I have searched high and low to find a certain granola recipe that I made often for my children when they were young, under the guise that it was a nutritious snack for them to munch on.   I couldn’t find the recipe, which just about never happens.  As you know, I pride myself on keeping recipes, if only for the memory.  This particular granola recipe did have fond memories tied to it.  It was from a friend with whom I shared many aspects of raising our children.  We were constants in each other’s homes, chatting away while the kids played outdoors ( yes, they did that back in the 80s), and talking about food was almost always part of the conversation.  

One day, I walked into her kitchen, and the homey, nutty aroma was something I can still recall today.  She was baking granola.  It was love at first bite, as they say, and from that day forward, I made this granola weekly for my children, as well as for myself to enjoy.  I kept it in mason jars on the kitchen counter, and we ate it by the handfuls.  I felt so happy that my children were eating something “healthy.”  

Well, I have come to learn that I might as well have let them eat Oreo cookies all day long.  This recipe was loaded with sugar!!   When I finally got my hands on this recipe, from another friend who I had shared it with back in the day, she read me the ingredients, and I was astonished.  Wow.  No wonder the kids loved this.   Basically, it was candy!   So I chalked it up to being young, foolish, and eager to be the mom who gave her kids healthy snacks.  

Several decades later, granola is still around and still touted as nutritious, so it wasn’t hard to find another recipe in my files (or online for that matter).  The recipe I chose to try was given to me by a friend who studied nutrition.  It’s grain free and is indeed very nutritious.  Everything about this recipe is so different from the other.  I wish I’d had this recipe back when my children were young, but thank goodness I still have the memories.

Recipe:

1 cup walnuts – chopped

1 cup pecans – chopped

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup pumpkin seeds

3/4 cup shredded coconut

3/4 cup raisons or other dried fruit like cranberries or dried apples

1/2 cup hemp seed

1/2 cup flax meal

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup honey or coconut nectar

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Set oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine nuts, seeds, flax meal and coconut. Place coconut oil jar in a small saucepan of warm water to melt and then combine coconut oil, vanilla and honey in a small bowl and whisk together until combined. Pour this liquid over the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spread granola onto a large baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Let the granola cool, then break into small clusters and add dried fruit.

You can store in an airtight container for up to one week, but trust me, it won’t last that long.