Granola sometimes gets a bad rap for being a high calorie food. The truth is it’s an amazing source of omega 3 fats, unsaturated fats and fiber. It also tastes delicious and is easy to make.

Store bought granola often has hidden sugars and preservatives that we don’t need, so why not make your own exactly how you want it?

In a perfect world, we’d have a 1 to 3 ratio between omega 3 (healthy fats) and omega 6 (unhealthy fats). For many people who consume a “Western diet” (i.e.., the way many people in the US eat) the average is closer to 1 to 20.

Similarly the ratio of saturated fats (unhealthy) to polyunsaturated fats (healthy) and monounsaturated fats (healthy) would ideally be 1:1:1. As you may have guessed, most of us are nowhere near this ratio, meaning we eat WAY more saturated fats than unsaturated.

Granola is a wonderful way to get more healthy fats into our diet in a food that tastes great. The hardest part about this food is learning to eat it in moderation!

Ingredients:

2 cups of organic rolled oats
1 cups of buckwheat groats*
1 cup raw almonds, chopped
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large a bowl and mix well.

3. Combine wet ingredients into a large measuring cup..

4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix well immediately.

5. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper and pour granola onto the sheet spreading into an even layer. Your layer should be approximately 1” high (or less) to cook properly.

6. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, stirring granola about halfway through. It’s done when the granola is lightly browned and you can no longer see any moisture from the wet ingredients on it.

7. Allow it to cool and then enjoy as desired.**

   We’ve been trying to limit our dairy but I won’t lie, granola and yogurt with some berries on top is an amazing meal. It’s also great as cereal with some almond milk or plain on its own.

   *If you don’t want to use buckwheat, you can sub it out for another cup of the rolled oats.

   **Granola is really easy to overeat. We’ve found that putting a 1/4 cup measuring cup in the ziplock back helps us to eat it more moderately (sometimes!).

This is our very basic granola recipe. Many people enjoy dried fruits (raisins, craisins, etc.) and/or coconut flakes to add even more flavor. You can put whatever you want into it to make it your own.

Just remember that 1/4 cup is technically a serving and dried fruit is much higher is sugar than regular fruit. Enjoy!