Easy Granola

I'm not exactly a breakfast person.  I'm a "get me some coffee and wait" person.  It takes me a bit to get in the mood for food or normal brain function in the morning.  I'm not crabby or mean, I just need a little more time than normal to wake up and get going.  I'll never be (nor do I really like) those perky right out of bed people.  Honestly, I have a tendency to skip breakfast all together at times.  Knowing breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I'm trying to improve on that.  I want something quick and easy if I'm going to make this goal happen.  Enter.....Easy Granola!

Having a batch of this on hand, does not only help me create a quick and easy breakfast, it's tasty too!  I add mine over a bowl of yogurt.  It could really be a delicious snack for any time of the day.  I'm thinking of taking some along the next time Izzy and I go on a hike.  Yes, even easier would be buying pre-made granola but I get much more satisfaction knowing exactly what is in my granola and I can omit or substitute ingredients depending on what I have on hand. 

I got my recipe from Whole Living Magazine.  Not an issue comes in the mail that I don't tear out a page or dog ear a tip or recipe to try.  They also have recipes, tips and great articles on their Whole Living site.  What I liked about this recipe, it was easy to change ingredients and double (or triple) to stock up.  On a side note, I love these containers.  Oxo makes all different sizes.  I use them for many dry ingredients like flour and sugar.  Now I have one to store my granola too!

Easy Granola (inspired by Whole Living’s Basic Healthy Granola)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups regular rolled oats

¼ cup flax meal

¼ cup unsalted soy nuts

¼ cup sliced almonds

½ cup dried pineapple

½ cup dried papaya

¼ cup dried blueberries

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbs. apple juice

2 Tbs. orange juice

2 Tbs. maple syrup

2 Tbs. honey

½ tsp. orange zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking-oil spray or line with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl combine oats, flax meal, soy nuts, almonds, cinnamon.  Mix well.  In a separate bowl combine pineapple, papaya and blueberries ; set aside.  In a glass measuring cup combine apple juice, orange juice, maple syrup, honey and orange zest.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.  Spread the mixture on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and stir and break up any large chunks.  Add dried fruit mixture and return to oven.  Bake an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  When completely cool, store in airtight container.

Give it a try for yourself.  Remember, ingredients can easily be changed up based on your tastes.  Try replacing the almonds and soy nuts with walnuts and sunflower seeds.  Add some dried cherries in place of the other dried fruits.  For a sweet touch, you could stir in chocolate chips once cooled.  The possibilities are endless!  Enjoy!

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