Good Start Homemade Granola

We've been over this before.  Breakfast = good, no breakfast= bad.  You don't eat breakfast and by 10am you feel grumpy, sleepy, dopey and a few of the other 7 dwarves.  Do yourself a solid and get some nourishment in the am.

You may be trying to shy away from sugary cereals, gut busting fast food biscuits piled with meat and cheese, or some unidentifiable 'pastry' filled with fruit like gelatinous goop.  Usually people turn to granola bars or crumbles in this situation because they equate granola with healthiness.  NOT!  Most prepackaged granola or fruit bars have as much sugar as a snickers!  And while you're pouring yourself a big bowl of granola with milk, you don't realize that the serving size was not even a quarter of what you just ate.  And don't get me started on the price of this stuff!  If you invest a little money into good quality ingredients, you can make multiple batches of granola for the price of one store bought package.  Plus, it's not that hard to make.  I promise!  So, let's get down to business, shall we?

Homemade Granola

Note: The ingredients may differ, but the method is the same in each recipe.  Feel free to substitute your own items as well to create a unique blend!

Carob Peanut Butter Granola

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/4 cup mixed nuts and seeds (I used pumpkin seeds, almonds, peanuts and sunflower seeds)
• 4 tbs. vegan butter
• 4 tbs. peanut butter
• 3 tbs. carob powder 
• 1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)

Energy Boost  Fruit and Nut Granola

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1/4 cup mixed nuts and seeds 
• 1/4 cup dried fruits (I used cranberries, raisins and coconut flakes)
• 4 tbs. vegan butter
• 1/2 cup agave nectar (or honey)

Directions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Place oats, flax seeds, any nuts, seeds, and dried fruits in your recipe on a sheet pan. 

2.  Stir up all ingredients and bake for 10 minutes.  Take out, stir, and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes, or until oats are slightly browned.  Be careful not to burn the oats!

3.  Prepare your wet ingredients.  For the Carob PB Granola, add the carob powder, pb, vegan margarine and agave syrup to a small sauce pan over medium heat.  For the Energy Boost Granola, add the margarine and agave syrup to a small saucepan over medium heat. 

4.  Cook over medium heat until all ingredients are melted and combined.  (This is the carob pb mixture)

This is the agave nectar, margarine mixture.

5.  Stir oat mixture into the wet mixture until all oats are completely coated with the liquid.   At this point, you can either use the granola this way as a crumbled cereal, or you can continue the directions to make granola bars. 

6.  Line a square or rectangle tupperware with plastic wrap and pour oat mixture into the container.

7.  Cover the top of the mixture with plastic wrap and firmly press the mixture down until it completely fills the container and makes a square or rectangle shape.  Make sure it is pressed very, very firmly so that the mixture will cut well.

8.  Freeze overnight, or for several hours.  Turn tupperware over, and remove the whole bar by pulling out the plastic wrap.  Use a serrated knife to cut the granola into squares or rectangles while the mixture is still frozen.  You can individually wrap these with plastic wrap for easy on the go snacking!

Another serving option:

Layer in a glass or bowl with fruit and yogurt for an easy and delicious parfait!