Category: Granola

Basic Granola Recipe with 5 Variations (DF,V, GF)

One breakfast/snack item you can meal prep is my fruit on the bottom yogurt cup. I love to top my yogurt cups with granola. 

You can buy granola from the store or you can make your own. When you make your own, you can control the ingredients in your granola. You can also control how much sweetener you put in your granola.

This granola is a great one because it is very versatile. I have given you 5 different flavor combinations that are all very tasty. 

I portion out the granola for the week. If you get the 4 ounce Mason jars and fill it up to the lip, that is the perfect amount of granola.

What you need for this recipe:

  • Oats
  • Unsweetened coconut flakes
  • Your favorite nuts or seeds (pumpkin or sunflower)
  • Dried or freeze-dried fruit
  • Spices
  • Salt
  • Butter, coconut oil, canola oil, extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil
  • Honey or maple syrup
  • Vanilla or almond extract

Basic Loose Granola Recipe 

Stars of the recipe:

Dry Ingredients: 

  • 4 c. old fashioned oats 
  • 1 c. unsweetened coconut flakes or additional nuts 
  • 1 c. nuts or seeds 
  • 1 c. dried or freeze-dried fruit – add after baking 
  • 2 tsp. spices – cinnamon, pumpkin spice, gingerbread spice 
  • 1 tsp. salt 

Wet Ingredients: 

  • 1/3 c. melted butter, melted coconut oil, canola oil, extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil 
  • 1/3 c. honey or maple syrup 
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla or almond extract 

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 
  2. Combine all of the dry ingredients except for the fruit in a large bowl. Stir 
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Stir. 
  4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Stir until all of the ingredients are coated. 
  5. Spread onto a cookie sheet that has either been sprayed down with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. 
  6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. 
  7. Take out of the oven. Allow cooling time before adding the fruit. 
  8. Enjoy with your favorite dairy or nondairy milk or yogurt. 
  9. Store in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks. 

Ideas for granola: 

Nuts and seeds: 

  • Cashews 
  • Pecans  
  • Walnuts 
  • Macadamia Nuts 
  • Almonds – Slivers or slices 
  • Pistachios 
  • Pumpkin Seeds 
  • Sunflower Seeds 

Dried Fruit or Freeze-Dried Fruit: 

  • Apples 
  • Blueberries 
  • Cranberries 
  • Cherries – usually more expensive 
  • Raspberries 
  • Freeze-dried honey crisp apples from Trader Joe’s 
  • Freeze-dried grapes from Trader Joe’s 
  • Apricots 
  • Raisins 

Combinations for granola: 

Apple crisp 

Nuts – Walnuts and pumpkin seeds 

Fruit – Used dried apples – I like dried apples in my apple crisp granola. 

Spice – Apple pie spice which is 3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, 2 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. cardamom, 1 tsp. allspice combined in a small Mason jar. Use 1 to 2 Tbsp. of the apple pie spice blend.  

Cranberry pecan 

Nuts – Pecans and pumpkin seeds – Don’t use coconut flakes. 

Fruit – Dried cranberries. 

Spice – Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. 

Almond Joy  

Nuts – Slivered or sliced almonds 

Fruit – Don’t use any. 

Spice – Cinnamon 

Extract – Almond 

Apricot almond 

Nuts – Slivered or sliced almonds 

Fruit – Diced dried apricots 

Spice – Cinnamon 

Pumpkin spice 

Nuts – Walnuts and pumpkin seeds 

Fruit – dried cranberries or raisins 

Spice – pumpkin spice 

Extra – Add ¼ c. of pumpkin puree to the wet ingredients. 

Printable Recipe

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Dear Tanya (10/3/16) – Menu Plan Monday – Slow Cooker Granola – Day 3

On the days I have a recipe that I’ve tried previously, I’m going to share a story or another letter to my sister.

Dearest Tanya,

I don’t know if you know how much I do miss you.  There is one song that I listen to that has lyrics that reminds me of you.  I listen to the song and then just cry.

The lyrics that remind me of you are:

“I need a family to drive me crazy.”

“We’ll have tiny boxes for memories.
Open them up and we’ll set them free.”

“But I’ll keep your secrets, if you keep mine.”

“You are the memory that won’t ever lapse
When twenty five years have suddenly passed.”

“Take my picture and the you laugh
Cause I hate the way I look in photographs.”

“Keep the memories, but don’t live in the past.”

“You are the sun in the desolate sky.”

I just discovered the song right before you died and it speaks so much to me and how I feel about you.  I know how much you hated me taking photographs of you.  Those photos are now precious in my eyes.  I see laughter and joy in your face in many of them  I wish you knew how blessed of a life you had Tanya.

