The Best Granola You've Ever Had. Toasted Muesili with Millet, Coconut, Pistachios and Cranberries

Today is the day of all days... the one day a year that people pour their hearts out for the one they love. The day that Hallmark makes a killing, when little girls get all giddy when they receive that one special valentine, the day that eating a mass of chocolates is simply expected, the day when... I share with you the most amazing granola you've ever had.

While I'm not a huge fan of this day, because I feel that love should be shared all year round and that surprise flowers are even more of a surprise when received on any random Tuesday... I felt that I would share with you this granola that has truly won my heart.

What I have found in my years of cooking and creating is that it is very common that chefs, bakers, cooks and self-proclaimed foodies (*ehem*) often find that their favorite recipes are ones they themselves have not created. Perhaps it is that the work is somewhat removed, the pressure to create a masterpiece whereas the existing recipe has already been perfected.. all you simply have to do is prepare and enjoy.

Well my friends... that certainly is the case with this Toasted Muesili with Millet, Coconut, Pistachios and Cranberries - created by Cannelle et Vanille. If you have not seen, heard or viewed this beautiful blog, I highly recommend that you do. Incredible photography, commentary written like poetry, a reflection of food, life & photography that will truly take your breath away.

I first found this recipe while on a plane ride back from San Diego this past September. Since traveling can be somewhat... blah... I always buy myself a "treat" for the flight.... in this case I bought the September issue of Whole Living magazine. The cover is what really drew me in - "THE BEST BREAKFAST RECIPES EVER! (That just so happen to be gluten-free!)" You see my friends... I basically had to pick this one up ;-)

This recipe re-opened my absolute love for granola, adding a twist with the millet and a sweet, tropical tone with the coconut. My one and only modification is that I leave out the cranberries. Not because I don't like them but because I like the freedom to add whatever fruit my stomach is yearning the mornings all mornings that I crave this delicious, delightful, whole, healthy, irresistible granola.

I'm begging you, okay I'm telling you - take a gander at this recipe, you more than likely have all the ingredients on hand. Take a morning, an afternoon, an evening, take the time whenever you have it and make this recipe. It will change how you view mornings and will certainly change your view on granola.

Bon appetit!

 

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.

Nutty Oat Pancakes

Mmmmm... #insert smile here#

In case you were wondering... that was a description of how my day started.

Sleeping in until the alarm went off, laying in bed for another 15 minutes before actually getting up, making these delightful pancakes and still sitting at the kitchen table in my sweats with my coffee as I write this. What a beautiful way to start a Sunday. (Well, minus the fact that it is insanely windy outside..might hinder today's run a bit.. But that is beside the point!)

I've mentioned this before but ever since eliminating gluten, dairy, yeast and a slew of other randoms that I won't get into, my boyfriend and I rarely get to enjoy the same weekend breakfast like we used to. You see, weekend mornings used to consist of massive breakfasts with one of us cooking and the other one constantly making suggestions (okay... maybe just me making suggestions). But now, we each make our own breakfast, still sharing the morning at the kitchen table with our coffee and newspaper, but - it just isn't the same.

I have had this recipe bookmarked for MONTHS now, just waiting for a weekend to make a hardy breakfast while lounging around the house until #sigh# the school work has to get started. Well my friends, today was the day! As I'm getting closer and closer to my college graduation *Ah!* I've been feeling less and less motivated to hit weekends hard with studying and projects. Which is why, as I said, today was the day for these wonderful homemade pancakes - courtesy of Nancy from The Sensitive Pantry.

Nancy has a wealth of recipes that are perfectly catered to the needs of us with food intolerance and sensitivities. Most of her recipes are gluten, egg, dairy and soy free. PERFECT for what I need!

She created these Banana Walnut Oat Pancakes, in which I made only a few minor changes based on what I had in my fridge. Make sure to check out her recipes, they are wonderful!

Here is the recipe with my few changes...

1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons hot water

3/4 cups sorghum flour
1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar

1/3 c plain soy yogurt + 2/3 c water (whisk until smooth)
1/2 large banana
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup walnuts (finely chopped)

Mix the flaxseed and hot water and let sit as you assemble the batter. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the soy yogurt and water and whisk until you've reached a smooth consistency (similar to soymilk). Add in your very mashed banana, oil and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add wet ingredients to the dry mix, add the flaxseed mixture and stir. Fold in the walnuts. The batter is fairly thick at this point - you can either leave as is or add water 1-2 tbsp at a time until you've reached a thinner batter. (*I added about 1/2 c of water total.)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, adding a little butter to grease the pan. Plop two spoonfulls on top of each other in the pan and smooth out to form a nice 3-inch wide pancake. (I could fit 3 pancakes in my pan at a time with this method.) Continue to do this until you've used all of the batter, making sure to add a little butter to the pan before cooking each new batch. *Nancy's recipe makes 12 three inch pancakes, I ended up with 13 pancakes in total (probably from adding the extra water).

