It’s not always easy to find a healthy snack for nieces and nephews. It’s tempting to spoil them with candy and ice cream – which is fine if they’ve had a proper meal. But if they are starting to get hungry and grumpy, it’s best to give them a snack made with “real food.” Granola is perfect for on-the-go activities because it can be stored in a ziptop bag at room temperature. They can eat it with their fingers or add it to a yogurt while on the road.  

This recipe is tastier, cheaper, and healthier than most store-bought products and takes only minutes to toss together. The nice thing about cooking from scratch is that you can customize each dish exactly the way you like it. If your nieces and nephews can’t eat nuts, you can omit them from the recipe. Best of all, this recipe is a lot of fun to prepare with them since it involves lots of mixing, whisking, and tossing!

HOMEMADE GOLDEN GRANOLA

Ingredients
4 cups rolled oats (Quaker oats work just fine)
½ cup slivered almonds (optional)
1 cup pecans (optional)
½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
¼ teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 ½ cups mixed fruit (golden raisins, currants, dried cranberries or cherries, chopped dried apricots)
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup all-natural maple syrup (or ½ cup honey)
Optional: sunflower seeds, wheat germ, oat bran, brown sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, mix oats, nuts, coconut flakes, salt, spices, and dried fruit and stir together well. In a liquid measuring glass, whisk oil and maple syrup together. Pour it over the oats mixture and toss well to combine.

Scoop the entire batch onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure the pieces are spread out in a thin layer. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes and then remove the pan and stir granola well so that pieces brown evenly. Repeat this process 10 minutes later.

After about 30 minutes, when the granola is golden brown and crispy, remove the pan from the oven. Pour it immediately into a bowl and break apart clumps with a wooden spoon. Serve with yogurt and fresh berries. Store granola in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (or longer in the freezer).

Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yields: approximately 10 cups
Recipe by Julie Negrin and Anne Grossman © 2008

Julie Negrin is a Certified Nutritionist: www.julienegrin.com.