Seeing as we are all still stuck at home with extra time on our hands, here is a recipe that is not only delicious but also nutritious and low fat with no added sugar. Homemade low fat granola is a great way to start your day and perfect for a mid day munch. With the kids learning from home, I tend to deliver mid-morning snacks to keep their attention focused on the virtual learning. (Sometimes I make it with some dark chocolate chunks to brighten the day – of course…) You can add goji berries, dried fruit, chia seeds or coconut. Whatever you have in the cupboard that can add some interest to your pandemic cooking!

Ingredients for Homemade Granola

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups mixed nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ½ cup warm water
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups dried fruit (cranberries, apricots, mango, rasins)

Homemade Granola Method

• Preheat oven to 300.
• Lightly pam or grease cookie sheet.
• In a large bowl mix oats, nuts spices together.
• In a small bowl mix water, syrup and vanilla together
• Pour wet into dry and mix with hands until clumpy.
• Pour onto pan and bake turning every 20 mins.
• Bake approximately 1 hour or until crunchy.

Making Granola Bars from Scratch

The bars you buy in the store are so filled with sugar and gunk that any nutritional value in the oats tends to get negated. Making them at home is pretty simple. Grab an 8×8 baking pan and line with parchment paper. Take your granola and add:

• 1 cup very smooth creamy natural peanut butter or cashew butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Press the mixture into the pan and place a second piece of parchment paper on top. Use a big measuring cup to press the mixture together so it’s nice and tight. Chill the whole thing in the fridge for an hour, and then slice your bars. Sometimes I freeze them at this point in order to make them last longer. Bon appetit!!

You can check our our granola and fruit parfait here.

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