Whole food snacking

Yummy whole food granola

It's back to school time and I thought this would be the perfect occasion to share a recipe for a great whole food granola.  It's delicious for a quick and easy breakfast with some almond milk and fresh fruit, as an after school snack, or you can enjoy it anytime. Making your own granola allows you to avoid the hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and preservatives that are typically found in prepackaged granola.

The original granola recipe comes from the The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book by Jessica K. Black, ND.  I took the liberty of adapting it to suit my family's tastes, and whether or not I want to make granola bars or more of a trail mix consistency.  I prefer to use organic ingredients whenever possible. You can also add dried fruits like dates, apricots and apples.  Newman's Own makes a good line of organic dried fruits, and they contain no sulfites. You can check out their products here. Just remember that dried fruits will increase the amount of sugar per serving. Feel free to modify. I'd love to hear about your favorite recipe changes to make your own version of  healthy granola. 

Whole food granola
Calorie Information per serving: 14 servings
% DV Calories 378, (1583 kJ),19%
From Carbohydrate, 165 (691 kJ)
From Fat 176 (737 kJ)

From Protein 37.1 (155 kJ)

Carbohydrates: Amounts Per Selected Serving %DV

Total Carbohydrate 41.5 g, 14%

Dietary Fiber 6.3 g, 25%

Starch ~20.2 g

Sugars ~9.2 g

Total Fat: 20.9 g, 32%

Saturated Fat 5.4 g, 27%

Monounsaturated Fat 8.3 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 5.8 g

14:01

~0.0

mg

15:01

~0.0

mg

16:1 undifferentiated

61.8

mg

16:1 c

~17.8

mg

16:1 t

~0.9

mg

17:01

~2.2

mg

18:1 undifferentiated

8232

mg

18:1 c

~2361

mg

18:1 t

~0.0

mg

20:01

9.9

mg

22:1 undifferentiated

~0.9

mg

22:1 c

~0.0

mg

22:1 t

~0.0

mg

24:1 c

~1.9

mg

Protein 10.7 g, 21%

Note: I used the Nutrition Data tool found here to calculate the calorie information and to convert to metric amounts.   

Ingredients:

• 6 cups (81 grams) rolled oats
• 1/4 cup (339 grams) honey
• 1/4 cup (200 grams) raw millet
• 1/2 cup (250 grams) unsalted almond butter
• 1 cup (108 grams) raw slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup (168 grams) ground flax seeds
• 3/4 cup (138 grams) raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds shelled)
• 1/2 cup (46 grams) raw shelled sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup (322 grams) maple syrup Grade B
• 1/4 cup (218 grams) coconut oil

Preparation:
When possible use organic ingredients. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients (honey, maple syrup, almond butter and coconut oil) into a saucepan and heat to liquid consistency. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well. Press and flatten into a baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool, break into chunks and store in air tight container. You can try brown rice syrup in place of the honey and add unsweetened, shredded coconut and dried fruits (if you're not diabetic).Enjoy.