Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Cranberry Granola

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Breakfast! It's always a struggle for me to deal with allergen free breakfast. I love this recipe for granola. I try to make it once a week and eat it all the time! It's really good and very fast. It requires very little effort but tastes fantastic. Plus it's rich in Omega-3's!

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Serving Ideas: Great with vanilla almond milk as cereal, serve on top of Coconut Milk Yogurt, or eat as a snack! I usually break my big batch of granola up into individual serving sizes, put them in sandwich size ziplock bags and they make a great snack or meal on the go!

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The players.

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First, pour 2 tablespoons of safflower oil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Spread evenly on the pan. Put another large rimmed cookie sheet, with nothing on it, in the refrigerator.

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In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, sugar, egg whites and salt.

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If you had whole pecans as I did, beat them down to pieces! I love doing this, it gets out all of your aggression. If you don't have any aggression, buy the pecans already chopped!

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Add oats, pecans and flaxseed meal.

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Mix well until the dry ingredients are evenly coated with the wet mixture.

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Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

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After 15 minutes, stir the granola! Bake another 15 minutes.

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After the 2nd round of 15 minutes, remove from oven and stir again. Sprinkle the cranberries over and drizzle the honey over the top. Try to evenly distribute the honey and make sure you cover all of it. If you have to use some extra honey...it won't be the end of the world. In fact, you'll probably be glad you did!!

Return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and stir again.

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Transfer the granola from the hot cookie sheet to the cold one you put in the refrigerator. This will help it cool faster and stop cooking. Trust me, you don't want this overcooked - I've done it. It's not nearly as yummy!

By now, your house should be smelling AMAZING and you will really want to eat this. Be careful, it's hot. You may burn your tongue...as I did this afternoon while making it. So I advise at least some cooling!

For the Sugar Free Version:

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This is how the final product turned out (the one on the left)! It tastes just as great. Everything is the same in the steps of the recipe, just swap out the brown sugar for 1/2 cup of Agave Nectar. It's a great sugar substitute that's natural and has a low glycemic index!


Cranberry Granola
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 55 Minutes


4 Tbs. Safflower Oil, Divided
3/4 cups golden brown sugar (packed)*
4 Egg Whites
1/2 tsp. Coarse Kosher Salt
3 cups Certified Gluten-Free Oats
1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup Flaxseed Meal
1 cup Dried Cranberries
1/4 cup Honey

*Sugar Free Version: Substitute 1/2 cup Agave Nectar for Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put a large rimmed baking sheet in the refrigerator with nothing on it.

Pour 2 tablespoons of safflower oil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Spread evenly on pan.

In a large bowl, whisk oil, sugar, egg whites and salt. Add oats, pecans and flaxseed meal. Spread evenly on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes and stir the granola. Bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir the granola again. Sprinkle the cranberries over the top. Drizzle the honey across the top. Bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Remove cookie sheet from refrigerator and pour hot granola onto cold baking sheet to cool completely.

Transfer to a storage container or zipper bag for storage. Will last about 1-2 weeks.

Printable Recipe:

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