Granola Recipe

This is the lower-fat granola recipe that I use.  The higher-fat granolas made with lots of oil and sugar have a more tender crunch to them; this one is a little crisper.  It is still not low fat, but at least it has a much more reasonable amount of calories than a lot of homemade granolas do.

A serving is 1/2 cup and is 241 Calories*.  If you keep track of the balance of your diet (I use https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/) it provides 1 oz. of whole grains, 1/4 c. fruit, 1/2 oz. protein, and 1 tsp. oils (from the nuts).  It actually provides those things even if you don't keep track of what you eat.


Granola

8 c. Old Fashioned Oats
2 c. Raw Nuts/Seeds (for this batch, I used 1/2 c. slivered almonds, 1 c. (minus 1 Tbsp) sunflower seeds, 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, and 1/2 c. pumpkin seeds)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
1 1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 c. Water
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
2 c. Dried Fruit (I used 1/2 c. golden raisins, 1/2 c. dried cherries, and 1 c. chopped dates)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Mix together the oats, nuts/seeds, and spices.

Heat together brown sugar and water in small saucepan over medium-high until sugar dissolves.  Cool slightly, stir in vanilla, then pour over oat mixture.  Mix well until the sugar mixture evenly coats everything.
Spread onto sheet pans (it will probably take 2-3 cookie sheets) in a thin layer.

Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Stir well.  Bake another 15 minutes.  Stir well again.  Repeat until granola has been baked for 1 hour and is slightly browned and crunchy.

It's hard to tell from these pictures, but the uncooked granola looks darker brown and wet.  Finished granola is golden and evenly dry/crispy/crumbly.  If in doubt over whether it is done, remove a small amount from the pan and allow it to cool, then taste it.  If it's still too chewy, put it in the oven a little longer.

 Add dried fruits; stir.

Allow granola to cool completely, then put in an airtight container for storage.  Some people like to put it in the refrigerator, but mine has never gone bad on me yet.

Now, eat! 

I don't particularly like cereal, but I'm trying to get more dairy into my life.  Here is how I like cereal when I do eat it: pour a few shredded wheat biscuits into a bowl, then a little granola, then a little raisin bran, and then top it off with some cheerios and milk.


*The recipe I used to use was the Crunchy Granola recipe in the More with Less cookbook.  Per half-cup serving, that granola had 333 Calories, 1 oz. whole grains, 1 1/2 oz. protein, and a whopping 3 tsp. oils.