Easy Granola ** Updated **

Now Cholesterol Lowering too!

I'm constantly changing how I make things - improving each time I hope.  My original Granola was big on taste and less about health, the second version was better, last year's version was pretty good too.

Now finally I think I have it, this recipe is the best tasting, most healthy and helps lower cholesterol.

Yummy Granola

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup of wheatgerm
• 1/2 cup of mixed seeds [sunflower, flax, sesame, poppy]
• 1/4 cup of dried cranberries or raisins if you prefer
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinammon

• 1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup of light sunflower oil
• Splash of orange juice [optional]

Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 120c/250f.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine the honey, water and oil and pop into the microwave for 1 minute - don't worry too much about the exact measurements but you should have about 3/4 of a cup of liquid. The mixture is much easier to handle when it's warm and the honey is a lot less sticky.

Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir well until everything is well coated.

Spread out evenly on a baking tray and pop into the oven for 50 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool before storing in an air-tight jar; as it cools it will get crunchy. It should hold for quite a while but I'll bet it doesn't last that long.

Enjoy with natural yoghurt.


Variations:
Use a splash of apple juice instead.
Try different fruit, delicious too!

Crunchy or fine?
If you want large nuggets of granola, then follow the steps above when cooking but however if you prefer a finer granola with smaller/less nuggets then remove from the oven every 15 minutes and give it a stir through with a fork to break the mixture up.

TOP TIP!
For extra crunchy, leave the granola in the oven to cool overnight.  As the oven cools slowly the granola will crunch up much more than allowing it to cool on the counter top.

Crunchy Granola ** Improved for 2009 **

Now Cholesterol Lowering too!

I'm constantly changing how I make things - improving each time I hope.  My original Granola was big on taste and less about health, the second version was better. Now for 2009, this recipe is the best tasting, most healthy and helps lower cholesterol.

Yummy Granola

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup of wheatgerm
• 1/4 cup of dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinammon

• 1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup of oil
• Splash of water

Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 100c/220f.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine the honey, water and oil and pop into the microwave for 1 minute - don't worry too much about the exact measurements but you should have about 3/4 of a cup of liquid. The mixture is much easier to handle when it's warm and the honey is a lot less sticky.

Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir well until everything is well coated.

Spread out evenly on a baking tray and pop into the oven for 60 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool before storing in an air-tight jar; as it cools it will get crunchy. It should hold for quite a while but I'll bet it doesn't last that long.

Enjoy with natural yoghurt.


Variations:
Use 1/4 cup of apple juice instead of the water and reduce the honey to 1/4 cup.
Add 1/2 cup of mixed seeds [sunflower, flax, sesame, poppy]
Try different fruit, delicious too!

Crunchy or fine?
If you want large nuggets of granola, then follow the steps above when cooking but however if you prefer a finer granola with smaller/less nuggets then remove from the oven every 15 minutes and give it a stir through to break the mixture up.

TOP TIP!
For extra crunchy, don't stir at all during cooking; turn the oven off after 45 minutes but leave the granola in the oven to cool overnight.  As the oven cools slowly the granola will crunch up much nioce than allowing it to cool on the counter top.

Much Better Granola

Part of the healthy yet tasty series!

I recently reviewed my Granola recipe and realised that I've changed how I make Granola! I'm not great at following recipes in the first place, I tend to use it as a guideline and then adjust according to how I'm feeling, what's in the cupboard and how it tastes as I go along.

At any rate, my much improved Granola is detailed below. Significantly there is no SALT in this, not even sure why there was salt in the original as I rarely use salt. I also found Flax seeds in my local store - these are very good for you. I use maple syrup and honey interchangeably.


Ingredients:
2 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup of wheatgerm
1/2 cup of mixed seeds [sunflower, flax, sesame, poppy]
1/4 cup of unsweetened dessicated coconut
1/2 cup of dried fruit [raisins, mixed peel etc]
1/3 cup of honey or maple syrup
1/4 cup of oil
Splash of water

Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 100c/220f.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, except the dried fruit. Combine the honey, water and oil and pop into the microwave for 1 minute - don't worry too much about the exact measurements but you should have about 3/4 of a cup of liquid. The mixture is much easier to handle when it's warm and the honey is a lot less sticky.

Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir well until everything is well coated.

Spread out on a baking tray and pop into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and stir in the dried fruit; give it a good mix. Another 15 minutes in the oven before removing for another stir around - make sure it's browning evenly. Pop back for a final 15/20 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool before storing in an air-tight jar; as it cools it will get crunchy. It should hold for quite a while but I'll bet it doesn't last that long.

Enjoy with natural yoghurt.


Variations:
Use 1/4 cup of apple juice instead of the water and reduce the honey to 1/4 cup.

Healthy Granola

Great tasting and good for you too!

Granola is surprisingly easy to make; if you're paying $6 for a bag of granola think again - you can make your own far cheaper, better tasting, and easier than you think. Good for you and good for your pocket.

The trick with granola is the bake it slowly in low-heat.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats (rolled large oats are best IMHO)
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 2 Tbs. dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup mixed seeds & nuts (sunflower, sesame, almonds, peanuts etc)*
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 Tbs. flavorless oil, such as vegetable or canola
• 1 Tb. water

* See variations below

Directions:Pre-heart the oven to 275F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch metal pan with cooking spray, then set aside. Mix oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, salt and Extra Ingredients --except dried fruit -- in a bowl. Heat the oil, water and maple syrup along with any flavourings (see variations) to simmering pint and drizzle over the oat mixture. Stir well to combine ensuring all the dry ingredients have been coated.

Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Give an occasional stir during baking. Add dried fruit to the mixture and bake until golden - about another 15 minutes.

Store in an air-tight container for 2 weeks - bet it doesn't last that long though.

Variations:
1. Classic Granola
Extra Ingredients: 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dark or golden raisins
Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
You can replace the 1/4 cup of maple syrup with 2 Tbs. each of maple syrup and molasses.
2. Crunchy Granola
Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 2 Tbs. sesame seeds, 6 Tbs. currants
Flavoring: none
3. Granola with Tropical Flavoring
Add the coconut along with the cashews and banana chips.
Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped roasted unsalted cashews, 1/4 cup chopped banana chips, 1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple
Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
4. Granola with Cherries and Almonds
Extra Ingredients: 1/3 cup sliced almonds, 1/3 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dried cherries
Flavoring: 3/4 tsp. almond extract
5. Trail Mix Granola
Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts, 1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 cup dark or golden raisins, 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips*
Flavoring: none
*Stir chips into the granola only after it has completely cooled.
6. Orange-Berry Granola with Pecans
Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped pecans,1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup dried blueberries
Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
7. Pear Granola with Hazelnuts and Vanilla
Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries, 1/4 cup chopped dried pears
Flavoring: 1 tsp. vanilla extract
8. Orange-Flavored Granola with Pistachios, Mangos and Dates
Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped roasted pistachios, 1/4 cup chopped dates, 1/4 cup chopped dried mangos
Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest and 1/4 tsp. allspice