Right before you died, we got a Quaker Parrot.  His name is Password.  Todd named him so that is why he has that name.  Anyway, he was hatched on Will’s birthday.  This week he decided to start talking.  Instead of screeching, he’ll start to say beak bump.  So funny!

Give everyone a hug for me.

I love you!

Love your annoying sister,
Traci

Menu Plan Monday – Week of October 3, 2016

mom-whats-for-dinner

I’m going to follow the A Week of Meals – Slow Cooker Version this week.

sunday

Crock pot Chicken, Black Eyed Peas, Rice, Pumpkin Pie

monday

Sweet and Sour Chicken, Rice

tuesday

Tacos

wednesday

Taco topped baked potatoes, Raw Veggies

thursday

Monterrey Chicken Quesadillas, Left Over Veggies

friday

Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwich

saturday

You are on your own

and

Date Night

day-3

Now onto the recipe for the day – The Wee One loved this granola.  He couldn’t stop eating it when I made it for him.  In fact, he asked me to make it for him when he joins Boys Scouts and goes on a backpacking trip. He’s planning ahead.

I didn’t know that you could make granola in the slow cooker.  When you don’t want to warm the oven, this is a good option.  Warning though – It does take a while for it to get done.  But if you have a lazy day where you are not going anywhere, this would be a great recipe.

I apologize because I’ve gone through all of my files and cannot find the picture I took of the slow cooker granola.

Slow Cooker Granola

Stars of the recipe:

  • 5 c. old fashioned rolled oats
  • ½ c. slivered almonds
  • ½ c. shredded unsweetened coconut
  • ¼ tsp. Salt
  • ⅔ c. honey
  • ⅓ c. coconut oil or butter
  • ½ c. peanut butter
  • 2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla
  • 1 c. craisins

Steps:

  1. Grease the slow cooker crock.
  2. Add the oats, almonds, coconut, and salt.
  3. In a large microwave safe measuring bowl, combine the honey, coconut oil or butter, peanut butter, cinnamon, and vanilla.
  4. Microwave for a minute.  Stir.  Microwave for 30 more seconds if necessary in order to make sure the ingredients are melted.  
  5. Pour the liquid ingredients over the oats.  Stir to make sure all ingredients are coated.
  6. Place the lid on the crockpot, leaving it slightly vented.
  7. Cook on high for 2 hours.  Stir the granola every 30 minutes to assure it doesn’t burn.
  8. After 2 hours, spread the granola on a large baking sheet.  Add the craisins.  Then let it cool.
  9. Store in an airtight container.
  10. Enjoy!

Adapted from Barefeet in the kitchen

Printable Recipe Card

happy-slow-cooking-1

Basic Granola and Cooking with Students

This is our last week of school.  Last year and this year, teachers created classes called “Skinnies.”  These classes have a smaller class size than the typical class size.  Plus the topics of these classes are of topics the students enjoy learning about.  Four of us signed up for teaching cooking.  My class is about quick and easy snacks.  Basically they come into my room and eat food.  What a concept.

Continue reading “Basic Granola and Cooking with Students”

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Granola

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’ve been in the mood for homemade granola so I decided to experiment.  With Valentine’s Day approaching, I thought chocolate covered strawberry granola would be a great version.

Continue reading “Chocolate Covered Strawberry Granola”

Yogurt Parfait

A few weeks ago, I posted about 6 easy breakfasts.  One of the breakfasts, I talked about was fruit and yogurt parfaits.  It is so simple and quick to prepare.  Plus it’s delicious to eat and the flavors can be changed up depending on your mood.

Yogurt Parfait

yogurt parfait

Gold rush granola

without granola

Stars of the recipe:

  • 1/4 to 1/2 c. yogurt (flavored or plain – I eat Greek Gods nonfat plain Greek yogurt.)
  • 1/4 c. of your favorite cut up fruit (I’ve been using my stone fruit fruit salad.)
  • 1/4 c, of your favorite granola (Store bought or homemade)

Steps:

  1. In a bowl or Mason jar put the yogurt in the jar or bowl.
  2. Place the fruit on top of the yogurt.
  3. if you are not eating the parfait right away, pack the granola and put it on top of the yogurt and fruit right before you eat.  If you are going to eat it right away, top with granola.
  4. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

6 Easy Breakfast Foods

In January, I made a resolution to eat breakfast on a daily basis.  I’ve been faithful towards that resolution except for one time.  That one time was killer on my body.  My blood sugar was not stable so that made the likelihood of me making bad food choices increase.

As the school year starts, I decided to compile a list of good breakfast foods that are easy especially with a little prep.

1. Yogurt Parfaits

This is my favorite breakfast.  In fact, when we were at the beach, I ate this for breakfast several times.

In a bowl, I place Greek yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit.  (My favorite Greek yogurt is Greek Gods Nonfat Plain.) You can dress it up anyway you want – nuts, Chia Seeds, coconut, different types of Granola, and different fruits.

