Homemade Granola

Granola: in my mind, the perfect food. It can be eaten with fruit, milk or yogurt, over oatmeal, or taken as a dry snack on the go. I sprinkled it on pancakes and they seriously rivaled my favorite granola pancakes ever.

Like most things, it's far cheaper to make your own granola in bulk. No matter your likes or allergies, you can change out ingredients. If your baby is younger you can soak the granola to soften it, or soak it then throw it in the blender to add more protein and taste to the usual yogurt (keeping in mind any doctor recommendations or allergy issues, of course). Remember those flax seeds with omega 3's I blogged about earlier? Easily added to this recipe. My only problem; I can't stop eating it! It's sort of addictive. I found a really great recipe recently and hope you enjoy it!

Remember, you can sub in dried cranberries or raisins for cherries. If you don't want almonds, no problem! Try other types of nuts. Let me know what you try!

Cherry Almond Granola

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut
3 tablespoons flax meal

Granola Syrup
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons agave nectar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cherries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In large bowl, combine oats, almonds, coconut, flax meal. Make the granola syrup by whisking all ingredients together. Pour over mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
Pour the granola mixture onto the baking sheet and spread to an even layer. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes, until golden in color, stirring twice. It will continue to brown up once you've taken it out of the oven, so don't leave it in too long!