Make-Your-Own Granola

Who loves granola? I do, I do! But, it’s frustrating when I look at the nutrition labels of most granola bars and granola cereals. They’re usually packed with artificial ingredients, chemicals, and preservatives. If I want some granola, can’t it just be the real deal?

My solution: make my own granola. It’s easy to make in a big batch to eat all week or share with family and friends. I made some granola last night and had it this morning over my vanilla yogurt. Here’s how I made it.

Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces chopped walnuts
• 2 ounces sesame seeds
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 6 tbsp. honey
• 6 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dried apricots

Directions:

Combine oats, walnuts, and sesame seeds in a bowl and set aside. Then heat up the honey, sesame oil, cinnamon stick, and salt in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes. Once it’s heated up, remove the cinnamon stick and pour the liquid over the oat mixture in the bowl. Stir to combine all the ingredients.

Spread out the granola on a sheet pan and bake at 350° for about 20 minutes. After baking, let the granola cool before transferring back to a bowl.  Chop up dried cranberries and apricots and add to the mixture.

Optional variation: Once the granola is made, stir in some almond butter and chill in a casserole dish in the refrigerator. It will stick together and you can break off chunks to have as snacks. Check out my almond butter recipe here.