Granola

Try this and you'll never go back to packaged granola again! With walnuts, walnut oil, and flax, it is high in healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. It's great alone as a snack, on top of yogurt or mix in some dark chocolate chips and dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, raisins, etc.) for a tasty trail mix. Try pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or your favorites!










4-5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (save last cup to adjust for moisture)
1 cup oat or wheat bran
1 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1 cup raw pecans, chopped
1 cup raw almonds, chopped
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup walnut oil (any healthy oil will work here)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1-2 T cinnamon
1 t sea salt

1/2 - 1 cup flax seed, freshly ground (added later - the benefits of flax oil decrease with heat)

Add all ingredients except flax and stir well to thoroughly mix. Save the last cup of oats until final mixing. Add more if too wet. If it seems a too dry, add a bit more oil and/or syrups. You want it to be slightly tacky and moist. Spread onto 2 parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake at 250 for about an hour and 225 for another hour or until completely dry. Stir mixture every 15-20 minutes to evenly toast everything. Remove from oven, gently stir in flax seed, return to warm oven and let cool. I often let it sit  in the oven overnight. It will still seem wet, but will solidify as it gets cooler. If you want large chunks, leave it alone at this point. But if you want very small pieces, stir it a bit before it sets.