In my never ending quest to have a healthier lifestyle, one thing is a constant, homemade is better for you than store bought. First, let’s all recognize that we are all doing our best with what we have, no guilt or shame thoughts here. Do I buy frozen pizza? Yes! Do I wish I had time to make a healthy crust from scratch every time my kids ask for pizza for dinner? Yes! I just don’t have time so I make the best choice I can when I can.
One of the many reasons I try to make as much as I can from scratch is to lower the amount of sugar and preservatives in packaged foods. The multiple names that sweeteners have is astounding and it’s a well known fact that the food industry wants to hook us on sugar as young as possible. If you haven’t watched the documentary Fed Up yet, I highly suggest it. We watched it years ago and it was eye opening!
When you can find an easy healthy recipe for a mostly store bought item, do yourself a favor and double the recipe. I do this with my tortilla soup and freeze containers for an easy dinner night. I also do this with granola. I double, triple the batch size and my family still burns thru it! My daughter Stella tops her smoothie bowls with it, Astra eats it dry, Steve mixes it into yogurt and I love it with almond milk. For an added protein boost, I will also mix in a scoop of my favorite vegan protein powder. YUMMY and filling!
I have included my favorite recipe below, feel free to adjust the honey/ maple syrup amount, I usually start with half and mix more in if I need it to stick together better. I also add dried fruit to my version. Raisins, dates, apricots,or currants which helps boost the fiber and allows you to use less honey/ maple syrup.
The Following recipe is from https://www.milehighmitts.com/vanilla-granola-gluten-free-dairy-free-vegan-option/
Vanilla Granola
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats (certified gluten-free)
- 2 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecans)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup honey (or maple syrup, if vegan)
- 1 tbsp vanilla
Instructions
- To begin, preheat your oven to 300 and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients (oats, nuts, cinnamon) and stir them together.
- In a small, microwave safe bowl, add your coconut oil and microwave till melted (about 1 minute). Add your honey, whisk them together, and microwave them again till they are very warm (about another 30-60 seconds). Add your vanilla and whisk it in.
- Pour your wet ingredients over your dry ingredients, and stir till all of your oats and nuts are covered entirely. Pour your granola onto your pan and spread it out into one, thin, even layer. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or till the edges are just starting to gain a bit of color. The granola will get crunchy as it cools.
- Let granola cool entirely, before breaking it up into pieces. Devour!
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