Classic Morning Granola

Today my friends... I have the day off. Yup, it's Monday morning, 8:00am and I'm still in my sweats, eating the wonderous granola I'm about to share with you, and planning out my day.

Lovely, isn't it?

Although I don't have to work today, I still woke up early.. 6:30am in fact. My better half leaves the house at 6:00am to head downtown for work. Needless to say.. we go to bed early. It doesn't bother me at all however, because I'm a non-traditional 22 year-old and actually enjoy starting my days off early to pack in all that I can.

So, you're probably wondering what all this has to do with this granola recipe? Well here goes...

I woke up, starving as usual, trying to figure out what I wanted for breakfast. Usually I have all of this planned out for my work days, but since today is different, I let it slide ;-) Another thing you should know, I am extremely indecisive, especially when it comes to food. This is about how my thoughts went while aimlessly wandering around the kitchen....

Banana muffin in the freezer? 

Nah... maybe for tomorrow. 

Soy yogurt? 

Eh.. had yogurt yesterday morning. 

Cereal?

Hmm... getting close...

Granola?

YES!

The problem was... I didn't have any granola made. Well, I can certainly fix that. I thought, I'll just whip up a quick batch. And so... that's exactly what I did.

Classic Morning Granola
1/3 c apple juice
2 tbsp safflower oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp grade A maple syrup

1 c gluten free rolled oats
1 c walnuts (chopped)
6-8 brazil nuts (chopped)
1/4 c pumpkin seeds (raw or roasted is fine)
3 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the wet ingredients in a large skillet, heat to combine. Add all dry ingredients to skillet, stir until fully mixed. Line a large baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and add granola to sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, remove and stir (continue this pattern twice more - a total cooking time of 15 minutes.) Finally, set to broil for 2-3 more minutes (watch carefully, I was about 20 seconds away from burning the whole batch - once it starts to brown, it does so very quickly!) Remove from oven, let cool and start munching.

Store on the counter in a large mason jar or any air tight container.

The beauty that arises from a day off... you can wake up, take the time to make a magnificent breakfast, and share it for all to enjoy.

Last but not least... here are the healthy facts

Per 1/3 cup serving

278 calories

18g carbohydrates

5g fiber

7g protein

6g sugar

Oh, and in case you were wondering... my breakfast turned out to be a delicious granola breakfast bowl.

Step 1: half banana cut into pieces

Step 2: add deliciously fresh, ripe blueberries

Step 3: top it all with my classic morning granola and a touch of rice milk

Perfection. Breakfast at it's finest.

Foodie Pen Pals July!

 Foodie Pen Pals!

Another month, another incredible goodie box sent to my door. I couldn't have asked for a more unique set of items, including a personalized post card! YEA!

This month I was lucky enough to be paired with Marcie Fort from Gambrills, MD. Her kids helped her pick out my goodies and boy oh boy, did they do a good job :-)

Let's take a look!

I got a lot of freeze dried snacks, which are totally awesome by the way! Dried fruit mixes, dried spicy chickpeas (great on salads!), delicious chocolate cookies from Lucy's, a very unique and awesome sounding spice mix and a collection of dairy free chocolate.. I. Am. In. Heaven.

The fruit is such a great snack! I've been keeping a stash in my desk at work.. perfect for when I need a little pick-me-up! The cookies, well, let me just tell you I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying cookies dipped in milk for quite some time.. but these babies did the trick! They are crunchy chocolate cookies and when dipped in non dairy milk.. oh goodness. I could eat that whole box in one sitting! The Enjoy Life chocolate bar was gone the next day.. oops ;-) The other two I'm trying to cherish for the perfect moment. I haven't yet tried the spice mix but Marcie recommended adding it to home-cooked popcorn.. uhhh yea, I'm in!

As you can see, this monthly foodie program is nothing but incredible. Picking out goodies for your foodie pal is so much fun and waiting for your own package to arrive is like waiting for Christmas!

Here is a brief recap of Foodie Pen Pals and why you should join!

On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

Thank you again Marcie, I absolutely love it all! And thanks to Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean for this fun and exciting program! 

See you next month!