Today I am going to introduce to you to another kind of food that i’m a little obsessed with. Granola, because…who isn’t?? A couple years ago I went to visit a friend in Washington. When I was there, we had yogurt with homemade granola on it for breakfast, and I asked my friend’s mom for her recipe. I was tired of buying granola, and had a hard time finding a kind that I liked. I loved hers so why not??
So for the past several years I’ve been making my friend’s mom’s recipe, and slowly been modifying it. Then recently I wanted to make my own granola bars, because you NEVER know whats in the store bought ones. In my attempt to make homemade granola bars, I crashed and burned. Thus leaving me with this SCRUMPTIOUS GRANOLA!! The only reason I crashed and burned on the granola bars was because they didn’t stick together! I was only upset for 2.5 seconds until I realized it was the perfect granola!!
This picture is a perfect example of why you should melt the coconut oil before mixing it in with your honey or maple syrup. I used both, and since the maple syrup was cold…it solidified the partially softened coconut oil. If I had melted it completely it wouldn’t have done that. Lesson learned for next time…because there will DEFINITELY be a next time for this granola!! Also if you guys want to purchase maple syrup, you can follow the link. Or I have some friends that make it…and you can get pure authentic Pennsylvania Maple syrup at Shumakesugarshack.com.
Soooo, i’m gonna be real honest with you here. Our neighbor gave us a couple bags of fruit and nut mix and that’s part of the reason I came up with this recipe. In the recipe I broke down everything that’s in it so no worries on guessing. Then I add a few more goodies to make it fantastic. Lil secret…chocolate is one of those ingredients!! Because…well I shouldn’t have to explain chocolate…it explains itself.
Here’s me again!! Real smile and a real background!! As of right now I don’t have a fancy setup for taking pictures, that’s why the lighting may be off or you can see weird things in the background of some pictures. But hey, that’s life, and i’m working on getting a better setup. Also you can peep a new bagel recipe in the background, so keep your eyes open in the next couple weeks for that. Or you can just look through my last few bagel posts and make some of them!! Also watch my Instagram stories (ac_unit18) to vote on what recipes you want to see next!! I’m always open for tips, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, new recipes ideas, or requests!! You can comment below or find me on Instagram, and Facebook. (Amy Croasmun)
Oh lala!! Check out that up-close!! As you can see this last picture looks like a pin! Feel free to find and follow my on Pinterest (Amy Croasmun/Eatingismyjam) Pin away!!
Healthy Granola (Vegan option)
Ingredients
Dry mixture
- 4 cup Old fashioned oats
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup chopped figs
- 1 cup craisins
- 1 cup chopped dried apples
- 2 Moser Roth 85% bars (Chopped) ( 2 oz. vegan Chocolate for vegan option)
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
Wet mixture
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (3/4 cup for vegan option)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl. You may need to melt the coconut oil so its soft.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well!
- Pour it all on a cookie sheet with parchment paper on it and spread it out evenly. It will be a nice thick layer.
- Put into the oven and bake for 18 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Or just eat some right away on yogurt or as cereal with milk!