Homemade granola of oats, bran, nuts, dried fruit and maple syrup is packed with nutrition and no added sugar.
Granola Breakfast Or Brunch Made Easy
Weekday mornings can be so hectic that everyone leaves the home nutritionally unprepared for the day ahead of them. It doesn’t have to be that way if you are willing to give a little of your time twice a month to make a healthful batch of granola. I can’t think of a better way to start the day with nutrition and delicious flavors!
Easy Weekend Granola Spread
The last thing we want to do on the weekend is cook three meals and have no time to regroup from the week’s hectic schedule. Whether your weekend is for one, or a houseful, an easy granola spread is the way to satisfy and nourish everyone. Set out homemade granola, fruit selections, yogurt choices (dairy or non), coffee and tea and the weekend just got easy!
What Is Granola?
When we buy boxed cereal we really can’t see what’s in the flakes and circles. Way too much processing from my healthy view point. Granola is a scrumptious blend of raw oats, raw bran, nuts of your choice, dried fruits of your choice even seeds of your choice, a healthy sweetener and baked to crunchy perfection.
Muesli, a Swiss-German variation of porridge, a mix of raw oats, nuts, seeds and other grains served cold, was my first introduction to anything that resembled granola.
Granola, since it gets baked on a very low oven, turns all those grains, seeds and nuts into something crunchy and with much more flavor, since it has all been lightly toasted, bringing out the flavors of each ingredient.
Kids Can Make This Granola
Since the measurements of my granola concoction are so easy, and third grader could easily figure how to measure all the ingredients into a bowl, dump it onto a baking sheet and pop it in a low oven, it makes for an easy ‘new chore’ to assign your little one to help with meals time.
Dried Fruit
Fresh fruit is not always available and often quite costly but dried fruit can be purchased year round and from anywhere in the world.
I grew up on dried apricot sheets from Lebanon, dried figs from Greece, dried grapes (of course known as raisins), from California along with dried cranberries from Massachusetts.
Dried fruits are loaded with vitamin C, iron and fiber and can be an easy to-go snack for work, school or after work-outs at the gym, simply because they don’t need refrigeration.
Dried Fruits Are So Mediterranean!
Having grown up with a Syrian mom, I watched her cook with dried fruits in ways my American friend’s moms never did. Oh sure, American moms put raisins in baked breads and on top of cereal for breakfast, but I never heard them speak of putting dried fruit in with meat.
Now that America is a melting pot of cuisines from all over the world, it is not uncommon for everyone to incorporate foreign cuisine into a nouvelle cuisine, all Americans can claim as their own.
My mom often roasted lamb with dates or apricots. She said the intense sugar content in the dried fruits would tenderize an inexpensive cut of meat.
North African Tajine is a slow roast method of cooking various meats or vegetables in an earthenware pot, using spices and hot peppers for dimension and depth in flavor and dried fruits to balance the heat.
A Tajine is often served with a Mediterranean Rice, also made with dried fruits and sometimes nuts. Dried fruits and nuts have been a part of Mediterranean cuisine for a long time.
What Can Granola Be Used With
Cookies and Muffins!! Yes, granola makes for the most delicious cookies or muffins. For an easy muffin, just toss a few eggs in with a few cups of granola, a little scoop of yogurt at the bottom of that tub you often throw away because it’s not enough to serve, bake and enjoy transformed and easy for a to-go snack. No wheat flour, no extra added sugar and oh so yummy!
Toss a cup of granola into the blender to turn it into a powder and try tossing chicken pieces into it, lightly brown on top the stove, them pop into the oven to bake till done. Oh, my, goodness it is so yummy!
How To Make Homemade Granola
The easiest thing to make, is granola! No precise measuring. No unusual ingredients that aren’t already in your pantry. Just grains, nuts, seeds, a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, a little drizzle of olive oil or other favorite oil, toss to coast everything, dump it onto a baking sheet and pop into a really low oven to bake for ninety minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. That’s it!
Ingredients Needed
- Rolled Oats
- Spelt Flakes
- Oat Bran
- Dried fruit – your choice
- Nuts – your choice
- Oil – Olive or your choice
- Vanilla extract
- Maple syrup – Agave or Honey
Equipment Needed
- Large mixing bowl
- Large sheet pan
- Metal spatula
- Wooden spoon
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Mason jar with lid
- Oven
Homemade Granola Recipe
Course: Breakfast, BrunchDifficulty: Easy48
ounces Homemade granola of oats, bran, nuts, dried fruit and maple syrup is packed with nutrition and no added sugar.
Ingredients
Rolled Oats – 3 cups
Spelt flakes – 1 cup (or oats)
Bran – 1 cup (oat, wheat or rice)
Dried fruit – 1 cup (your choice)
Nuts – 1 cup (your choice, lightly chopped)
Oil – 1/4 cup (olive, coconut, sunflower, your choice)
Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
Maple syrup – 3/4 cup (honey or agave)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Gently stir in the wet ingredients and continue to fold all the ingredients together until all of the dry ingredients look wet.
- Spread evenly onto a baking tray. Bake for 90 minutes.
- Cool and transfer to an airtight container.
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
One of my favorite breakfast treats! I love the combination of grains—so yummy!
This is one of my favorite ways to start the day!