~ food ~
Granola is a great healthy snack, but so many granolas you find are loaded with tons of hidden sugar and fat. So why not make your own and know exactly what is going into it? It's easy and totally yummy on yogurt, with milk or just to munch on. My amazing friend, Haley (who also happens to be an amazing baker), shared this recipe with me. You'll find a very low amount of sugar, butter and oil in there for the fifteen servings it makes. In my recipe I used fresh apple juice instead of orange for my personal preference which turned out delicious. Also, a money saving tip, buy the nuts, oats and cranberries from the bulk section in your grocery store in exact amounts and you'll save a ton. Minus a few things like cinnamon, vanilla and oil that I already had, the whole thing cost me about $5 to make.
In case I got you hooked on www.myfitnesspal.com from my previous post, I am going to start adding my recipes to the public food listings so you can easily add any recipes you make from here to your calorie count for the day. Just search "365inspirations.com" and you will find this recipe in there.
{Fruit and Nut Granola}
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup orange juice
2 cup mixed dried fruit (crasins)
Preheat oven to 275. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In medium sauce pan combine oil, butter, sugar, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and bring to a simmer, stirring until brown sugar is dissolved. Approx. 2 minutes. Let cool slightly.
In a very large bowl combine oats and nuts and toss the warm sugar mixture until they are coated thoroughly. Spread granola over baking sheet and place in the oven for approx 1 hour and 15 min..
Stir once or twice until golden.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl pour orange juice over crasins and let stand about 1 hour. Drain off juice and mix with granola for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Remove granola from oven and let cool on baking sheet until crisp.