My husband and I are off enjoying some well-earned beach combing and snuggling by the fire in Tofino this week. So, while you won’t be hearing much from me in the next few days, several special guests will be dropping by to keep me from having to spend even one second on the computer while on vacation (major karma points). CVK resident chef Christa Herrling is here today helping out and giving us all a tasty recipe for some really fantastic homemade granola.

With the healthy buzz that comes along with the New Year, it’s good to keep in mind that healthy eating encompasses more than just avoiding those bad fats & high cals.

Getting back to making meals from scratch and avoiding pre-packaged foods is a great way to have a little more control over the amount of chemical preservatives your family consumes. For kids it reinforces the idea that yummy things don’t have to emerge from flashy packaging, and creates an opportunity to get them involved in the kitchen and more interested in sampling new tastes.

Environmentally, making more foods from scratch is a great way to cut down on your household’s use of plastics and unnecessary packaging.

This Granola recipe is one of my very own creations. It’s a great starting off point to play with and make your own. If you prefer a chunkier granola, I’d add a little more honey. It would be fun to play around with adding almond extract instead of vanilla, or fancier dried fruit. This recipe also doubles well, keeps for a long time, and is great with plain yogurt sweetened with maple syrup, or any sort of milk. It is a particularly good one for the toddler crew to help with, as it involves lots of approximate measuring and dumping of ingredients, and plenty of easy stirring for little hands.

Granola

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup unsweetened coconut (any kind but desiccated)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1 cup coarsely chopped cashews
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 cup flax meal
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1/3 cup honey
dash vanilla
cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup water

- preheat oven to 250F
- combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl
- in small bowl mix honey & oil with a fork. Add a little vanilla & cinnamon if you like
- toss oil mixture into other ingredients mixing well
- toss mix with water 1 Tbsp at a time
- spread into 2 9″x13″ lightly greased baking dishes (or any assortment of pie plates or whatever’s available)
- bake for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes until turning light brown
-add raisins & bake for another 15 minutes or until desired dryness.

Keeps well in tightly sealed container @ room temperature.