Maple Granola

Awhile back I posted a recipe for Omega 3 Granola which we loved.  It makes a great breakfast with Greek yogurt or a quick snack.  Granola is very easy to make.  I wanted to give another recipe a try that would use maple syrup as the sweetener rather than honey.  I came across this recipe from Craving Greens written by Marie-Eve in Montreal.  It turned out really good...I still prefer the Omega 3 Granola but this was a great change.  The oats come out more crunchy and crisp since maple syrup is used instead of honey.

Healthy Maple Granola
Adapted from Craving Greens

3 1/2 cups rolled oats (or large flake oats)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla bean paste Halal Vanilla Powder or Extract

Preheat oven to 225 F.  Line two baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, coconut, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds.

In a small saucepan, heat the maple syrup and oil over low heat until warm.  Stir in the vanilla.  Pour this over the oat mixture sand stir till everything is well combined.  Transfer to the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stir and rotate the baking sheets every 15-20 minutes.  Once the oats are golden remove from the oven and cool.  Before eating I like to toss in some dried cranberries.



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