I Made Grain-Free Granola

I'm neither gluten-free nor grain-free, but when I'm paying attention I do like to limit grains in my diet.  I also love yogurt parfaits.  The ones that I buy are usually full of sugar, and I'm a fan of plain, unsweetened yogurt.  A few weeks ago, I picked up a small container of coconut, grain-free granola at my local natural market.  It was delicious, but very spendy! So, I decided to make my own, and it's almost perfect! 

Here's what you need:

Heated oven - 350 degrees; cookie sheet and Silpat or parchment

A little less than 1/4 C coconut oil

1/3 C honey

1 C of any mixture of nuts, seeds, dried fruit you like

1 C coconut (shredded)

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Here's how I did it:

Mix a little less than a 1/4 cup of coconut oil with about 1/3 cup of honey.  I buy honey at our local farmer's market, and you can get coconut oil anywhere-it's great for everything from cooking to slathering on your skin! 

Cook these for a bit in a small sauce pan until a little bubbly.

I added about a teaspoon of vanilla after cooking.

Then in a bowl mix a cup of whatever you choose from nuts, seeds, dried fruits, etc. I used raw almonds, and pumpkin seeds (because that's what I had!) that I buy from the bins in our local market.

 Also add a cup of shredded, unsweetened coconut. I also buy this at the local natural market. Once these are mixed, add the liquid, and you can also add some cinnamon at this point. 

Once it's mixed well, pour on to a cookie sheet covered with a Silpat, or parchment paper. 

Cook it until it's browned (maybe 15-20 minutes).  Let it cool, then break into pieces.  I did this process twice, because I wanted it more brown in the middle.  So I pulled off the browned pieces, and back in the oven it went.

It is really toasty, crunchy-chewy, and delicious!  I stored in in the fridge in an airtight glass container.

What I will do differently next time: I'll definitely use pecans as well as almonds and I may try NO oil since I've seen some recipes online with just the honey...maybe a little butter?? 

If you try it, be sure to let me know your results.