Here are some granola recipes:

White Chocolate granola

Pumpkin Granola

Apple Crisp Granola

2.  Oatmeal

All it takes is some quick oats and milk/almond milk/water.  Place in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.  You can add a nut butter, chia seeds, flax seeds, chopped up nuts, coconut, and/or fruit.  Place the fruit on the oatmeal before microwaving for a whole different flavor experience.

Here is an oatmeal recipe:

Instant Oatmeal Mix

3.  Breakfast Sandwich

This can be done in a million different ways.  Okay, maybe not that many different ways but you can change it up depending on your mood.

Here is the basic formula:

  1. eggs or egg whites
  2. some sort of protein (turkey bacon, bacon, sausage, Canadian bacon) cooked
  3. cheese or no cheese (Switch the kinds of cheese – Colby, Cheddar, Swiss, Feta, etc . . .)
  4. veggies – spinach, onions, etc. . .
  5. bread product – whole wheat bread toasted, English muffin, tortilla, Bagel thin

Here’s an easy way to cook the eggs or egg whites:  Spray a round glass bowl (1 cup size) or a coffee mug with cooking spray.  Place the egg scrambled or whole.  Place in microwave for about a 1 min and a half to 2 mins.  If it’s not cooked to your liking, continue cooking it at 30 second intervals.  (If you want to, you can cook the veggies in with the eggs.)

After you cook the eggs, assemble your sandwich and then enjoy!

4.  Muffins

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Depending on what flour and the ingredients in your muffins, they can be a semi-healthy choice for breakfast.  Whole wheat flour is the best flour to use when making muffins.  Lots of fats (oil) and sugar will make your muffin become unhealthy.  Replace your oil in your recipe with unsweetened applesauce (1 to 1 ratio) to make it healthier.

You can make the muffins ahead of time and then freeze them.  Pull a muffin out of the freezer and warm it in the microwave.

I usually pair them with a cheese stick and fruit for a more balanced meal.

Here are some muffin recipes:

Snickerdoodle muffins

Cranberry Pecan Muffins

All Star Muffin mix

Young’s Dairy Pumpkin Muffins/Bread

French Toast Mini Muffins (My sons’ favorite muffins)

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins– Has avocado in it

5.  Smoothies

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This is another favorite of mine.

Easy peasy is the name of the game when it comes to smoothies.  Throw in some fruit, greens, veggies, Chia seeds, flax seeds, ice, liquid (water, milk, juice, or almond milk), yogurt, and/or nut butter in a blender jar.  Blend it together, place in a cup, and enjoy!  (Don’t worry I don’t put all of those ingredients in at the same time.  Those are just some ingredients you can use in your smoothie.)

I pair this up with either a cheese stick or a hard boiled egg.

Here are some smoothie recipes:

Fruit Smoothie (the Imaginative One’s favorite smoothie)

“Tropical Smoothie” Smoothie

Carrot Tropical Smoothie

Key Lime Smoothie

Apple Jack Smoothie

St. Patty’s Day Smoothie

Power Up Green Smoothie

6.  Pancakes/ Waffles

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This one can be easy if you make the pancakes or waffles during the weekend and then freeze them.  Pop them in the microwave or toaster for a quick breakfast.  You can use the pancakes and waffles for your breakfast sandwich.  You can also top the pancakes or waffles with a nut butter.  Pair it with some fruit for a balanced breakfast.

Here are some pancake/waffle recipes:

Waffle House Waffles

Homemade Baking Mix and Pancakes

What is your favorite easy breakfast?

Pumpkin Granola

I love granola especially when I make it myself. Recently I discovered how it is easy it is to make. I’ve made Apple Crisp Granola and now Pumpkin Granola. It’s wonderful with Greek yogurt.

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Pumpkin Granola

adapted from Finding Joy in my Kitchen

Stars of the recipe:

  • 4 1/2 c. oats
  • 2 1/2 c. Rice Krispy Cereal
  • 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I put more than that in mine.)
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 c. applesauce
  • 1/4 c. maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 c. pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 c. shredded unsweetened coconut (sounds weird but is delicious in it)
  • 1/2 c. Craisins

Steps:

  1. Mix the oats, rice krispies, coconut, and pumpkin seeds together in a large bowl.
  2. Stir in spices and salt.
  3. In a different bowl, combine the applesauce, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add the pumpkin puree.
  4. Combine the dry and moist ingredients and stir to coat.
  5. Spread on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
  6. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Stir after 15 minutes.
  7. Allow to cool and then add Craisins.
  8. Store in a sealed container.
  9. Enjoy with yogurt, milk, or by itself!

Printable Recipe

 

This post has been linked to Eat at Home – Ingredient Spotlight.

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