Hi – On July 1, 2009 I am making another edit to this recipe and adding nutritional values (at the end). Enjoy!
I have continued to tweak the granola recipe that I posted a few months ago, so here is the updated version. I’ll offer my comments after the recipe.
Healthy Homemade Granola
Dry Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats (you can also use a combination of rolled grains)
2 cups of raw almonds and/or walnuts (or other nuts)
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds)
½ cup sesame seeds or flax seed
½ cup wheat germ or ground flax seed.
Optional: ½ cup unsweetened coconut,
½ cup dried fruit (add after cooked) –date pieces, cranberries, cherries, apricots, mango
2 individual cup unsweetened applesauce (about 1 cup total)
1/3 cup agave nectar (or brown rice syrup, honey or maple syrup)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
½ tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together, and then stir into dry ingredients. Stir well to mix thoroughly.
Spread the mixture into two baking dishes. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown. Stir every 10 – 15 minutes to ensure even browning. If you use fruit, stir once it is cooled. Store in the refrigerator.
Most granola recipes are pretty high in sugar – with up to 1 ½ cups of sweeteners in various forms. In this recipe I have cut out the brown sugar entirely and just use a small amount (1/3 cup) of agave or honey. I think it is plenty sweet.
Agave nectar is primarily fructose. There are concerns about fructose. Even though it doesn’t raise blood sugar, because it can be absorbed without insulin it bypasses the usual internal control systems. Most of the studies on this have been conducted with High Fructose Corn Syrup. A different animal in my opinion.
You could substitute honey, but that is primarily fructose as well. An advantage of honey is the additional nutrients it may contain. But what I like about using agave is that it is so easy. Agave doesn’t harden like honey does and it blends more easily.
I think the most important point is to eat as little sugar, in any of its forms, as you can. Sweetness is a taste that we become accustomed to, which means it is possible to get used to food being less sweet. When you only have a little sugar, the source is less important.
Keep in mind that the whole flax seed is a good source of fiber, but the omega-3 fats are not assessable (although they are in the ground flax seed). If you want to know more about flax seed and omega-3 fatty acids, I have an article on my website called “Fishing for Omega-3’s”.
The applesauce in this recipe is a way to add moisture and keep the fat content low. Because of all the nuts and seeds, the total fat content is not low, but it is all healthy monounsaturated fats.
I’m indebted to Molly and her blog Orangette, for her recipe that I modified and the idea of using applesauce in cups. That makes it easy to just use what you need without opening a large jar.
The recipe calls for salt. I left it out one time and was surprised at the flatness. I never salt cooked oatmeal or steel cut oats, so I didn’t think it would be needed here. But it does seem to make a difference. At least it is a small amount, although it does add up at100 – 140 mg of sodium per 1 cup serving of granola.
So far, I have only added fruit to my batch of granola once. I generally prefer adding it when I eat it. During the spring and summer fresh fruit is available. Then, when that is gone, I add dried cranberries or dried blueberries to my bowl. When I add it directly, I know I’m getting a full serving of fruit.
Nutritional values: each 1/2 cup of granola contains
232 calories
7 grams protein
12.7 grams fat (most of this is from the nuts and seeds)
25 grams carbohydrate, of which 6 grams comes from sugar
4.4 grams fiberFor me 3/4 cup is a good serving size, especially by time I add a little plain yogurt, soy milk and fruit.
This is based on granola made with equal parts walnuts and almonds, either honey or agave (calorically they are about the same), and no added fruit or coconut. You could reduce both calories and fat by reducing the amount of nuts and seeds.
Hope you enjoy the granola. Eat it in good health!
Find more nutrition information and my monthly newsletter on my website: http://healthyhabitscoach.com .
Eat well!
Kathy Nichols 