Bring on Breakfast Granola!

It's true - I loved Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks and Count Chocula as a kid.  French toast, pancakes, biscuits...  loved them all!  But by high school, I just couldn't eat breakfast anymore.  I felt blah, headachy, like I had a cement weight in my tummy all day.  Of course we didn't know why, and my poor mom would be so perplexed.  Not even her homemade pancakes could persuade me to eat before going off to school. 


Granola has long been one of my favorites, and something that I dearly missed when diagnosed with Celiacs.  It became a mission - to create and tweak a granola recipe that I could again love.  Finding certified Gluten Free Oats has been the biggest hurdle, and there is some debate whether or not it is possible for oats to be truly GF.  Bob's Red Mill has the product.  And I have the recipe.  So after all these years, I find myself a breakfast eater!  I hope that you enjoy ~

GRANOLA

1 c. orange juice

½ c. cranberry juice

2 tsp cococut oil

1 Tbs cinnamon

pinch ginger & nutmeg

zest of 1 lemon

½ c honey

1 tsp GF vanilla

pinch salt

3 ½ c gluten free rolled oats

¾ c. gluten free steel cut oats

¼ c whole ground flax seed meal

½ c almond slivers

½ c raw sunflower seeds

¾ c dried wild blueberries

¾ c dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Combine juices, spices, zest and oil in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and reduce by half.  Allow to cool; add honey, vanilla and salt.

Mix oats and seeds together.  Pour juice mixture over oats and toss. 

Prepare 2 cookie sheets with silpats or spray lightly with oil.  Spread mixture onto cookie sheets in thin, even layers.  Bake approx. 25 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden and crunchy.  Cool, then stir in dried fruit. 

Makes approx. 7 cups. Store in airtight container.