Once while reading through an old cookbook, I found a great recipe and realized how easy it is to make your own granola. So, I was inspired to make my own! This is my spin on granola, with all my favorite additions highlighted: coconut flakes, golden raisins, and cashews. The cool thing about granola is, however, that you can build it your way, with whatever combination of dried fruits and nuts you please. I also like to add flax seeds to mine to add some omega-3s to my diet–something that is most commonly found in fish, which obviously does not fly for us vegans, but that is richly found in flax and chia seeds.
Granola is a very ideal breakfast, since it is loaded with nutrients and is easy to mix with fruits, yogurt, or non-dairy milks for a healthy and delicious wake-up. Or as a snack, or as camping food. (Or as dinner if you ever have those particularly lazy nights where you don’t feel like cooking OR getting take-out). It is also ideal because it is readily available for a quick breakfast on the way to class or work.
This recipe is a great opportunity for which to buy bulk ingredients, which tend to be cheaper than buying your ingredients pre-packaged. Where I shop, oats are $1.80 a pound (and a pound of oats is A LOT of oats). Raw nuts can be expensive PER POUND in bulk, but again, the cool thing about getting a pound of nuts is that…you simply don’t buy that many nuts. Cashews cost me about $3.00 for a cup; similar pricing can be likened to other raw nuts. Dried fruits are always cheap! So, check out the bulk section at your grocery store and see what they have to offer!
**I note in the last step of the recipe to add the dried fruits in during the last 5 minutes of baking; my pictures say otherwise. I made the mistake of adding the dried fruits too early and they burned a bit (I still ate them, o’course.).** 🙂