Author: Stephanie Howard

If you are a regular reader, you know that I have been experimenting with granola recipes lately. You also know that my husband’s favorite granola is the Everything Granola and my daughter’s is the Gingerbread Granola. Is anyone curious as to what my favorite is?

I knew that you would be, so I thought I would share my Honey Nut Granola with you too. I am not sure why I like this one the best, I just do. I will occasionally add some raisins to it in my bowl or maybe some fresh berries.

Honey Nut Granola

Print

Ingredients

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup unsweetened coconut
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup chia or flax seed
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ cup coconut oil or canola
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

1. Mix the oats, coconut and nuts together in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl mix together oil, water, honey and vanilla extract and pour over the dry ingredients, mix well.
3. Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring at the halfway point.
4. Once the granola is browned, remove from the oven and let it cool on the baking sheet.
5. Place in an air-tight container to store.

Growing up I had cereal almost everyday of my life. So I am not sure why my kids are not happy with it. Of course I was eating Cap’n Crunch, Cookie Crisp and Fruit Loops, which could explain why I never got tired of it. But even now that I make healthier choices, I am perfectly happy with a cold cereal for breakfast. As I thought about how to make cold breakfast more fun for the kids I decided to make a granola that tasted like gingerbread cookies. Who wouldn’t want Gingerbread cookies for breakfast?

I cut the traditional amount of sugar in a granola recipe and added dates to sweeten things up a bit. I also used some flour and both quick and rolled oats to make some of those lovely granola clusters in the mix. Yum! I first tried the recipe on the students at Emmanuel Institute and the Gingerbread granola was definitely the favorite. I actually ran out of it first and had to make more! My daughter had it at this month’s supper club and she loved it…said it tasted like cookies. Looks like it worked.

Here is the recipe for you to try out on your family.

Gingerbread Granola

• 2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cups quick oats
• ¼cup whole grain flour
• 2 cups puffed wheat (optional)
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ cup coconut or canola oil
• ¼ cup water
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup dates, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl mix oil, maple syrup, molasses and vanilla extract. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Spread the mixture evenly onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring near the halfway point to ensure even cooking.
5. Once the granola is browned remove from the oven and let cool completely on the pan. The granola will crisp up a little more while it cools.
6. Keep in an airtight container.

Truth be told, I usually have granola or cereal for breakfast. My kids are always asking for something else for breakfast…anything. They occasionally will make pancakes for the family, but what they really like is something savory for breakfast.

When I am cooking at Emmanuel Institute I make something savory for breakfast 2-3 days a week, and the kids are always happy when I bring home the leftovers. So I decided to share some savory breakfast ideas at the supper club. I also shared a few new granolas, because I thought I might win the kids over to a cold breakfast if I had a few more options.

We also had a wonderful guest speaker, Stephanie Calhoun, a senior nutrition major at Andrews University. She came to present the interesting psychology of mindless eating. She shared research that proved how we eat “mindlessly” and by doing so we end up eating too much.

One interesting study showed that people who served themselves pasta out of a large bowl took more almost twice as much pasta. So not only the size of your plate, but also the size of the serving bowl makes a difference. The main point learned is to stop distracted eating.

When you eat, sit down at the table, make a plate of food, eat it, and enjoy it. If you are eating while distracted, you eat more than you need. Also eat more slowly, watch the clock if you have to; it takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full. If you want more information on the topic, sign up for the newsletter in the sidebar.

Here is the Menu:

• Toast with Nut Gravy (recipe and video here)
• Scrambled Tofu (recipe and video here)
• Unsausages (recipe here)
• Everything Granola (recipe below)
• Gingerbread Granola
• My Honey Has Gone Nuts Granola
• Frozen Fruit Salad

A few years ago my husband went to a speaking appointment and as a parting gift they gave him a bag of “Bed and Breakfast Granola”. He loved it so much he decided to buy some more, but when we looked it up we found that a 1-pound bag costs $20. I thought this was ridiculous, so I decided to make my own.   I have dubbed it Everything Granola because has all kinds of nuts, seeds and dried fruit. My husband likes it because all of the nuts and fruits are chopped up very finely. That way you can get everything in one bite!

Everything Granola

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• ¼ cup sliced almonds
• ¼ cup pecans
• ¼ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup cashews
• 2 tablespoons flax seed
• 2 tablespoons chia seed
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons maple flavoring
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup fruit medley mix of dried fruit (apples, apricots raisins, etc)
• ¼ cup dried cherries
• ¼ cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place nuts and seeds in a food processor and process until finely chopped, but still a little chunky. Pour into a large bowl.
3. Add Oats and mix together.
4. I a separate bowl stir together Maple syrup, oil, water, vanilla, maple flavoring and salt. Mix well.
5. Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir until all the oats and nuts are moistened.
6. Spread the mixture evenly onto two baking sheets and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring at the halfway point.
7. When granola is golden brown remove from oven and let cool. It will crisp up as it cools.
8. Place dried fruit in a food processor and pulse until chopped. This is the difficult process because it likes to stick together. Break up dried fruit and stir into cooled granola.
9. Transfer to an airtight container.