Thank you all for sharing your experiences regarding my post yesterday.  While I’m not thrilled others have had to deal with similar situations, it is nice to know that others have had to deal with similar situations!  Anyway, after blazing three miles on the treadmill this morning, I felt a ton better.  My arthritic knee doesn’t agree but sometimes a run at 5:30 am is just what you need. 

After the gym I was suddenly inspired to make granola.  Ali has actually been asking me to make it for a while but since I wasn’t able to eat it (Fat Flush) I decided not to make it.  I can be pretty selfish at times.  I won’t share my bathroom, closet, or blanket with Ali.  Or Maya.  Or anyone else for that matter.  Nor will I share my glass or spoon. I have issues sharing space and germs.  I think we can all agree that I won’t be winning Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon.

Anyway, while I love the taste of store-bought granola I don’t love the following:

1. The price tag – why buy something you can make for a fraction of the price in 10 minutes?

2. The amount of fat – granola should not be filled with tons of oil and butter. Some commercial brands even use trans-fat which literally makes me nauseous.

3. The amount of refined sugar – I don’t like to eat anything super sweet and that especially includes something I eat at breakfast. Why start the day out on the wrong foot? I prefer to end the day on the wrong foot with my ridiculous chocolate habit.

After investigating many different recipe sites for a healthier granola I came up with my own version using the following ingredients:

Looking at this picture one might note that I have a slight addiction to Trader Joe’s.  And I do.  I love almost all their stuff except their oatmeal.  Sorry TJ’s but your oatmeal is a just an inferior quality compared to Ralphs brand.  Plus, it is expensive and your tiny canister lasts about 5 minutes in my house.  But that’s okay, we’ll continue to visit your store for everything else, especially Maya’s free stickers and free snacks.

Easy Stovetop Granola

2 cups of rolled oats
1/3 cup of slivered almonds
1/3 cup of dried cranberries (I used a mixture of cranberries and raisins)
1 Tablespoon of maple syrup
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 Tablespoon of vanilla
Cinnamon

1. Toast the oats in a large nonstick pan for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove the toasted oats into another container and set aside.

2. Using the same (now empty) pan combine the maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla for 2-3 minutes over low heat.

3. Add the almonds stirring constantly.

4. Add half of the toasted oats and stir until clumps form. Add the rest of the toasted oats and stir until everything is combined.

5. Chop the cranberries/raisins into smaller pieces and add to the rest of the mixture.

6. Sprinkle with cinnamon and store in an airtight container after the granola cools completely.

Ali felt pretty daring this morning and ventured away from his usual bowl of morning oatmeal to join me in eating some granola topped with Oikos plain 0% yogurt.  Separate spoons were involved, of course.

Thank you Oikos for sending us coupons to try your yogurt.  I love greek yogurt and yours is just as good as my favorite Trader Joe’s version except that it’s better because it is organic and I am all about purchasing organic when possible.  That being said both Ali and I agreed (and that never happens) that the yogurt is much better on its own because it makes the granola soggy. 

I offered some to Maya and she said, “that granola doesn’t smell very good.”  I guess some of us find the delicious smells of cinnamon and vanilla offensive.  So Maya went with a tried and true bowl of Cinnamon Puffins mixed with Joe O’s.

As you can see her distaste included visual effects.  She should have been sent to her room for being so rude but I have to admit the Puffins are a pretty tasty second to my granola.  So I forgave her.

Maya would like to thank you Puffins, for saving her from almost certain incarceration this morning.  Her mom thanks you too.