Granola

My most common breakfast during the week is plain yogurt topped with granola and maybe a little honey or maple syrup. It's filling, has whole grains, dairy, fruit, and omega-3s and it is just plain good. This breakfast could be kind of expensive if I bought granola in the store, which is ridiculously overpriced. I refuse to pay $6 or more for a couple of cups of granola. Homemade granola is tastier than the store-bought stuff, really easy to make, and infinitely customizable to individual taste.

My personal favorites are blueberries and almonds or cranberries and walnuts. Dried blueberries are somewhat expensive and extremely hard to find without added sugar (as is my preference), so I make cranberry-walnut granola more often. Flax seeds are an optional addition, but they add a lot of omega-3s and I don't even notice a difference in taste or texture. I don't like fish very much, so I try and get omega-3s from nuts and flax seeds as much as possible.

Granola

makes about 4 cups

2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 c. shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, depending on personal taste)
1/2 c. chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, and pecans all work really well)
2 T. flax seeds (optional)
2 T. vegetable or canola oil
2 T. honey or maple syrup
1 c. dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, raisins, apricots, cherries, etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet or baking pan, toss oats, coconut, nuts, and flax seeds together.

2. In a small bowl, stir together oil and honey. Drizzle over oat mixture and toss together to evenly coat. Bake, tossing every few minutes, until lightly toasted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it because it doesn't take long to go from toasted to burned, especially for the coconut.

3. Place mixture in a large bowl (if necessary) and stir in dried fruit. Store in an airtight container, up to 1 month.