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VANILLA, CHERRY & ALMOND GRANOLA

 

Food Synergy
by Elaine Magee MPH, RD
This granola may be more satisfying than your typical breakfast cereal because it's got some fat (mostly from the nuts), dried fruit, and a nice fiber boost from the oats and ground flaxseed. Enjoy this granola as a cold cereal with low-fat milk or as a topping for fruit salad, yogurt, or fruit parfaits.
This recipe maximizes the synergy power of whole grains along with beneficial fats by pairing oats with not one but two types of seeds and one of the most nutritious nuts to boot—almonds.
Makes 18 servings (9 cups)


Ingredients
• 4 1/2 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups almonds
• 1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds (optional)
• 1 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 tablespoons molasses
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons apple juice
• 5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups dried cherries


Directions
Preheat the oven to 300°F.

In a medium roasting pan or 13" x 9" baking pan, combine the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds (if using), flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the molasses, oil, honey, apple juice, and vanilla extract and stir together well. Drizzle over the dry mixture in the pan and stir to coat the dry mixture evenly with the honey mixture.

Bake for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. When completely cooled, stir in the dried cherries. Store in a large zip-top bag or sealed container.