Healthy Granola Recipe

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This healthy granola recipe is not too sweet (you can always add honey later if you like) and it’s full of healthy nuts and seeds like flax seed and hemp hearts. It’s delicious and very filling. 


My kids’ poop was neon green… No joke. I had a hard few months. We were moving to a new house, I was 8 months pregnant (with my fourth), the new house did not have AC in it and it was June in the South.

I was short, I was miserable, I was hot, I was tired, I was in pain. So I gave up and bought my kids Lucky Charms for breakfast. The next day, their poop was neon green and I almost had a heart attack in the bathroom. You don’t want an eight months pregnant mother to have a heart attack.

Simple, Healthy Granola Recipe…

healthy granola is ready for serving

It took me a few minutes to figure out what had happened. Of course in my head, I immediately started going through everything that they ate the day before, and the only thing that was different was the cereal. Now, don’t go thinking we are this super healthy family that never eats anything but organic lettuce.

We are what we are. We harvest organic meat from mother nature, we grow as much food as we can in the garden, and we try to lower sugars in our diet. We make bread and cheese and cook pretty much everything from scratch.

But we are not perfect in any way, shape or form. We can’t afford most of the organic vegetables or fruits at the store or the farmer’s market, we sometimes buy a frozen something that we can throw in the oven if we know that we have a big project to complete and there won’t be any time for cooking, and we love eating out.

We usually don’t eat cereal because, well, we try not to eat food that comes from a box. They are full of sugar and colors and not the best thing for you (I am sure there are a few that are healthier than others). But as I said, I was barely making it through the day so I let go and told my kids to choose whatever they wanted. Lucky Charmes it was.

And it turned their poop green! This ain’t normal my friends.

So anyway, once the move was over and the baby finally decided to show up, 10 days late, let me tell you, and the AC was installed and life got back under control (sort of), I looked for an easy granola recipe to replace the cereal. I don’t know why but it was really hard to find a simple recipe that I can put together in minutes. So I made my own and I want to share it with you so that you don’t ever have to deal with neon green poop.

Ingredients…

  • Sesame seeds
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Walnuts
  • Pecans
  • Almonds
  • Old fashion oats
  • Coconut oil or butter
  • Honey
  • Ground flax seeds
  • Hemp hearts

Kitchen tools…

How to Make Healthy Granola at Home:

Step one – prep seeds and nuts. Start with 1/4 cup sesame seeds and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds on a baking sheet. Place one cup of walnuts, one cup of pecans, and one cup of almonds on your cutting board and chop as fine as you like. Add the chopped nuts to the seeds.

Step two – add oats. Add 4 cups of rolled oats. And toss all the goodness together.

Step three – Add coconut oil and honey. In a small pot, place 5 tablespoons of coconut oil and 3 tablespoons of honey. If you don’t have coconut oil, you can use butter and if you want it sweeter add a couple more tablespoons of honey. I usually eat my granola with dry fruit that is plenty sweet so I don’t make the granola too sweet (I add the fruit later).

Set the pot on the stovetop on medium-high heat. Melt the coconut oil. Remove from the heat once it’s melted. Pour the coconut oil and honey over the oats and nuts and mix the oil in to coat the oats and nuts.

baking the granola

Step four – Bake. Spread the granola in an even layer on the baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for ten minutes. After ten minutes, take the baking sheet out of the oven and mix and turn the granola with a spatula. Put back in the oven for 5 more minutes… Take out, mix and turn… Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes… Take out, mix and turn… Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes… After 25 minutes or so the granola will be golden and beautiful. If it’s not, place it back in the oven for an additional five minutes.

Step five -Add hemp hearts and ground flax seeds. Once the granola cooled down a little, add 1/4 cup of ground flax seed and 1/4 cup of hemp hearts. Both hemp and flax seed are very healthy for you but it’s better to eat them raw since the heat can destroy their health benefits so we add them at the end. Mix the flax and hemp in with the granola.

