Second Chance Granola

If you cook at home a lot, you are forever stuck in a revolving door of food shopping. It seems like almost as soon as I buy certain things, they’ve been eaten and we are making a trip to the store for more. Granola is one such item. My husband is obsessed so we always keep it in the house. When I purchase granola I make sure to pick the option with the lowest sugar, which at our local health food store is still about 7 grams per serving. For the most part I like to stick to the rule, don’t eat it if it has more than 5 grams of sugar per serving. I make exceptions of course because rules are meant to be broken from time to time. 😉 I know that making food at home is always the healthier option and I wanted to have control over what was going into this breakfast staple of ours, so I tried to make a batch a few months ago. Long story short, I flambéed it (not a good look or taste for granola… Charcoal and milk anyone?) My ego was so bruised that I haven’t tried again, until now. These days I’m feeling loads more comfortable in the kitchen. A few years ago I was like a baby deer with a spatula, fumbling around, tripping over myself and making a huge mess in the process. I can’t even begin to tell you all how many times I’ve burned myself. (Egg white is my best friend. More on that in another post) The moral of this sad story is, ‘If at first you burn the crap out of your hand, spill the dinner all over your shirt or over cook the granola, try try again.’ -anonymous. Thankfully, I listened to this wise poet and came back to the granola. Let me tell you, I’m so glad I did. Success never tasted so good!

Second Chance Granola

• 3 cups Rolled oats
• 5 tbsp Coconut butter (I used coconut butter because it contains the fiber of the coconut, use oil if you’d like)
• 1/3 cup Maple syrup
• 1 tbsp Cinnamon
• 1 inch grated ginger
• 1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup Mulberries
• 1/4 cup Raisins
• 1/4 cup Hemp seeds
• 1/4 cup Chia seeds
• 1/2 cup Coconut flakes

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees
2. Add coconut butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and grated ginger to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, mix for a few seconds and turn off heat.

3. In a big bowl, pour maple syrup mixture over your oats and stir until oats are evenly coated.

4. Add pumpkin & sunflower seeds and mix again.

4. Bake on lightly greased cookie sheet for 30-35 mins, stirring granola a few times after the first 15 mins. (I used coconut oil to grease)

5. Meanwhile, toast coconut flakes on low heat until they just start brown. Take off heat before they burn; they burn quickly.

6. In a bowl, add coconut flakes, hemp and chia seeds, raisins and mulberries.
7. When oats are finished mix them together with your dried fruit and power seeds and store in an airtight container. I used mason jars.

This recipe is another one that you can use as a jumping off point for your own experimentation. Don’t have mulberries? Use any dried fruit. Don’t like dried fruit? Use nuts instead. Incorporate flavors you love. Play! Leave your ego out of it. It really has no place in the kitchen. Humility, perseverance and love for food and the people you are serving, that’s all you need. That’s what cooking is all about. It only took me a few years and some burns to figure that out. 😉