Are you a label reader? I am. I read every label before I put an item in my shopping cart. Years ago I spent 20 minutes in the cereal aisle, trying to find a “healthy” cereal to keep at the office for an emergency snack. EVERYTHING had SO MUCH SUGAR. And most of the them listed multiple types of sweeteners in one cereal… high fructose corn syrup, sugar, brown rice syrup, pure evaporated cane juice. Do we really need more than one kind in a single box of cereal?
A N Y W A Y.
Homemade granola with homemade almond milk.
It was at this point that I decided to make homemade granola, so I could control what goes into it and how it tastes. Granola is still something we try to eat in moderation, because nutritionally it is not really an “A student”… more like a B-/C+ 🙂 Sometimes I try to add things that will boost its grade, and the beauty of homemade granola is you can do the same! Use this recipe as a guide and get creative with your favorite flavors. (Please note, this is an updated version of an existing recipe I’ve had on the blog since 2013. I’m trying to update as many of my old recipes as I can, to reflect my new tastes, experience in the kitchen and ingredients.)
Ingredients
4 c. old fashioned oats (look for gluten-free oats if you are celiac)
3/4 c. almonds, chopped
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. dried papaya or pineapple, unsulphured, unsweetened is best
1/2 c. coconut flakes, unsweetened
1/4 c. sunflower seeds, raw
1/2 c. maple syrup and or coconut nectar (I used half and half)
1/2 tsp. Real salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325°F
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl in the order they are listed.
2. Stir to combine and evenly distribute ingredients.
3. Line 2-13"x18" baking sheets (or similar size) with parchment paper and divide the granola mixture among the two sheets, spread out into an even layer.
4. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 10 minutes.
5. Remove pan from oven and use a spatula to flip and rotate mixture to ensure even baking.
6. Place back into oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. NOTE: Trust your nose, if the smell of the granola baking changes from delicious to something slightly different, it's ready to come out. You don't want to burn the almonds.
7. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
8. Repeat with second sheet.
9. This made ~8 cups of granola. I filled up two, 4 cup mason jars and put one in the freezer and one in the fridge.
This looks tasty!
Thanks for posting this Corine. There are only one or two healthy cereals that I have found. Sugar, sugar everywhere! I grabbed subway for us on the way to Claire’s recital last night and the iced tea had 32 grams of sugar in one bottle!!
Soooo, what if I don’t have almond pulp?
It’s funny you asked, I was JUST thinking about this!! You can make it without and it will taste perfectly fine. You can also cut back on the maple syrup, salt and reduce cooking time by 5 minutes each session. It will bake much faster without the almond pulp, so keep an eye on it. Hope this helps!
Indeed it does! Thank you! I love homemade granola.
This looks great. With 2 kids who LOVE cereal, it’s hard to find some that won’t hop them up on sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I’ll have to give this a try – thanks for posting!
Quick question – would you ever take this on your long runs? Some of the ingredients seem like they’d serve you well as running fuel.
You’re welcome! I hope they like it! I don’t think I’d take this particular mixture on a run, since the almond meal makes it a little messy. Maybe without the almond meal I would. I usually stick to Carb BOOM for my fuel on long runs or Clif Energy Gels. I have tried soaked almonds before and it seemed to work fine, just not as convenient. 🙂