Confessions of a Fitness Instructor

The Best Homemade Granola!

If there is one thing I like it’s granola.  Well no that’s not true, if I was just going to choose one food to like it would probably be pizza but, I do really like granola!  However, I’m not always fan of the store-bought kind.  So what is a girl to do?  Make her own homemade granola of course!  I’ve been perfecting my recipe for quite a while now and I think I’ve finally got it right where I want it! 😉

The Best Homemade Granola!

The thing I like best about this recipe is you can leave it in chunks (like granola bars) or you can crumble it and eat it like regular granola.  I tend to break it into chunks and then use the pieces that fall apart as granola so you get the best of both worlds.

Homemade Granola Bars

Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups of assorted nuts (unsalted)
  • 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cup of sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup of coconut (I use sweetened, but if you are worried about sugar you can use unsweetened)
  • 1/4 cup of flax seed (I use the whole shelled flax but regular flax will work too)
  • 1/2 cup of honey
  • 1/4 of pure maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine oats, nuts, and seeds in a bowl then spread evenly over two ungreased baking sheets.

Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until toasted stirring at the halfway mark to prevent burning.

Remove sheets from oven and allow to cool slightly.

Lower oven to 300 degrees.

Meanwhile, combine honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, coconut oil, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan.

Heat on medium heat to melt oil and sugar.

When oats, nuts and seeds are cool enough to handle, put them into a large mixing bowl.

Add flax seed and coconut to the bowl and stir to combine.

Pour honey mixture into the bowl and stir to evenly distribute.

Next line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (you want a cookie sheet that has a small lip around all four sides).

Pour the granola onto the cookie sheet and spread out evenly. Your mixture should be approx. 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

Let granola cool completely before removing from cookie sheet.

Break into chunks and store in an airtight container.


The beauty of this recipe is you can really alter it to suit whatever you have on hand or whatever you like in your granola.  If you like dried fruit, add it in the mixture before the second baking (when you add the coconut), if you want it gluten-free leave out the oats or use gluten-free oats – or whatever you like!

If you give them a try, please let me know what you think!

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