Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Yes -- I am A Pod Person, Take Me to Your Leader


Growing up there were very few things that I would not try or eat, one them was yogurt and the other granola. It helped my cause that both my parents thought that one was bird food and the other hippy-food. If anyone had told me that I was to become a granola-eating, yogurt lover, I'd have laughed (maybe even hysterically) right in his/her face. However, about two years ago, I just up and decided (after watching husband do it for years and years and feeding it to my kids too...) to give it a whirl. It wasn't love at first taste, but it was not bad. Now I love it -- plain yogurt with fruit granola and a dab of honey, well, it's the bomb!

Not to toot my horn too much, but TOOOT... I make a lovely granola using Kathleen Daelemans' recipe as a base and adding a couple of tweaks here and there. I make a double batch which usually lasts about a month and a half but only because I add a ton of healthy cereals to the granola base. It gives us much needed fiber into all of our diets and makes a handy healthy snack to boot. I've added the recipe for your review. Try it, I think you'll like it.

Kathleen's Granola Recipe with my Tweaks (which make it that much better)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
3 teaspoons cinnamon
5 generous teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups old fashioned rolled oats
4 cups chopped pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds
1/4 cup flax seed
dried raisins, fruit to taste
Healthy cereals to taste

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Combine the brown sugar and water in a large microwave-proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes or until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the microwave, add vanilla, salt and cinnamon and stir to combine. Set aside. Grind the flax seed and combine with nuts, and rolled oats in a large bowl. Add the sugar syrup to the oatmeal mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the mixture on the cookie sheets and bake for 6o minutes until golden and crunchy. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. You can add dried fruit and store in an airtight container or you can take the base granola and combine it with healthy sugar-free, high-fiber cereals to add more fiber and grains to our diet. I use cheerios, bran flakes and others of that ilk. This stuff is darn good!

2 comments:

  1. I can personally vouch for the deliciocity of this recipe, as I am a horn-tootin' member of the Granola Fan Club!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, when you have gifted us with this wonderful granola, we, too, are swept away by the luscious flavors.

    ReplyDelete