Homemade Granola

Ingredients:
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/3 cup honey (or substitute maple syrup)
• ¼ cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. In a large bowl, stir together three cups of old-fashioned rolled oats, three tablespoons brown sugar, a quarter teaspoon kosher salt, and a half teaspoon cinnamon.

2. In another bowl, stir together one-third cup honey, a quarter cup canola oil, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Dump this over the oat mixture and combine thoroughly. Get your hands in it to mix everything well, and to coat the oats evenly with the honey mixture. Heat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Spread the mixture in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet and place on the center rack of the heated oven. Bake, stirring after 15 minutes, until the granola is a very light golden brown. It should take 20 to 30 minutes. If you like your granola crunchier with a toastier flavor, bake it a little longer, keeping a close eye on it—if it gets dark it will taste burnt.

4. Cool the granola completely, stirring it around so it doesn’t stick together. (It hardens as it cools.)

5. Once the granola’s cool, get creative: Now is the time to stir in all your extras like dried fruit, raw or toasted nuts and seeds, toasted coconut, etc. Store in an airtight container (this is very important—the granola goes stale easily) and eat within two weeks.

Nutrients per serving (about 6 servings)
Calories: 255
Protein: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 39 g
Fat: 11 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 61 mg
Potassium: 94 mg
Phosphorus: 91 mg

Mix It Up!
• Try adding in other rolled grain flakes with the oats such as spelt, kamut, or brown rice.
• Tropical: Add toasted coconut, macadamia nuts, and dried mango.
• Apple-Cinnamon: Add dried apples and toasted almonds to the mix, and additional cinnamon if you want.
• Date-Nut: Add dried dates and toasted pecans.
• Berry: Add dried mixed berries and toasted cashews.
• Experiment! Use other dried fruits (apricots, plums, raisins, cherries, currants) and toasted or raw nut-seed combos (sunflower seeds, mixed nuts, pistachios) and whatever spices you want.