Game Changing Granola
This granola is a real lifesaver for trips, busy weeknights and other situations where it's tough to get the kids good nutrition. It's full of healthy calories (think meal-replacement levels of calories), it keeps for weeks out on the counter, and you can continually reinvent it with different flavorings and mix-ins.
If you're worried about your kids getting enough calories for optimal growth, hand them a bowl of this granola! It's full of calorically dense nuts and seeds, hidden by the sweet and crunchy texture and fun mix-ins. To make it really special, I like to use macadamia nuts, dried cherries and chocolate chips.
- 3 cup Rolled Oats (Regular, Quick Cook or Minute Oats all work, but not Instant)
- 1 cup Chopped Nuts (My kids don't like nuts, so I chop very finely and they get lost in the crunch clusters!)
- 1 cup Seeds (I use Flax and Hemp)
- 1 cup Coconut (I use Flakes but Shredded work well too)
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Vanilla Bean (Can also use Extract and add with the Wet Ingredients)
- 1/3-1/2 cup Sweetener (I like Honey and Brown Rice Syrup)
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil (Use a Mild variety)
- 1/4 cup Water
- Combine Dry Ingredients
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss the dry ingredients in a large bowl until well mixed.
- Mix the Wet Ingredients
Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl. Depending on what type of sweetener you use, you may need to heat it first to get it to mix properly. I like honey and brown rice syrup, which I microwave separately, then whisk in the oil and water. Don't worry if the water and oil don't combine completely - it will all get blended when you toss it with the dry ingredients.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and toss to combine. A spoon works, or also clean hands. Toss thoroughly, as you want the moisture to thoroughly coat all the dry ingredients so that they clump together when they bake. The water reacts with the flax meal to act as a binder, creating the clumps.
- Bake
Pour the granola into the pan, spread evenly and pat down.
I like my granola to be as clumpy as possible because it makes less of a mess when the kids eat it. To achieve this, I add a full 1/4 cup of water, toss thoroughly and pat firmly into the pan. After baking, it comes out as a single cake that you can then easily break into little pieces. If you prefer a less clumpy version, add less water, do not pat the granola down, and stir halfway through the baking time.
Bake 30 min at 300 degrees F. Remove and cool completely in the pan.
Store in an airtight container.
This is one of the few recipes in which I use more of a true sweetener like honey or maple syrup, as opposed to sweetening with a whole food like bananas and sweet potatoes. However, this food is so calorically dense from other great food sources that the % calories coming from sugar is actually quite low. Besides, it gets my kids to eat things like flax and hemp seeds that they otherwise strongly object to! Flax and hemp are some of the best plant sources of Omega 3's, which rebuild and repair the natural immune system pathways - key to healing and preventing diseases like IBD!