Drop the junk food, and get in the kitchen! Granola - Easy and Teen Approved

Drop the junk food, and get in the kitchen!
Granola. Wonderful Granola. A snack that suits all ages.

If you aren't familiar with this cheap and easy to make snack, please pay attention and be ready to indulge, in a healthy sense! You've probably seen it on the shelves at grocery stores and supermarkets in the organic or all-natural isles amongst the other grain and cereal products. At the store, Granola can get pricey depending on the brand or quality. Even though it is considered to be healthy, these crunchy oat clusters can be loaded with sugars when poured out of prepackaged boxes! To cut the cost and save yourself some of the added sugars, why not make it from home where you can control the ingredients?

Granola is an extremely diverse and flavorful food. You can eat it as cereal with milk and fresh fruit, add it to yogurt as a topping, or even eat it straight from the container for a quick and nutritious snack! In simple terms, Granola is a mixture of all-natural oats combined with a variety of dry and wet ingredients that are ultimately baked to a crisp to ensure maximum crunchiness. This mixture can be manipulated to your liking depending on your mood and taste buds (or whatever you have in your pantry at the time). This allows you to make it as sweet or salty as you wish, keeping in mind that both the sugar and salt content should be kept relatively low to ensure its health-factor. There are many different recipes out there for homemade granola - before you lose your mind trying to pick one, here is a simple mix great for first timers:

Easy Homemade Granola Recipe for Beginners

Adapted from "Baked: New Frontiers in Baking"

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon salt (can be omitted)
3 tablespoons + 1 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey (sub agave nectar or maple syrup, depending on preference)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole almonds (slivered almonds worked fine)
1/3 cup whole hazelnuts (or walnuts, if you have them)
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cherries (or cranberries)

"Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.
In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.
Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.
Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool completely. Sprinkle the raisins and cherries over the granola..."

While this easy recipe isn't the most sugar conscious, it yields a product that is simply delicious. This was the mix I used in my first granola attempt, and it all was gone within a few days! You may want to substitute apple sauce for oil (which will make the final product a little more moist) or fruit juice for some of the brown sugar or honey...

This is where your kitchen can become a scary science lab with you being the mad scientist, and granola being the experiment you are trying to complete. Sometimes, you may develop a cooking disaster similar to something created by Dr. Frankenstein (burnt, salty or overcooked granola). In other attempts, you'll think you're a culinary genius capable of mass marketing your golden-oats masterpiece. Here is a simple set of rules and guidelines to follow when embarking on your own granola adventure:

Your mix should include one, some, or all of the following ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:
2 to 3 cups rolled oats
or substitute/mix with other grains & oat products:
Wheat germ
Whole wheat flour
Wheat bran
Wheat grits
Cornmeal
Uncooked cereals
Some type of nuts or seeds, as much or as little as you want in your Granola
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Almonds, Walnuts, etc (chopped or whole)
A blend of spices, again as much or as little as you want depending on taste
Cinnamon, Nutmeg
Ginger, Cardamom
Cocoa Powder
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup liquids, including as desired:
Honey
Pure Maple Syrup
Pure Molasses
Brown Sugar (2tbs water for every 1/2c sugar to mix)
Vegetable Oil or Unsweetened Apple Sauce
Peanut/Almond butter
Optional: Milk, Cream, Butter
Vanilla/Maple extract

Here's where your creativity comes in. By following the steps listed for easy granola above, you can make your oats as simple or complex as you like... just watch the sugar and oils! Don't be afraid to play around, get messy and have fun, just be prepared for at least one bad batch. Instead of throwing it in the trash, taste it. Once you know what you don't like, be sure to change it the next time around. After that, be creative with its disposal (use it as fertilizer, compost or birdseed)

Here are some ideas to test out:
Add apple juice, cider spices and extra cinnamon to the mix and toss in dehydrated apples once the granola cools for Apple Cider Granola.
Add cocoa powder to the mix and leave out the raisins, replacing them with a handful of dark chocolate morsels and marshmallows for Dark Chocolate Granola.
Add cherry juice in place of some of the honey and add dried cherries in place of raisins for Cherry Pie Granola.
Add peanut butter in place of some of the sugar, adding peanuts, cashews and extra raisins for PB&J granola.

No matter what you try, set aside the chips and cookies and get in the kitchen to create healthy alternatives like granola. Not only will you have a satisfying snack that is full of energy, good fats and crunchy delight, you'll also have the knowledge that you're creating a personal and edible work of art that is cheap, sustainable and good for you! Happy snacking!