Granola...

I may have an obsession with Martha Stewart, but I find such inspiration from the wonderful ideas produced by her company. Terry Trespicio, editor for Body + Soul Magazine showed ideas to organize your refrigerator to promote healthy eating. In an attempt to eat healthier I have devoted the entire top shelf of our refrigerator to healthy food including fresh fruit, vegetables, yogurt and other healthy snacks.

In the January/February issue of Everyday food there was a simple and easy recipe for granola. I had never made granola so I decided to give it a try.

The ingredients to make granola are simple and can be changed to suit your tastes. The original recipe did not call for mango or coconut, but I decided to add them anyways. I did not have pecans at home so I just doubled the almonds. Here are all of ingredients that I used.

All of the ingredients, except mango and cranberries, were mixed together in a large bowl.


The oat mixture is then spread on a large sheet pan and baked in a 325-350˚F oven for about 30-45 minutes. The mixture will fill your house with a delicious aroma.


Here is the granola out of the oven. We took it out of the oven as soon as it was golden brown and a crunchy consistency.


I chopped the mango to make it a size similar to all of the ingredients.


I packaged 1/2 C. portions of the granola into snack bags and placed them with all of the other healthy snacks.


If you have never made granola I suggest you give it a try. Store bought granola is good, but it can be filled with artificial ingredients, flavors and preservatives. It was nice to make easy, healthy and delicious snacks to provide healthier options for my family.