I was craving granola on Saturday. Not sure why – just one of those inexplicable dietary yearnings. Often when I’m craving something specific, I feel it’s my body’s way of alerting me “TANK LOW ON …” and I make sure to oblige. So Saturday found me making granola. We were out of wheat germ and had only quick oats, plus I really wanted some crunch and chew, so rather than stick to my tried and true Maple Brown Sugar Granola, I decided to concoct something new. Here’s what I came up with. This granola is sweet, but subtly so. It’s super crunchy, but in NO way/shape/or form jaw breaking. Nothing worse than rock hard granola. The raisins and cranberries are stirred in after the cereal has fully cooled, so they stay soft and pliable. The tiny bit of shredded coconut lends a lot of flavor without much sodium. I used sweetened coconut in mine because it’s what we had on hand, but unsweetened coconut is so low in sodium you could put in a lot more. This recipe is just so tasty!! We kept nibbling on it plain all weekend long, but it’s also amazing with milk or yogurt. Hope you enjoy it too!
Yields 10 cups.
SODIUM CONTENT: 20 mg per cup
INGREDIENTS:
6 c. quick oats
1 1/4 c. unsalted chopped nuts (your choice – I used almonds, cashews and macadamias)
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 c. pure maple syrup
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 T. pure vanilla extract
1 c. seedless raisins
1 c. dried cranberries
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Get out two 9- x 13-inch baking dishes and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Add the maple syrup, oil and vanilla and stir until everything is thoroughly coated. Divide the mixture between the two baking dishes. Place dishes on middle rack in oven and bake until golden brown, roughly 30 minutes. Remove pans from oven every 7 minutes, stirring mixture, then returning to oven. Once golden, remove pans from oven and set aside to cool fully. Once fully cooled, stir the raisins and cranberries into the mixture. Store in an airtight container.
Best granola ever – plain, with milk or with some delicious vanilla yogurt!
Hey! THANKS! About to head into the kitchen to chow down.. Hope you enjoy yours too. XOXO
I love granola-ie things!
This looks awesome, Dishy! 🙂
that looks delish. i bet it would ship nicely, too. you know, stay fresh, etc. 🙂 ant and i used to eat granola at this one B&B in vermont but never seem to eat it at home. we’re too busy scarfing down frosted flakes.
I think it will travel very well too…. LOL
XOXO
That would be gone in approximately three minutes if left in the hands of Kamran and me. Cloves, nutmeg, ginger? Um, yes.
Oh yeahh – made this Saturday, now Tues. and maybe 1 cup left. PS: send me your addy and I’ll pop a batch into the mail for you too! (thank nat for her subtle suggestion) 😉
Made a batch last night. It’s delicious as cereal with lots of cold milk. I’m eating it for breakfast and luch, it’s so-o-o good. A great way to use real maple syrup bought at a local sap house on Maine’s Maple Sunday. Wonderful celebration of everything maple syrup. Hope you folks were able to participate, Kate
Kate, so glad you’re enjoying it!! I agree; another perfect showcase for Maine maple syrup. Always looking for new ways to eat more – let me know if you have any other recipes to share. And if you’re on Facebook, be sure to ‘Like’ The Daily Dish!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Daily-Dish-Low-Sodium-Recipes-MORE/176259732425975?sk=wall
I just made another version following the same basic recipe:
6 c. oats
2 c. chopped nuts (mixture of unsalted almonds, cashews, walnuts)
1 c. unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 T. pure vanilla extract
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 1/2 c. dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, dates & apricots)
SO GOOD!!!!!!!!
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Hi Chirsty, I am home today from work lying in bed and decided to see if I could see straight long enough to find salt free or low salt recipes and so I came across your site. I decided to click on your story, there it was the hand in the dark reaching for mine. I too suffer from Meniere’s disease and that is the reason Im home today, I suffered a terrible act last night. There is hardly any resources to turn to so I wanted to ask where is the hospital that you went to for help. I live in VA and have no problem traveling to another state. Thank you for any information you can offer me.
Hi Helene, I’m so sorry to hear about your suffering. At last contact, Dr. Matthew Hanson had moved to SUNY medical center. I’m not sure if he’s still a practicing ENT there but you could definitely inquire. He is a wonderful physician and I would recommend him highly. Wishing you best of luck. Christy
Can I make it without the coconut? What can I sub if I need to use it. I’m not a fan of coconut. Thank you
Hey Elaine! Yes, you can absolutely omit. You can add a little extra dried fruit for sweetness, if desired, otherwise just skip. ENJOY! Best wishes to you, Christy