Homemade Granola: Elizabeth's version

Disclaimer: So, I know I am a huge supporter of buying organic and natural foods whenever possible. I don't like corn syrup and artificial flavors. And here it comes, a big one................: BUT I am also the mommy of a 9 month old who is very impatient when we are in the store. Thus, some of my ingredients may not be the best, but they are the best that 1) I can afford, and 2) I can find easily and quickly at our local Wal-Mart. I hope you enjoy.

So, in talking with my friend the other day about groceries and budgeting, I was discussing how I rarely buy convenience foods. I may buy a frozen pizza now and again, and some dehydrated mashed potatoes in a box, but that's about it (because when Jacob cooks, well, it needs to be easy). She asked me what I did for snacks.

That got me thinking.... what do we do for snacks? We have no potato chips, no pretzels, no granola bars, no cereal, no soda, no oreos.... because nutritionally they all pretty much suck, and they are super expensive (well, to me anyway).

But then I realized that we don't really need to snack a lot, and here's why: I don't use low-fat, fat-free, sugar-free anything: so yes, I use butter and full-fat yogurt, sour cream, dehydrated cane juice or sucanat etc. If I eat a little of full fat stuff (mixed with other good stuff), I feel satiated, and I won't eat more than  I need to. If I were to eat stuff with low-fat content, I would just eat more of man-made chemicals and sugars that I don't need. If you want to learn more about why I use what I use, please visit many of the blogs I subscribe to and read Nina Planck's Real Food: What to Eat and Why. I believe that our body is made to eat the stuff that God designed for us to eat, not man designed for us to eat. I also believe that our bodies should do the digesting, and not have it be begun for us in factories.

With that being said, please feel free to make substitutions in the recipe. Here's granola my way.

Step 1:

Put 8 cups of old-fashioned oats into a large bowl. This is the biggest I've got:

Add 2-3 cups of water. I used 3. 

Add a nice dollop full fat yogurt, but if you have low-fat, that's fine, just make sure you have the kind with active cultures. You could also forgo the water and used 2-3 cups buttermilk with cultures or kefir. They are expensinve, and I always have yogurt on hand.

Add a cup of wheat germ or milled flax. This is optional, but I had some in the freezer. And it's good for your heart.

In a small sauce pan, combine the following:

1/2 cup honey, 1/2-3/4 cup real  maple syrup (not pancake syrup), 1/2 cup butter (one stick, ideally made from grass fed hormone free dairy cows, but I can't find that at Walmart), and 1/2 cup coconut oil (feel free to sub in canola oil, or whatver you have on hand).

 

 

And when  it's all melted together (melt butter first, since coconut oil has a low burning point and so you'll want to do this last), add it to the bowl of oats.

 

Now mix it all up so that everything is evenly distributed and everything is wet (remember that water we put in?).

Now assemble the goodies you want to add in. I made this batch with  about 1 cup each: coconut (preferably unsweetened, but you'll see mine is not), dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips (again, see disclaimer), and dried cranberries. If I have almonds or walnuts, I'll chop them up and add them too. Just whatever you want.

 

Now mix!

Isn't it pretty? You can let the oats soak and then add this stuff, but the oats get goopy and heavy and it's easier to mix it all in now. 

Now get a pretty Corelle plate to cover the bowl...

And let the oats soak (meaning, let them just hang out). I'm not sure how to relay the science behind soaking your grains, but this is the reason for the yogurt or buttermilk with cultures. They start a process in the grains that allows the human body to be able to absorb more of the nutrients offered, and the phytates in oats take the longest to start to break down. Ideally, you would let this sit, covered, in a cool place for 24 hours. But this time, I wasn't that patient.........

Here are the cranberries I forgot to add. Sometimes the baby brain you get when you're pregnant never goes away..... I've had mine for over 9 months now.

Preheat oven to 250-300 degrees. Line 2 jelly roll pans with parchment paper. Divide the mixture evenly between the two.

Bake  for 40 minutes, take out, stir, and alternate places in the oven, since these sheets  won't fit on one rack in the oven. Then bake for 1 to 1.5 hrs more. Turn off the oven, let it cool completely with granola inside.

Enjoy with yogurt, milk, or by itself with a banana for breakfast or a snack. A little goes a long way!

The recipe without all the pictures:
8 cups old fashioned oat
2-3 cups of water (2 for more crunchy granola, 3 for softer)
3 tbsp yogurt (preferably not low fat)
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 C coconut oil (or canola oil)
1/2 cup honey
1/2-3/4 cup real maple syrup
1 Cup wheat germ or milled flaxseed
1 C unsweetened coconut
1 C dark chocolate chips
1 C white chocolate chips
1 C dried cranberries (raisins, etc.)

Place oats, water and yogurt in a large mixing bowl.
In a small sauce pan, melt butter, honey, maple syrup, and coconut oil until heated through and combined (it's be hot enough to bubble around the edges and NO clumps)
Add butter mixture to oats. Add wheat germ (ideally you would add this with the oats in the first step, but if it's out of order like mine is, that's okay too.)

Now mix all together until all oats are moistened nicely.

Then add coconut, dark and white chocolate chips and cranberries. Mix again.

Cover and let soak for 24 hours (I did 6 hours on this batch).

Preheat oven to 250-300 degrees. Cover 2 jelly roll pans with parchment paper, and distribute mixture evenly on both pans.

Put in oven, even if not completely preheated. Bake for 40 minutes. Take out, stir, and switch racks in the oven, since both pans won't fit on the same rack.

Now bake for 1 hr- 1.5 hr longer, depending on how much water you used. Ideally you would bake at 200 degrees for 4 hours, but I don't have that kind of time or energy to spend on baking something.

Turn off oven, let it cool completely.

Then remove from oven, and store in a large container.

Enjoy!