Homemade Healthy Granola

Recently I have stumbled across many recipes I wanted to recreate, but have been unable to find the ingredients to do so. Here in New Bern, NC, our shopping is limited to Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, and the over-priced Harris Teeter. I would have to travel almost 2 hours to shop at Whole Foods, so I decided to place an order through my trusty Amazon Prime. I ordered some bulk items and some obscure items that I have wanted to experiment with. One of the items I received was a big bag of hemp hearts. I have been reading about the health benefits of these little gems, but didn't really know how to incorporate them into a recipe. So I decided I would make a granola. I browsed Pinterest and other websites and pieced together a recipe that suited my taste. This recipe was inspired by http://ohlardy.com/granola-our-breakfast-cereal/.  It is really good, easy, inexpensive to make, and yields a lot!

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup coconut flakes

1 cup cashews, chopped

1/2 cup hemp hearts

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup pure honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried reduced sugar cranberries (Crasins) 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix together the oats, coconut, nuts, hemp hearts, salt, cinnamon, honey, dried fruit and coconut oil in a large bowl.

Spread the granola evenly on a baking sheet.

Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, for 40 minutes.

Let cool.

A few notes:

Unsweetened coconut flakes would be healthier, however I could only find sweetened at my grocery store.

Any type of nuts could be used. I used cashews because it’s what I had the most of on hand.

Instead of hemp hearts, you could use your choice of seeds.

Any type of dried fruits could be used.  I have been on a dried cranberry kick lately.

I have been enjoying this granola by the handful for a snack, or with almond milk for breakfast.

On another note, I am in the process of completing my package to become a Beachbody Coach! I'm very excited, so please stay tuned for more healthy recipes!