You know the old saying, “If you want something done right you have to do it yourself.”? Never has that been more true than with granola. It’s stupidly easy to make and infinitely customizable . Not only do you get to lose a crappy processed food, but you get to make it with exactly the ingredients you want. Also, much, much cheaper per serving than boxed granola. Lemme show you!

You will need:

-4 cups old fashioned oats (not the instant or quick cooking kind), also called rolled oats
-1 cup nuts (I used almonds and walnuts here)
-1 cup dried fruit (I used a mixed berry blend from Trader Joes)
-1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
-1/4 cup honey
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Step The First:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take the oil, sugar, honey, and vanilla extract and put it in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until the sugar and honey dissolve.

Step the Second:

Take the oats and nuts, put them in a large ovensafe glass pan or baking sheet, and mix them all around.

Step the Third:

Take your nice melty sugary mixture and pour it over the oats and nuts. Action shot!

Mix that all up until the oats and nuts are evenly coated.

Step the (pictureless) Fourth:

Stick that mofo in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. Go play Mario Kart. Come back, stir. Repeat for another 15 minutes. After that, if the granola is nice and goldeny, take it out, if not, another 15 minutes.

Step the Last:

Spread out some wax paper or foil on a counter and pour the granola onto that. Let cool until touching it doesn’t burn you ALIVE, then mix in the dried fruit. Allow to cool completely, break up any large chunks, and store in an airtight container. Then eat it!

The awesome thing about granola is you can adjust it to your tastes. Need it more sweet than this recipe? Up the sugar content. I hate both maple syrup and coconut flakes (granola staples), so I’ve left them out. You like them? Add them back in! A few granola flavor ideas:

- pumpkin seeds and cherries
- cashews, raspberries, and chocolate
- pecans, apples, and blueberries

Variety is the spice of life. Now go make some. Do eeeet!

P.S. – A note about honey

If at all humanly, physically, and spiritually possible, get yourself to a farmers market to buy honey. I thought I hated honey because I’d only ever had the SueBee stuff from the grocery store. The farmers market stuff tastes so much more awesome and generally they’ll give you a taste before you buy. In a pinch Whole Foods carries some decent honeys. Also, check out different varieties. It’s listed on the label, like Orange Blossom or Wildflower, depending on what the bees collected the pollen from. My personal favorite is Sage honey. Mmmmmmm….

Breakfast and Brunch, cereal, granola, healthy, homemade