Homemade Granola

This granola is more nutritious and less expensive than any granola you can find commercially. It is delicious served as breakfast cereal or over yogurt or on frozen bananas.

This recipe incorporates soaked oats, so that your body benefits from the broken-down phytates found in grains. Baking this recipe low and slow keeps it nutrient-dense. It contains raw nuts, seeds and coconut oil, which are great sources for healthy fats: all of the ingredients have positive health benefits.


Ingredients:
8 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups kefir
1 cup water (add more if needed)
1/2 cup raw honey
3/4 cup maple syrup (no fake stuff)
4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sea salt
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup dried coconut, shredded
2 cups dried fruit, chopped (use 2 different kinds)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, chopped
1 cup nut (almonds) chopped

Instructions:
1. Combine your oats with the melted oil, melted butter and kefir in a very large bowl. Mix in nuts add the water last, you may not need as much. Mix well. Cover with a cloth and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours (keep it cooler, rather than warmer).

2. After the day of soaking, preheat oven to 200 F. Combine the honey, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon and vanilla in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring the mixture, until honey becomes thin.

3. Remove from heat. Combine honey and oat mixtures, mix well.

4. Spread mixture out over parchment paper on cookie sheets.

5. Bake for 4 hours, until granola is crunchy. It will seem slightly soft, but it crisps up as it cools. Turn the oven off and let it cool in the oven. Do not turn the oven up to speed drying. Cook it low and slow, stir every 30 minutes.

6. Mix in the coconut, seeds, dried fruits. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.