Coconut Maple Granola

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day--or so I'm told. If I had to pick, brunch would be my favorite meal of the day. You have more time to sit and enjoy yourself, you can have a sandwich or a waffle, best of both worlds.

Weekdays are not for leasurely brunching, unfortunately. Last week, we talked about on the go granola bars. In a similar vein, let's talk about good ole granola. This granola literally got me jumping out of bed Monday morning because it smelled so good when in the oven, I couldn't wait for breakfast to roll around.

Our basic granola ingredients: oats, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, quinoa (yes, quinoa) and spices are mixed together. Next, we need the glue. I actually bought coconut oil for once! This is melted with the maple syrup and poured over our granola base. Stir until everything is covered in the coconut-syrup mixture.

Spread out on a baking sheet and baked until toasted, you get a perfect crunch. You could also add dried fruit like cranberries or raisins to make it even more like a cookie.

I served this as-is with some almond milk but you could just eat it straight up like trail mix. What are your favorite granola additions?

Recipe

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• Dash of cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil

1. Preheat the oven to 225. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, quinoa, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, coconut, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the coconut oil and maple syrup. Heat only until the coconut oil is melted (you could also do this in the microwave if you prefer).
4. Pour the melted coconut oil and syrup over the oats mixture. Stir until all of the dry ingredients are dampened.
5. Spread mixture on the baking sheet, as evenly as possible.
6. Toast for 45-60 minutes, until crunchy.
7. Allow to cool before consuming! It's best to keep this in an airtight container so it stays crunchy.