I have always liked granola a lot but tend to be put off by the very high sugar content of most of the boxed granolas. Some still contain vegetable shortening as well, although that is changing rapidly with the mandatory trans-fat labeling. I looked up recipes for homemade granola on Google, and it sounded pretty easy to make some at home (healthier and a lot less money).
Last night I made my first batch, and it came out really good. What you put in it, of course, is a matter of personal taste. Rolled oats comprise the base.
I used an over preheated to 300F to toast the granola. In a large bowl, I combined many cups of oats with coarsely chopped almonds, raw pumpkin seeds and pecans, some honey roasted sunflower seeds, and about 1/2 cup of freshly ground golden flax seed. I dumped in some Splenda to sweeten and combined all of the dry ingredients.
For the wet ingredients, I melted about one cup of Smart Balance (no trans fats) margarine (essentially any fat/oil would work) combined with several tablespoons of honey. The honey is optional, of course.
Once the Smart Balance had melted and mixed well with the honey, I dumped this into the dry ingredients and mixed everything really well, ensuring that all of the dry ingredients were well-moistened.
I spread the mixture into a couple of large pans and toasted at 300 degrees...I stirred the granola every 10 to 15 minutes. Total toasting time was a little over one hour, and this can be adjusted depending on personal taste.
I'm sure there are many variations that can be tried... I'm not sure the amount of honey I used added much to the taste and I may not use it again.
Really good stuff -- of course still very calorie dense even without sugar, so keep that in mind if you are trying to lose weight.
Makes a great breakfast before a long run!
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