Granola! A recipe for homemade happiness

What Can’t Granola Do? Granola is such a universal food product; it can be incorporated into your diet in so many different ways! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack, you name it and granola can be a part of that meal.
Several ways you can incorporate granola into your breakfast includes eating it as a cereal, sprinkling it over yogurt, mixing it into oatmeal, using it to top açai bowls, and using it to add crunch to pancakes.
As for lunches, you can add granola to your salads to add a nutty crunchy factor to your greens, and you can use it to bread your chicken when you’re making homemade chicken fingers.
Regarding dinner, you might think granola would be a strange addition to your meal, but it actually can compliment many different dishes. Granola can be a topping to roasted vegetables to add a nutty crunchy aspect, and any recipe with breadcrumbs can be substituted with granola (meatloaf, baked chicken, casseroles, meatballs, etc.).
Granola easily integrates into dessert. Replace a streusel topping with granola, and sprinkle granola on top of frozen yogurt. The options are endless, reinforcing the fact that granola is a universal food product.

The honey nut granola is one of many sport food recipes from Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook.

Recipe for Honey Nut Granola

The honey nut granola is easy to make.The recipe is flexible, so don’t hesitate to design it to your own liking: add your favorite nuts, seeds, and dried fruits (dates, apricots, figs, bananas, raisins, etc.).
The uniqueness of this honey nut granola recipe is including powdered milk for added protein. If you’re not familiar with powdered milk (found in the cooking section at grocery stores), it’s one of the best (and least expensive) protein powders around.

Ingredients:

3 cups (240g) rolled oats (not instant oatmeal)
1 cup (120g) chopped almonds (or other nut)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup (120g) powdered milk
1/3 cup (115g) honey
1/3 (80ml) canola oil
1 cup (160g) dried fruit bits (e.g., raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates)

Optional: 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup (60g) sesame seeds (untoasted), 1/2 cup (60g) sunflower seeds (unsalted, untoasted), 1/2 cup (60g) wheat germ, 1/2 cup (80g) ground flax seed

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, cinnamon, and powdered milk (and salt, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds, as desired).
2. In a saucepan or microwavable bowl, combine the honey and oil. Heat until almost boiling Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir well.
3. Spread the mixture onto two large baking sheets.
4. Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
5. After the granola has cooled, add the dried fruit (and wheat germ and flaxseed, as desired). Store in an airtight container

Yield: 10 1/2- cup servings

Nutrition information: 3,300 total calories; 330 calories per 1/2 cup; 40 g carbohydrate; 10 g protein; 14 g fat

Blog and photo courtesy of Simmons University nutrition student Amber Nobbs.