Early Morning Granola

To anyone that knows me, this won't be a surprise, but I am not a morning person...I never have been, and, sadly, I probably never will be. I have always wanted to be one of those people that can spring out of bed in the morning, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (like Ali), but it's just not me; I need coffee for that! Eating breakfast is really important to me, but sometimes it's hard to fit in when I have 8:00 am class... and after I've hit snooze for the fourth time. I decided that if I didn't have time to eat breakfast before leaving the house, I should take it with me. 

I like to eat oatmeal for breakfast; oats are full of fibre, vitamins, minerals, and are a complex carbohydrate so they keep you full for a really long time, but I needed an easy way to bring them to school. I decided to try out this great granola recipe and pair it with some yogourt. I wanted to make my own granola because most store bought granolas are full of extra sugar, which is often refined.

^^ this granola is full of healthy whole grains, nuts and seeds; a great way to start off your day ^^

^^ cinnamon and ground ginger give this granola extra flavour ^^ 

^^ I baked the whole batch at once, but remember to alternate pans so the bottom one doesn't burn ^^

^^ it smells delicious ^^ 

Here's the recipe: 

5 cups large flake rolled-oats 

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup chopped almonds (or any nut combination of your choice - may omit for allergies) 

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sesame seeds

4 tablespoons of chia seeds 

1 1/2 cups of unsweetened applesauce 

1/2 cup maple syrup (could use honey as well) 

1/4 cup olive oil 

2 tablespoons cinnamon 

2 tablespoons ground ginger 

20 dried apricots chopped into small pieces

1/2 cup raisins (or any dried fruit) whole or chopped 

* I decreased the amount of sugar from the original recipe quite a bit, so if you prefer a sweet granola you may need to add a little more maple syrup or honey to your preference. I eat mine with plain yogourt and top it all with a little extra maple syrup. If you like sweetened or flavoured yogourt, this amount of sugar would probably be perfect as those yogourts are already quite sweet*  

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine all dry ingredients and mix. Add applesauce, maple syrup and oil and mix until all ingredients are combined. Spread mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I needed two baking sheets). Bake for about an hour (I baked mine for 1 hour and 10 minutes), but this will depend on your oven and how golden you like your granola, and remember to turn the mixture over a few times while baking. Allow the granola to cool and store in an airtight container. 

I adapted this granola recipe from the Whitewater Cooks at home cookbook. 

^^ I eat mine with plain yogourt and a drizzle of maple syrup - this allows me to control the sugar content ^^ 

Enjoy!

-M