Mmmm....granola

It is probably the best tasting, most unhealthy cereal out there. Oh sure, it's advertised as healthy, but have you ever actually read what's in it? Ingredients? Sugar? Fat? Yuck. I am also at the disadvantage of having a peanut allergy, so most of the commercially produced granolas, I tend to avoid like the plague.

When I came across this recipe (originally from Gluten-Free Girl) I was after a granola that was peanut-free, had minimal fat and sugar and was easy to make. This is what I came up with. My husband, who's not much of a granola eater, even likes it. As an added plus, it is soooooo much cheaper to make your own, and at the moment, I'm totally into hand making everything. I pretty much make granola & bread every week. But that's another post.

The trick to making granola "healthy" is to not necessarily avoid sugar & fat, but to put in the right healthy sugars & healthy fats. I try to use whole grains whenever possible and I would like to say that I use the purest, most organic ingredients I can find, but seriously people, this is rural-town Walmart we're dealing with here, so let's be realistic, shall we?

Good Granola
adapted from Gluten-Free Girl, who adapted in from someone else, I'm sure

3 cups Old Fashioned oats
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 T. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. ginger
3/4 cup pure honey
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 T. vanilla extract
2 tsp. canola oil

Preheat your oven to 250 & coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, flour, cinnamon, allspice and ginger and mix them together with a wooden spoon until everything is well combined.

In a glass liquid measuring cup combine the honey, cranberry juice, vanilla and oil and whisk until thoroughly combined & it looks like one, cohesive liquid.

Pour your liquid ingredients into the dry, and stir until all of the oats are moist. You don't want there to be any liquid pooling in the bottom of the bowl - make sure you get it all mixed. Dump the raw granola out onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out into one even layer.

Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Take it out of the oven, stir it up and put it back for another 20 minutes. Continue this process for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, depending on how crunchy you like your granola. I usually pull mine out after 1 1/2 hours, mostly due to impatience more than anything else.

When the granola is done, it should be dry to the touch. Let it sit and cool for 15 minutes, and then put it in an air-tight container with a lid (I use a mason jar). It will keep for 7-10 days in the refrigerator, if it lasts that long.

Makes about 4 cups of granola, depending on how much you eat during the cooking process.