Granola

My favorite morning snack is greek yogurt. Sometimes I add my sugar-free blackberry jam but lately I've been eating it with blueberries and my homemade granola. This recipe is not the store-bought conventionally sweet stuff--it has just a hint of sweetness so that you can really taste the oats, walnuts, and cinnamon. It uses honey instead of sugar and no oil at all, so it is also low-fat. I got the original recipe from answerfitness.com



You will need:

3 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon



Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with foil.

Add the honey, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla, and cinnamon to a small saucepan and heat on medium low until the honey has dissolved. No need to bring to a boil or anything. It won't take long, 2 minutes at most.



Add the dry ingredients (oats, wheat germ, flaxseed meal, and walnuts) to a large bowl and give them a toss. Flaxseed meal can be found in any supermarket (even Wally Mart). It's a great addition to homemade bread! I keep a box in the freezer.



Now pour the honey mixture on top of the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.





Spread the granola onto an ungreased foil-lined jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 15.



Allow the granola to cool on the pan. I store my granola in a vacuum seal bag, but any large Ziploc bag will do, just make sure to squeeze out all the air.



After it cools, you can add raisins, mini chocolate chips, M&M's, or any dried fruit. I leave it plain, but you could sure get creative with this recipe!


I toss a handful onto my greek yogurt with blueberries. In one snack you get whole grains, dairy (calcium and protein), nuts, and fruit.



Enjoy!!