I do not like oatmeal. I wish I did because I know it is a pretty heathy and filling breakfast. I have tried over and over to eat it. My son eats it a couple of times a week. But still I can not seem to do it. It is the texture. It grosses me out. I have finally decided to embrace my oatmeal-hating self and move on. I have moved on to granola.
Granola gets a bad rap. I think mostly because it high in calories and is addictive, so you have to be careful about how much you eat. But granola is also full of good stuff that can keep you full. I have a half a cup of granola in milk and some fruit for breakfast and that usually tides me over till lunch, or pretty darn close. That is a big deal, because I am always hungry! Also, granola is so versatile. You can change it to what you like.
Basic Granola Recipe
4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 dry fruit
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)1/3 cup honey
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Mix the oats, nuts, and coconut in a large bowl. In a small sauce pan mix together the brown sugar, oil, and honey. Heat until smooth. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well blended. Pour mixture on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit. Let cool. Store in air tight container.
See, easy peasey lemon squeezey. You can cook granola at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time, but I always seem to burn it. Also, when mixing the brown sugar, oil, and honey use the same measuring cup. I know usually you would use a wet measuring cup for oil and possibly honey, but in this case it doesn't matter and makes clean up easier. (I don't have a dishwasher so less dishes is a big plus!) Also, do it in that order. You measure the brown sugar while it is still dry, then the oil so it greases the measuring cup, and then the honey, which should slide right out of the greased cup. I know it is common sense, but it took me a while to think of it.
Now you can change this any way you want. You can omit the coconut, add more nuts, different kids of dried fruit, add some spices to the dry mix before adding the wet. I often add cinnamon. Also, you can only use 3 cups of oats if you want a more crunchy granola. Everything gets coated in the oil mixture little better that way, leading to more crunch. I use 4 cups so I get less fat from the oil and sugar per serving. Still is good.
Enjoy!