The oats and sorghum flour provide a natural sweetness to these pancakes, while I may be a bit biased towards the sweet scale - they were perfect for me! If you like your pancakes sweeter just be sure to add a healthy dose of pure maple syrup. Yes, that's right, I'm telling you to load it on :)

One sidenote I must mention is that these are not your typical light and fluffy from-the-box pancakes. They are hardy, dense and will fill you up (but of course this is a very good thing!) I found that 3 pancakes was the perfect serving size, leaving me satisfied but not overly stuffed. I topped my yummy pancakes with about 1tbsp pure maple syrup, fresh blackberries, banana chips and a dusting of cinnamon. DELISH!

I highly recommend making these pancakes on your next lazy weekend, or heck, maybe even as a breakfast-for-dinner meal! I have some left over and am fully planning on snacking on them as the day goes on :)

Lastly, I went ahead and calculated the nutrition facts. This time, not so much for you (though I'm sure you are happy to have them!) but for me as I'm really trying to up my calories to gain some weight - hey, I'm training for a half marathon here people! So... here they are...

Nutrition Facts for Nutty Oat Pancakes

per serving: 3 pancakes

239 calories

31g carbohydrates

6.7g protein

4.5g fiber

*with my toppings these come to about: 453 calories, 40g carbs, 7g protein, 5g fiber*

Have a lovely Sunday, smile, be kind and do something amazing!

Quinoa Hazelnut Granola

Oh goodness. This granola is fabulous. Phenomenal. Crunchy. Semi-sweet. Packed with nutrients. It is everything you could ever want in a granola and guess what... it's oat free!

For many who are gluten free oats are not a problem and can be a go-to source for protein and complex carbs. Unfortunately, there are also many, gluten free or not, in which oats do not agree with them. I had to cut oats out of my diet for a while and when I went back to eating them things seemed okay... but whenever this happens with foods I've been cutting out, I get a little too excited that things "seem to be okay" and I begin eating the food like it is my only option. This tends to backfire.. requiring me to cut out the food once again to cleanse my body and get my stomach back on track.

Hence... the search for an oat-free granola began. I have always been a fan of quinoa for its nutritional content (it is a complete protein after all!) and have known that quinoa flakes can be substituted for oats in many recipes. Perfect! So why not make a granola out of it?!

Traditionally.. I make my own granola from scratch.. no recipe... I just go with my gut and the outcome is always delish. For this first attempt.. I reached out to my fellow foodie bloggers and stumbled upon this recipe from the Comfy Belly. If you haven't heard of this blog well... now you have so you have no reason not to visit it just as soon as you finish this post ;-) Erica has amazing photography and such a wide variety of delicious and healthful recipes, including this (as mentioned before) phenomenal quinoa granola.

I'm not going to post the recipe here because I really do feel that you should take advantage of her wonderful blog yourself. I will however explain a little about my modifications...

• I halved the recipe and ended up with about 3 cups of delish granola
• I used only hazelnuts, simply doubling the amount called for (for my halved recipe I used just over 1/2 cup of whole hazelnuts - I then gave them a slight chop before adding to the granola mix)
• I also halved the amount of maple syrup - I prefer my granola on the less sweet side.. I know, crazy right?

That's it! Her recipe is so delightful that the changes I made were strictly based on my dietary restrictions.

Oh yes... I almost forgot... here are the nutrition facts because I know you love them oh so much.

Per one 1/2 cup serving:

368 calories

37g carbs

10g protein

5g fiber

*Don't let the calories scare you, every single one of them are as healthy as can be and I promise this will hold you over and leave you oh so satisfied.

And now.. on to the pictures...

prior to the oven

after baking... the colors become even more beautiful

Savory Crayon Muffins

"Crayon Muffins"? Really?

Yes. Really. Let me explain.

While cooling on the wire rack, my boyfriend stopped to take a look. His reaction? "It looks like you melted crayons in your muffins." HA! Priceless. I love you honey.

