Granola

Is it just me or is granola ridiculously expensive? Well I think it is. So I started to make my own! Honestly I love it so much more than the 200 calories for a 1/3 of a cup store brand. Simply because I know whats in it and whats not. This is an extremely low cal version (well not low cal, but lower calorie than most other recipes). Here is what I do, and also some tips on how you can tweak it.

My Recipe:
4 cups oatmeal (old fashioned, not quick cook)
1/3 cups of slivered almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
salt (brings out sweetness)
liberal dash of cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tbsp of water

 Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl, add liquids and stir. Spray Pam on a baking sheet (I use aluminum foil makes clean up a snap), spread mixture on baking sheet and cook for around 40 minutes. I like to check on mine a lot and also stir it to ensure even crispness.

A more typical recipe would look more like this:
4 cups oatmeal (old fashioned, not quick cook)
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup veggie oil
1/2 cup brown sugar

 Some other delicious things you can use in your granola included: shredded coconut, chocolate chips (mixed in after granola is cooked), cranberries or other dried fruit, sun flower seeds, walnuts, pecans, you can even add flax seed or wheat germ for a really, really healthy kick. The options are seriously endless.

All of your ingredients, minus the water

Mix it good !

Spread and bake

Hope that this encouraged you to throw some typical household ingredients into a bowl and bake. Which ever recipe you decide on, it is guaranteed delicious and healthy.  I would love to see other recipes if you guys want to share.