How to Serve this Healthy Granola…

Wait for the granola to cool and transfer to quart jars (this recipe makes about 3 quart-jars). Once the granola is cool you can add any dry fruit that you want like dry cranberries or raisins or don’t add fruit at all. I usually prefer to add the fruit to individual servings because each one of us likes something a bit different. Of course, you can also add fresh fruit like berries, grapes, raspberries, or whatever else.

And then, you can also add chocolate chips or M&M’s or really anything else that you’d like. We love eating this healthy granola with yogurt (preferably homemade from raw milk or store-bought milk) but many others eat it with milk. You can also just pack a little bit of it to go in a zip-lock bag for a great on-the-go snack.

How to Store Granola…

Once your granola is in jars or in an air-tight container store it in the fridge. It should last weeks! I’ve never tried to freeze this granola since we usually eat it pretty fast but I am guessing that it’s possible and will last for many months.

granola mixed with dry fruit and chocolate chips

Frequently Asked Questions…

Can I leave the oil out?

Mmmm… I’ve never tried but you can try. I think that the granola might not get this golden color but it will probably still be good.

Can I use different types of oil?

Coconut oil or butter are really good for you. You can also try sesame oil or almond oil. I can’t think of any other oil but most natural oils should work.

Can I use quick oats instead of old fashion oats?

I don’t think so… Again, I didn’t try but I am guessing that they’ll burn. You might be able to adjust the bake time or lower the temperature but I do recommend using old fashion oats.

Do I have to remove the granola from the oven every five minutes to mix it?

Yes, so it can toast evenly and perfectly and so the oil can dry.

Can I use any other sweetener?

Yes, you can use good old sugar, maple syrup, molasses, or brown sugar.


I hope that you’d give this a try! This granola is a go-to meal for us and I love having it in the fridge for breakfast or any other time that I don’t feel like cooking anything. Also… your kids’ poop will stay plain old regular brown… And that’s good my friends, very very good!

More Recipes to Try…

Healthy Granola Recipe

Healthy Granola Recipe

Yield: 3 quart jars
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

A homemade healthy granola recipe full of nuts and seeds. Use this as a base recipe and add to it whatever seeds and nuts you'd like.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 4 cups oats
  • 5 tbs coconut oil or butter
  • 3 tbs honey
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • 1/4 cup ground hemp seed

Instructions

  1. Step one - Heat oven to 350 F. Place sesame and sunflower seeds on a baking sheet. Chop walnuts, pecans, and almonds as fine as you like and add to the baking sheet.
  2. Step two - Add 4 cups of oats and mix with nuts to combine.
  3. Step four - In a pot, melt coconut oil and honey. Pour oil mixture over oats and nuts and use a spatula to mix until the mixture is coated with the oil and honey.
  4. Step five - Bake for 10 minutes.
    Take out of the oven, mix and turn...
    Place back in the oven for 5 more minutes...
    Take out of the oven, mix and turn...
    Place back in the oven for 5 more minutes...
    Take out of the oven, mix and turn...
    Place back in the oven for 5 more minutes...
    After 25 minutes of baking the granola should be golden and ready. If you want it a bit darker, place in the oven for 5 more minutes.
  5. Step six - Once the granola cooled mix in flax and hemp seeds, transfer to a jar or a container, cover with the lid and store in the fridge. Serve with yogurt or milk, fresh fruit, chocolate chips, dry fruit, or anything else you feel like adding!

Notes

Frequently Asked Questions...

  1. Can I leave the oil out?
    Mmmm… I’ve never tried but you can try. I think the granola might not get this golden color, but it will still be good.
  2. Can I use different types of oil?
    Either coconut oil or butter is perfect for you. You can also try sesame oil or almond oil. I can’t think of any other oil but most natural oils should work.
  3. Can I use quick oats instead of old fashion oats?
    I don’t think so… Again, I didn’t try but I am guessing they’ll burn. You might be able to adjust the bake time or lower the temperature but I do recommend using old fashion oats.
  4. Do I have to remove the granola from the oven every five minutes to mix it?
    Yes, so it can toast evenly and perfectly and so the oil can dry.
  5. Can I use any other sweetener?
    Yes, you can use good old sugar, maple syrup, molasses, or brown sugar.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 211Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 114mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 5g

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