Now that the ever-so-enticing name is given a reason, let's move on to this wonderful recipe that worked out (for the most part) on the very first try. (p.s. I love it when this happens!)

The inspiration for these muffins came from my Basic Buckwheat Bake all spruced up! Well, no. I can't take the credit. The credit should be given to The Healthful Pursuit and The Edible Perspective - both of which inspired the buckwheat bake. You see, after having the bake a few times for breakfast and absolutely loving how satisfied and full it left me (not to mention how people in my class were gawking at the rest of this delicious breakfast that I took to my 9:30am class), I was inspired to create a savory version that I could take along for lunch.

I found some gluten free, nitrate free chopped prosciutto at King Soopers and thought it would be a perfect addition to my not-yet-created savory muffins, complete with protein and flavor. Great - 1 addition purchased.

A few days later I was at Sunflower Market and while strolling through the aisles I found the on-sale baby food. Yes. Baby food. What a great way to substitute the banana from the buckwheat bake... pureed veggies that are already pureed! Also on this shopping trip I bought a large jar of on-sale roasted red peppers (yum!). Score - 2 more additions.

After several days of thinking and conjuring up how I would make these muffins work... and also after carefully trying to [somewhat] replicate the buckwheat bake recipe in order to avoid a complete failure, I came up with these bad boys...Savory Crayon Muffins.

Dry Ingredients
1/4 c amaranth flour
1/4 c sorghum flour
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp sunflower seeds

Wet Ingredients
Egg Replacer*
1/4 c carrot baby food**
2 tbsp water

Add-Ins
2 tbsp roasted red peppers (diced)
1.5 oz chopped prosciutto

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Make egg replacer, whisking until frothy and add to dry ingredients. Add baby food and water, mix until combined. Add in prosciutto and roasted red pepper, stir again until combined - the batter will be thick. Spray (or grease) 3 ramekins, making sure to coat the bottom and sides. Divide batter among the ramekins and use the back of a wet spoon to smooth out the tops. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.***


Notes
*I used Ener-G Egg Replacer. You can also use 1 egg - this will probably cause the muffins to rise more. You can also use a flax or chia egg.

**I used carrot baby food, it gave a beautiful orange-golden color to my muffins but feel free to use any vegetable flavor combo you like!

***I continually opened the oven to check these which is probably why my muffins came out to be a little mushy in the middle. I suggest keeping your oven closed the full 30 minutes and then checking with a toothpick. The tops will be cracked and have a crusty feel but if the toothpick isn't clean, continue cooking for a few more minutes.


Although I have only sampled a few bites, I am instantly a fan and will be sure to create many versions of these muffins, using different add-ins and flavor combinations. I am thinking these will be better warm than cold. My suggestion for lunch - heat your muffin in the microwave for 30 seconds (or pop into a toaster oven) and enjoy with a crunchy apple, a small salad or perhaps... soup?

Lastly, let me share with you the nutrition facts because, well, I am just that considerate ;-)

Per 1 Savory Crayon Muffin

178 calories

21g carbohydrates

3g fiber

5g protein

PLEASE leave any comments or feedback for flavor suggestions [and] when you make these yourself be sure to come back and let me know how they turned out!

What I Ate Wednesday ~ 1.0

Okay... so I've been meaning to join the fun for weeks now but with school starting back up and especially with it being my LAST semester of college (Ah!)... I've had other things on the mind... can you blame me?

Let me tell you just how nerdy I am... I set a reminder on my phone to go off this morning, at lunch time and dinner time to remind me to take my WIAW pictures... yea, go ahead... laugh it up##

Anyway... On to the fun!



BreakfastChia Banana Hemp Pudding, topped with fresh delicious strawberries and flax cereal for that all important crunch! (This is a spin-off version of my Divine Chia Breakfast Pudding - quickly becoming my new favorite breakfast!)

Morning SnackIn the midst of a lot of reading for classes I took a break and enjoyed this delicious Chocolate Banana Bread (recipe from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen) with a small glass of V8 juice.

LunchToday's lunch was simple yet fulfilling ~ my homemade Savory Herb Amaranth Crackers, a healthy serving of homemade cashew butter (recipe coming soon!) and a perfectly ripe golden delicious apple.

DinnerA perfect combo of leftover grilled salmon, sauteed bell peppers and caramelized onions, homemade kale chips and puffed millet for a little more substance. Delish!

