Granola
When I was growing up and still to this day, my mom has made granola. My parents are on a year-long RV adventure and every time they stop in to visit family or a friend, out comes the granola ingredients so they can stock up. My dad eats it for breakfast every single morning and swears it keeps his hypoglycemia in check. She found it in a La Leche League recipe book when my sister and I were newborns and has adapted it over the years. She doesn’t have to write it down, she just knows it by heart.
I have made it before, but it has never really turned out right. But lately…and I mean in the past couple of weeks….I have started to actually LIKE cooking. This will shock my friends, I know. But it is actually TRUE! I do. I LIKE cooking!
I think this new revelation has been brought on, in part, by some changes I have been making over the past several months. In February, I switched from decaf coffee to tea. In March, I began daily yoga. In April, I cut out red meat. In May, I have tried to drastically reduce packaged foods consumption. All of this is not listed out to pat myself on the back, but to see the path. I started with something that was (for me) easy. Now I am on to the hard stuff. But to live without challenge is not truly living, no?
And, I want my children to know how to cook. And to enjoy it. And to eat with their health in mind.
This weekend, after my dad informed me that Raisin Bran (a cereal that is in our pantry at this very moment) is the worst offender in the bad-for-you-cereal category (I checked – it has 19 grams of sugar!!!), I decided to make my mom’s granola. The kids helped (they love the stuff and love getting messy, mixing it with their hands) and voila – we have healthy cereal in our pantry now instead of 7 kinds of packaged cereals. Mind you, I will likely still buy Cheerios or Kix from time to time, but the emphasis will be on the homemade stuff.
Granola
4 cups oats (old fashioned, not quick)
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)
1 cup coconut
1/4 cup flax seed
1 cup soy flour
2 tsp cinnamon
Mix the dry ingredients with your hands to blend. Add:
1 cup honey
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together with your hands to blend. Clump the pieces together as you wish.
Fill two 9×13 pans and bake at 300 degrees for 45-60 minutes, turning every 15-20 minutes (otherwise it burns on the bottom).
Add raisins to taste.
Lily and Ava get messy making granola
Filling the pans - do spread it out
Will this last us a week? Hmmmm....
Me Too You 