Though this sounded freakishly delicious, I wanted a less sweet alternative that could serve as a nutritious kick in the boot breakfast each morning. I finally settled on a recipe found in Skinny Bitch in the Kitch by my two favorite secret vegan authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Starting from their recipe for granola I switched a few things to make it my own. Most important to me and my budget was switching maple syrup for agave. I refuse to use the fake stuff when it comes to maple syrup making agave the much cheaper option believe it or not. Other then that, I swapped their option for berries and nuts in place of my own crasins, walnuts, and sliced almonds. And just for good measure I threw in some flax seed I had on hand.
The directions where simple enough. Step one: toast the oats. Step two: add everything delicious ever. Step three let cool. This was definitely the hardest step. Not only did it smell super delicious, but I can't ignore the call of warm walnuts and crasins. To combat my desires I grabbed a quick shot of them cooling.
I stored mine in an empty mason jar I had, but a zip lock bag with all the air squeezed out will do the job just as well. Good luck!
Getting back on track.... I picked up my oats, went home aaaaaaand... procrastinated. It's ridiculous to think that I was actually afraid to make granola. But really, who wants gross granola, then it just becomes a large waste of money and effort. About two weeks after I bought all my materials, my desire for granola finally outweighed my fears and I set to it. Since I had never done this before, I scoured my dozens of cook books and all of the internet for a starting point. The internet seemed to only yielded super sweet recipes drowned in brown super and maple syrup. Though this sounded freakishly delicious, I wanted a less sweet alternative that could serve as a nutritious kick in the boot breakfast each morning. I finally settled on a recipe found in Skinny Bitch in the Kitch by my two favorite secret vegan authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Starting from their recipe for granola I switched a few things to make it my own. Most important to me and my budget was switching maple syrup for agave. I refuse to use the fake stuff when it comes to maple syrup making agave the much cheaper option believe it or not. Other then that, I swapped their option for berries and nuts in place of my own crasins, walnuts, and sliced almonds. And just for good measure I threw in some flax seed I had on hand.
The directions where simple enough. Step one: toast the oats. Step two: add everything delicious ever. Step three let cool. This was definitely the hardest step. Not only did it smell super delicious, but I can't ignore the call of warm walnuts and crasins. To combat my desires I grabbed a quick shot of them cooling.
I like to think I outsmarted the writer when they instructed me to place the granola still on the hot pan, onto a cooling rack and let cool for several hours. Instead I covered two of my cooling racks in tin foil and sat them side by side. This allowed my granola to cool in little less then an hour.
I'm not kidding when I say I was drooling over this stuff.
And there it is all jared up and waiting to be devoured. When I first started I hoped to make a granola good for breakfast cereal. Though this one could still be used in this way, and is perfect on top of yogurt, it's more loose and less clumped together. Gratefully I'm still able to enjoy it. I bring this granola with me everywhere as a quick snack in a baggy, and as a protein packed companion to my fruit smoothy for lunch. Next time I think I"ll try something with peanut butter, but as far as this recipe goes, I would definitely classify it as yumnola!
Heres my altered recipe if you're inspired to make your own.
2 Cups Rolled oats
3/4 cup raw sliced almonds
3/4 cup raw walnuts
2 tbsp whole flax seed
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 cup agave
2 tbsp real maple syrup
2 tbsp veggie oil
1 cup crasins
Preheat your oven to 300F
Scatter oats on a large baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes, mixing them about every 5 minutes to insure even browning. While your oats are toasting, in a large bowl mix together your almonds, walnuts, flax seed, and salt. In a small bowl combine the agave, syrup and oil. Once your oats are done, combine with the nut mixture. Then, thoroughly coat with the syrup mixture. Once combined return the mix to a greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every so often, until the oats reach a dark golden color. Your granola will still be moist so don't be alarmed. Pour the granola back into the large mixing bowl and add your crasins. Once mixed pour the granola onto cooling racks covered in tin foil. Let cool and enjoy!