Evening SnackToday was a long day at school, getting there at noon and not getting home until 8:30pm. I ate my lunch in class at 1:00pm and then had a killer hour and a half workout around 3:00pm. Needless to say I was starving at 6:00 and ate an earlier dinner than I was planning on. Point being - I was definitely ready for a snack when I got home. Nothing says "it's finally time to relax" like a bowl of cinnamon chex, dried blueberries and vanilla hemp milk - mmmmm mmmm good.

Happy (halfway through the week) Wednesday!

Crunchy Pure Granola

I must admit I am quite proud of myself for this one... I looked at a few past granola recipes I had made in my pre "free-diet" life and came up with this one on the spot. And ya know what? It's delicious!

My roommate even commented, "Did you make that?" Why yes I did. "It looks like something from like a... kit or... like you bought it in a store." Aw, thanks Nick! ;-)

I'm going to give you a brief warning that this is the approximate recipe... I didn't really measure but somehow the recipe turned out great. That just goes to show you can't really mess this up, so give it a try!

Ingredients
3/4 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c chopped cashews
1/3 c gluten free oats
1/4 c pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 - 2 tbsp flax seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c crunchy flax cereal

1/4 c applesauce
2 tbsp maple syrup (or agave nectar)
1 tbsp walnut oil (any oil will work)


To Prepare
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Mix the nuts, oats, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed and cinnamon in a bowl. Heat the applesauce, maple syrup and oil in a small pan until well incorporated. Add the applesauce mix to the dry ingredients and stir until all ingredients are coated. Spread onto the baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir the granola and continue baking for 5 more minutes. Add the crunchy flax cereal to the granola, stir, and continue baking for 3 minutes. (These time estimates are rough... each time you take out the granola take a small sample to test the crunch factor. If you like your granola very crunchy you may end up baking for longer, but be sure to add the extra time before you add the crunchy flax cereal, as it will burn if baked for too long. Also, keep in mind that as the granola cools it will get more crunchy.) Let granola fully cool on the baking sheet and store in a glass jar or air tight container. Enjoy as a snack on the go, or my favorite, top soy yogurt with berries, granola and banana chips - the ultimate breakfast parfait!

Nutritional Powerhouse Bites

These are truly the most amazing little "bites" you'll ever have! They are so simple to make, very versatile and can be made with almost any dried fruit mix you have on hand, and can have as many additions as you want! So what are they to be such a "powerhouse"?

Nutritional Powerhouse Bites
14 dried figs
10 dried apricots
1/4 c walnuts
1 tbsp chia seed
1 tbsp sunbutter (or any nut butter you have on hand)
1 - 2 tbsp dairy free chocolate chips (or chop up some dark chocolate for even more superfood power!)
a touch of water as needed

Place all ingredients in your food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are fairly chopped and mixed together. Take off the lid and check the consistency... you want it to be pulling away from the sides, and able to stick together if you pick some up with your fingers. If it's not quite there add 1/2 tbsp water at a time until you get to the right "sticky-point". Use a spoon to take out about 1-2 tbsp of the mix and form a ball in your hand, they should be just smaller than a golf ball - using this approximate size I came out with 10 balls. Put the balls into an air-tight container or a plate covered with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator (they will hold together better this way).
*I couldn't wait for them to cool, I had one... and then another one right after making them ;-)*


Suggestions for Additions/Substitutions
*Any nut would be great in place of or in addition to the walnuts.
*Dried figs are a great base because they are naturally sticky, but any dried fruit (or mix of fruit) would pair beautifully! ...Mango, pineapple, cranberries, blueberries... the options are endless!
*Any nut butter can be used in place of the Sunbutter, you might also give mashed banana or pumpkin a try!
*I love the chia seed because it is so great for the body but it is a bit expensive. Substituting flaxseed would keep those Omega-3s, fiber and protein benefits and still provide many vitamins and minerals.
*If you want to add even more of a boost you could add other seeds like sunflower or pumpkin. And if you are feeling adventurous add some protein powder - though I would stick with only 1 tbsp and would add an equal amount of a "wet" ingredient (i.e. nut butter, banana, juice may even work!)

Now that you know how to make them, do it... now! You won't regret it, I promise! Then once you have made them you can come back here and read about how much your body will appreciate you for eating these delicious and nutritious little bites.

Can these really be called nutritional powerhouse bites?
YES! And here is why...

