I’ve been on a granola-and-yogurt-for-breakfast kick for the last couple months. The only problem with this is that most granolas out there are as sweet as the day is long and turbo-loaded with processed who-knows-what. And any good types aren’t cheap. So (and yes I realize I sound like a dad here), why buy something one can easily make at home? I wagered that there couldn’t be much to it.
Granola is basically toasted oats with a bunch of tom-foolery added for kicks. You can add any type of nuts, dried fruits, or seeds after the oats cool down. I first tried toasting the oats tossed in agave nectar and pomegranate juice—sounds great, right? It bombed. It was bland and didn’t taste like much at all. I wasn’t sure whether to blame the pomegranate juice or the agave nectar, so I blamed them both.
For trial two, I used ½ dark brown sugar and ½ honey for the sweetening component, plus some apple juice instead of the pomegranate (I’m using juice instead of melted butter/oil… healthier, right?). Toss the oats with a little salt and the brown sugar before adding the honey and the juice. Then, pour the mixture onto a baking sheet and toast in a preheated 250⁰ oven. It should take about 20 minutes total, but you’ll want to stir them frequently to get an even color.
And that’s pretty much that. Eat with fresh fruit and yogurt. Store at room temp in a sealed container.
Recipe:
- 2 cups of raw rolled oats
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ⅓ cup of apple juice
Add any of the following:
- Shaved almonds
- Raisins
- Dried cranberries
- Gogi berries
- Sunflower seeds
- Coconut flakes
- Hazelnuts
- Dried banana
- And the list goes on and on…
