My Favorite Granola

People are always asking me: “Darcy, what do you eat for breakfast? How can I make it to lunch without eating an enormous amount of cholesterol –laden, fatty foods?” OK. So they don’t actually phrase it that way, but I do frequently get asked what I eat, so I thought I would share with you all my favorite weekday breakfast: granola. I love it, love it, love it.

I began playing around with this recipe about a year ago, tweaking things here and there to get it to where I think it is perfect for me; not too sweet, and with far less fat than other recipes. One of the great things about granola is that it is so forgiving. You can add and take away and play to your heart’s content. So please, take this recipe and make it your own.

Darcy’s Granola

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 T whole flax seeds

¼ cup raw sunflower or pumpkin seeds

½ - 1 cup raw nuts (my general rule of thumb is ½ cup for chopped or sliced nuts, 1 cup for whole nuts)

½ cup raisins or dried berries

¼ cup vegetable oil such as sunflower

¼ cup honey (or other liquid sweetener)

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well to make sure everything is coated with the oil and honey. Transfer oat mixture to a large baking sheet or jelly roll sheet and spread evenly. Bake granola for 15-20 minutes, stirring well every five minutes or so. For a darker granola bake longer, but check on it every two or three minutes. Once the granola gets past 20 minutes in the oven it begins to darken rapidly. Cool granola in the pan, continuing to stir every few minutes. Store cooled granola in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Also freezes well. Makes approximately seven 2/3 cup servings.