Figs: A great source of fiber and B vitamins, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese, selenium, copper, and zinc. B vitamins help metabolize carbs, proteins & fats. Calcium is great for our bones, potassium helps to regulate blood pressure and heart function, iron is a mineral that almost everyone is deficient in so you can never get enough!


Apricots: Another good source of fiber, full of vitamin A which helps with vision and combats free radical damage, and because of their rich color they are a great source of beta carotene.


Walnuts: A great source of protein, healthy Omega-3s and vitamin E. Walnuts have continued to move higher on the ladder of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits which help to protect against metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular problems and type 2 diabetes. Whew!


Chia Seed: Chia is the new craze! It is a great source of fiber and protein, has high amounts of Omega-3s, contains antioxidants, B vitamins and minerals, and not to mention is gluten free! They are easily digested, have been shown to increase energy, aid metabolism, and help with regularity. *Chia seeds are also great for athletes as they can prolong hydration and help our bodies to retain electrolytes. (For more info and recipe ideas click here!)


Sunbutter: Another great source of protein and an alternative to peanut butter. It contains 27% of your daily allowance of vitamin E, and is also high in iron and fiber.


Chocolate Chips: Good for the soul! If you use dark chocolate, you are really getting that superfood power as dark chocolate is packed full of antioxidants and has also been shown to lower blood pressure.

Convinced?? I thought so! Now go make these (or whatever version you would like) and eat them guiltlessly as a snack, dessert or as a delightful addition to any meal!

The Best Pumpkin Pie You'll Ever Love

Yea... It's that good... the picture is coming first. ;-)

I have to admit I am still giving myself major credit for how delicious this gluten free, dairy free, vegan pie came out! Everyone at the dinner table loved it and were dying to know how I made it. The real credit, however, must go to the artist herself, the Gluten Free Goddess, Karina Allrich. I also have to admit that this is one recipe I did not modify - I followed her recipe exactly and my pie came out perfect.

Although Thanksgiving has past yet again, the holidays are still in full swing! And that is exactly why I highly recommend that you make this pie for your next family get-together. They will probably say, "Didn't we already celebrate Thanksgiving?", and you will say, "Why yes, yes we did. That is why I made this delicious Pumpkin Christmas pie." Which you will say with a cute little smile, of course ;-)

One more thing.... I know making a gluten free pie, especially the crust, can seem like a daunting task. But I promise you that this is one of the simplest pies I have ever made, and it is well worth the effort!

Enjoy this beautiful pie as much as I did, or maybe as much as I do seeing as how I still have some yummy leftovers in the fridge ;-)

Here are a few more pictures for good measure...

Just Sweet Enough Granola

Before cutting dairy out of my diet.. I used to make homemade granola every 2 weeks. Yogurt with granola and a banana was my go to breakfast about half the time, and if it wasn't for breakfast it made it into a snack at some point throughout the week.

Ironically, the same time I had to cut out dairy I also had to cut out oats. Bummer right?? Well I'm happy to say that I have slowly incorporated gluten free oats back into my diet and everything seems to be feeling just fine!

So here is the scenario... It's Sunday afternoon, I have been working on a project for most of the day, my back is very sore from hot yoga yesterday and I'm still in sweatpants... what's a girl to do?? Well bake something of course!!

I've been thinking about making granola for a while now but couldn't find a recipe I was absolutely thrilled with. Of course I could turn my old fall-back granola recipe into one that is gluten free but with the gears in my head turning all day I thought... I'll just mix and match and create my own! Here is what I came up with...

1 c gluten free oats

1 c chopped cashews

1/2 c chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp baking spice (this is a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice - if you don't have this make a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/3 c applesauce

1 tbsp walnut oil

1/2 tbsp real maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 c flax cereal (or rice cereal, whatever you prefer)

1/4 c raisins

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Slowly heat the wet ingredients in a small skillet until all are incorporated (if it starts bubbling on the sides turn the heat off). Mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Bake on a baking sheet with parchment paper (or lightly spray with canola oil), bake for 15 minutes then take it out and mix together. Bake for another 10 minutes, take out and mix again. Add flax cereal and raisins and bake for another 5-8 minutes. Take out and let cool, it will get more crunchy as it sits. 

This recipe makes almost 2 cups of granola. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Enjoy!

*A small disclaimer: This granola is not very sweet. The raisins add a little sweetness, the perfect amount for me, but if you are someone who likes sweeter granola or are making these for a sweet treat or snack, add either 1-2tbsp agave nectar or 1/4 cup brown sugar to the wet ingredients.*