This morning was that first day that I stepped outside and thought about grabbing a jacket. Kids are back to school. Football is underway. Leaves are starting to change color. I feel an overwhelming desire to make a batch of homemade granola cereal for the family! Yes, I am that good at this whole dad thing! The house smells amazing when this is baking! (If you want to kick up the aroma a notch, add doTERRA cinnamon, clove, and wild orange to your diffuser in the kitchen!)
This is a SUPER simple recipe that you can try. I love the fact that I know exactly what is in it! I make a pretty large batch and store most of it in Tupperware cereal containers or gallon freezer bags. I'm not sure how long it will last on the shelf because it's good enough that it doesn't ever stay in the house long enough to find out!
I don't really ever cook with exact amounts and to be honest, my cereal is a little bit different every time. The recipe is below. Feel free to experiment and adjust it to your families preference. I usually at least 4 times this recipe when I make it. Have FUN!!
In a VERY Large Bowl (or a tin baking tray) Combine:
6 cups of old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup of nuts (I like sliced almonds, chopped pecans)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (not in the shell! You know that if I don't put that, someone will just dump in a bag of seeds from the gas station!)
1/2 cup of sesame seeds
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup of flax seeds
add any other nuts or seeds that you like!
2 cups of organic bran bits or sticks or whatever bran cereal you prefer
2 cups of Grape Nuts Cereal (optional)
1/4 cup of ground cinnamon
Combine until well mixed
In a saucepan, combine over low heat:
1 cup of local raw honey
1/2 cup of coconut oil
1 Tablespoon of pure vanilla (to taste)
(I have also added to this molasses, brown sugar, etc. If your moving your family away from sugar cereals, you may want to make your first batch a bit sweeter and then back off of the sugars in future batches. You don't want a rebellion on your hands!
When honey is melted, remove from heat and add
3-5 drops of doTERRA cinnamon oil
2 drops of doTERRA clove oil
Stir and pour evenly over dry mixture. Stir and mix until it is coated evenly. Spread combined mixture onto sheet cake pans and bake at about 300 degrees for around 30 minutes.
After baking, you can add dried fruit like cranberries, blueberries, raisins, bananas, mango,
etc. Let cool for 30 minutes and then put into storage containers!