*Please welcome back, Jamie, who brought you that delicious hummus recipe a few weeks ago (she even provided us with a bonus kitty pic–YES!!*

\\ Jamie’s passion for food and cooking began as a young girl, while watching her mother in the kitchen.  Her curiosity has pushed her to learn how to make a lot of her own products from scratch instead of buying it at the market like hummus, granola, yogurt, pickles, and much more. Jamie is currently studying to become an Occupational Therapist and would love to incorporate cooking into her practice one day. //

I love making granola because it’s fun and easy to experiment with spices, oils, and flavors and not to mention–delicious. For this batch, I used ground cinnamon, coffee, paprika, and salt to play with sweet and savory, but you can get creative and use whatever spices you love! I also like using whole flax seed that I grind up not only because it is chock full of fiber and antioxidants, but because it also acts as a binder so you get chunks of granola.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp whole flax seeds
• 2 tbsp coffee
• ¼ cup coconut oil/walnut oil, or whatever you have on hand
• 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
• ½ cup dried cherries or any dried fruit you like
• ½ cup almonds
• ¼ cup Pepitas

Directions:

1. Add rolled oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, salt, and paprika to a medium bowl.

2. Grind the whole flax seeds and coffee in a coffee grinder and add to oats and spices.

  

3. Add coconut oil and walnut oil or whatever oil you prefer, maple syrup/honey, almonds, and pepitas.

4. Mix well and spread evenly on baking sheet, pressing down on the granola mixture.

5. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes, stir, and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Add chopped cherries or any other dried fruit. Let cool and enjoy!

 

BONUS KITTY PIC