Honey and Almond Breakfast Granola

Most breakfast cereal sold at the stores gives me the creeps.  I can't stand to feed it to my kids, so every week I make granola for their breakfast (and my after-work snack).  I've been doing this for maybe a year now, and I think I've got the recipe down.  It's crunchy, not too sweet and bakes up in perfect little clusters.

My favorite thing about making my own breakfast cereal is controlling the sweetener.  I don't like things to be sickeningly sweet and I'm not too fond of the risk of developing diabetes.  I lean toward honey versus white sugar due to its lower glycemic index. Which I won't get in to at the moment...but will in an upcoming post.  It's one of those every little thing counts in small ways things for me. I like to tell myself that all good choices add up to good things that hopefully don't involve pricking my finger multiple times a day.

I find the two ingredients to be easily interchangeable in most recipes.  And granola made with honey is delicious!


This recipe takes only 10 minutes of active time and a few stirs while it bakes.  It's easy!

Breakfast Granola:

4 generous cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup almond flour
1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.

Mix oats, almond flour, slices almonds, coconut and cinnamon in a large bowl.

On the stove top, heat together oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla until the brown sugar is melted.  Stir this warn mix into the oat mix.

Pour it out onto the sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Stir, then bake 20 minutes more.  Stir in your raisins then bake 5 minutes longer or until the granola is dark golden brown.

Cool on the pan.  It will become crispy once it's cool.  Store for a week or so in a container.  I keep mine in a cookie jar on the counter and it keeps crunchy all week.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter, Honey and Banana Granola

When we were kids, we used to eat peanut butter, honey and banana sandwiches on wheat toast. I loved them! I'm kind of sad I haven't raised my girls on them.

But I did make them homemade granola!

This is a great recipe to make with kids. Watch out for banana nabbers!

Making homemade granola is remarkably easy- basically just mix and bake -and as you can imagine there are a billion and ten variations you can play with! You'll see below, I threw in some raisins I wanted to use up. You can do this with pretty much any fruit or nut you can imagine. Just be sure to add dried fruit at the end so it doesn't burn!

Peanut Butter, Honey and Banana Granola

Melt together in a pot on the stove:

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used creamy natural)
1/2 cup oil (I used peanut oil)
1 tablespoon vanilla
**if you want a pronounced banana flavor, add a teaspoon or so banana extract, adjusting to taste. The dried banana included in this recipe has a good crunch but not a strong flavor. I haven't tried this yet, but I will.

Mix in a big bowl:
5 cups old-fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
2 cups ground almonds (I used almond "flour")

Add the melted ingredients to the bowl and stir well. Pour it out onto a big sheet pan covered in parchment paper. Press gently with your palms to help it clump.

Bake at 300F for 20 minutes and stir. Bake another 20 minutes then stir again, adding 2 cups chopped dried banana chips. Drizzle all over with honey and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Careful not to burn it! If you skip the stirring, the edges will burn.

When you stir and when you remove the pan at the end, the granola will be soft. Let it cool completely on the pan and it will harden. Break up big chunks a bit and pour it into a container for storage. Serve with cold milk and add some sliced fresh bananas for a special treat.

Easy as that! Enjoy!