Wednesday, August 29, 2012

"Cocoa-nut" Granola



I always find that there's nothing better than sitting down to enjoy something that you made by hand, from scratch, at home in your own kitchen. 


[In this case, it was the kitchen of my Residence Hall... but we will pretend I made this crunchy delightfulness in a cozy adorable kitchen. Make sure the picture in your mind has mason jars full of herbs surrounding me, my Siamese cat purring on the countertop, watching my every move, and preferably some sort of artsy Pandora station playing in the background, like Fun. or The Civil Wars.]

I digress.

This lovely recipe was of my own creation, and partly inspired by the large amount of leftover oats I purchased for my Grandmother's Blueberry Crisp recipe. We could call it "Kitchen Sink" granola, or "Left Over in My Dorm Room" granola, but this stuff is far too tasty to carry either of those meager titles.

granola, pre-bake




My favorite part about granola is that you can make it your own, and add fun ingredients according to your taste:


  • If you are a super health nut, flax seeds, raw honey, and salted almonds might float your boat. 
  • You can dress granola up to meet the demands of your hungry kiddos by mixing in M&Ms and salted peanuts after baking. 
  • Adding dried fruits, sunflower seeds, and other nuts would make this a great daytime snack as well, but be sure to watch the sugar content, especially with the dried fruit. 


However, my preferred way to enjoy granola is to engineer it so it fits in perfectly with one of my favorite breakfasts: yogurt and bananas.
Delicious, and served in an adorable faux watermelon bowl :)

This particular day, I enjoyed my "Cocoa-Nut" Granola with Chobani's Honey Nana Yogurt (yes, I know it's a kid's flavor, but it's pretty much the best yogurt on the planet). Top it with some fresh banana slices, a sprinkle of this granola, and nom your happy little face off :)





Stay hungry & curious,

Blayre





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