Inspired by the breakfast of choice of the amazing Lisa Chulich, this is our new favorite granola. Lisa’s training day menu has a simple, yet delicious breakfast of oatmeal with peanut butter and banana. Here, we’re balancing the crunch of honey-roasted rolled oats with savory nuts, sweet bananas and the tang of dried fruit.
Constantly on the move, Diana and I are always snacking so we have personal twists to make it our own. DZ spends an incredible amount of time on an airplane and needs a little sweetness thrown in, so she adds some chunks of really good quality chocolate. I like things with a salty crunch so I want to break up some potato chips and skip the dried banana. That’s the beauty of your own granola; you can do whatever you want. We don’t even need to talk about you possibly throwing a whole bag of M&M’s in the mix…
Diana’s wonderful sister, Venessa, (who totally rocks in the kitchen) tested this recipe for us. She had some difficulty finding dried blueberries and swapped them for dried cherries. Her palate is beyond trustworthy, so feel free to make the change. We’re just looking for a little sweetness and acidity! She found that this finishes with “nice consistency — not dry at all, yet not sticking to my fingers when I shoveled it into my mouth.” Yep, that’s EXACTLY what we’re going for.
- 1 1/2 cup mixed, unsalted, nuts (We like almonds but peanuts play on Lisa's go-to breakfast of oatmeal with peanut butter and banana.)
- 1 cup raw coconut flakes (I like large flakes from Bob’s Red Mill or Anson Mills.)
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup banana chips, broken in pieces
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup dried blueberries
- Preheat an oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the blueberries. Arrange on a parchment-lined sheet tray in a single layer. Roast until nuts and coconut flakes are golden brown and fragrant- about 8 to 10 minutes. Fold in blueberries and let cool before serving.
- To store: Cool completely and transfer to an air-tight container. Store at room temperature for up to a week. Because we will snack until our food disappears, we like to portion these out in zip-top bags to limit the shoveling.
Everything looks delicious I learned to substitute one thing for another.