Granola

Have you ever looked at the ingredients of a store bought granola bar? There is a lot of good stuff but almost all (only a small few don't) have high fructose corn syrup.

Personally, I'm very tried of high fructose corn syrup in everything. 

I'm watching the sugar (sweetener) content of what I eat. As a whole we don't need all this refined sugar in our diets. A little is ok, but not a lot.

Ok, I'm sorry, I'll stop lecturing about healthy eating (for now) and get on to the yumminess!! Or rather healthy yumminess.

I got this from Shape Magazine and altered it to make it a little tastier.
And yes, another post with oatmeal in it. :)

GRANOLA

  preheat 325 degrees

2 tablespoons all natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup reduced sugar craisins

-You can add other nuts and other fruit or nothing at all. Just the oats.

Add peanut butter and honey in a large mixing bowl. Then place in microwave for 20 seconds (just enough to heat up the two to mix well).

Add vanilla and mix until combined.

Then add your oats, and other add ins. Use a spatula to mix together, scraping sides often. Make sure that everything is evenly coated.

Next place on a baking sheet covered with foil, sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Or use whatever method you prefer. (I use silcone baking mats. o.m.g. I LOVE them)

Flatten and spread out the granola thin enough for even baking but not too thin. You want it to bake together in one large sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees.

Let cool for at least a couple of hours so it's nice and hard, then carefully brake it up into large clumps.

Now it's really to eat. You can eat it by itself or add to yogurt or a topping for ice cream.

 All the ingredients

 A mixture of cashews and raw almonds

 Dried banana chips

 Raisins and craisins

I make one batch for me with the raisins and craisins. And another batch for my hubby, he doesn't like the same thing so I leave out those.

Homemade Oatmeal (inaugural post)

Thank you for joining me on my first post to this soon to be super awesome rad food blog!
I have my craft blog, but I wanted to start posting all of the awesome recipes (most are my creations) that I come across all the time.  Now I have to start taking loads pictures when I am baking/cooking!

Let me tell ya, my readers are going to love me at Christmas time.

I won't blab on too much now, but I can't promise that I won't in the future. :)

This recipe is on the healthier side. Some of my recipes are health, but a lot aren't. So I hope I won't scare off all the bakers and foodies.

Homemade Oatmeal

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

You can add ingredients:  Fresh fruit like a banana (like I did), nuts of your choice or dried fruit. The combinations are virtually endless. (with the fresh fruit, I suggest you add after the oatmeal is cooked, especially the banana)

-Add all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, stir it enough to incorporate everything together.

-cook in microwave for 1 minute and 20 seconds. (it may vary depending on microwave models).

-stir and enjoy, if it's not too hot!

You can't see them in the photo, but trust me, there are raisins in there.

I suggest old fashioned oats for a couple of reasons.

First of all old fashion oats (or rolled oats) don't turn to mush right away. they tend to hold their shape and texture longer. And the oatmeal, depending on how much water you add to it, will have the consistency of a really thick soup rather then glue.

Second, they are not as processed are quick oats. Quick oats cook up a lot faster, but that's about it.

There are steel cut oats but those are a different texture and take the longest to cook. They kind of remind me of loose gun powder tea. They look like little pellets, almost like pet food for cute little furry animals.

Overall, I like the texture (and look) of the old fashioned oats.

If you like to keep track of your calories, or watching what you are eating, I tallied up the calories of this recipe. 

Calories:

 285

 (without added ingredients) 

Thank you for sticking with my on my new adventure. Please stop on by any time!