Cinnamon Coconut Granola

I loved everything about where I went college- the classes I took, the people I met, the beautiful campus. Unfortunately, there was 1 thing I did not like- the FOOD! The dining hall food was not terrific, and when I went, I had to be very creative in choosing my meals. There were a handful of "safe" items that I discovered: turkey and cheese sandwiches, omelettes, peanut butter on an english muffin, cereal and milk, and granola. Being a naive college student, I thought eating granola was healthy. Little did I know that the dining hall granola was loaded with oil and sugar and was extremely processed. Oh well- it fueled me for those few years!

Anyway, this week when I was formulating ideas for recipes, I thought about those "granola days." I discovered that I could make granola loaded with super foods and make it much healthier and lighter than the granola I had in college. 

To be completely honest with all of you, this was my very first time making granola. I looked at other recipes on the internet for inspiration and came up with this awesome recipe. It was SO easy and took 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to bake. It's also very versatile so feel free to swap out the nuts that I chose for your favorite kind, or maybe switch up the dried fruit. I really hope you try this and you enjoy it as much as my husband and I did. It's perfect to eat by itself, or try it as a topping on Greek yogurt or with unsweetened almond milk. De-lish!

As I mentioned before, this recipe is loaded with super foods. Take your pick: pumpkin seeds, oats, coconut, honey, chia seeds. The ingredient I'm focusing on however, is cinnamon.
Cinnamon happens to be my most favorite spice. The aroma always reminds me of joyous times baking in the kitchen with my mom and grandmother. Cinnamon is also one of the healthiest spices in your kitchen. It is said to help lower blood sugar in diabetes patients. It also contains 5 antioxidant ingredients and helps enhance blood circulation. Even if you don't make this recipe, try to sprinkle a little cinnamon onto your food every day to give yourself an added boost of good health!

Ingredients:

2 cups Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds

1 Tbsp. Chia Seeds

1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

1/3 Cup Honey

2 Tbsp. Canola Oil

2 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp. Sea Salt

Directions:

1) Preheat Oven to 325 degrees

2) Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl

3) Add oil and honey and blend together

4) Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray

5) Pour granola mixture onto baking tray and press together

6) Bake for 20 minutes- stirring the granola halfway through

7) Remove from oven and allow granola to cool completely before storing

*Granola should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks