Finally, some granola.

Last weekend I made a big batch of my favorite granola to fuel me through finals week. Making your own granola is awesome because you get to put exactly what you want in it, and only what you want. I think this particular recipe is the perfect balance of sweet and salty. I load mine with nuts and seeds and NO dried fruit, especially NO raisins. Just my personal preference. Try and make your own. Go crazy with it! Making your personal, signature, granola come with a surprising sense of satisfaction. 

My favorite recipe was adapted from Nekisia Davis's Early Bird Granola. It's super fresh and addictive! If eating granola is your thing, but making it isn't, you can order some here. I make mine with a little less sugar, add a few more nuts, and some flax seeds for a nice omega-3 and omega-6 balance.  See the recipe after the jump.

My favorite granola

2 cups of non-instant oats

a mix of nuts and seeds-for example a handful of:

raw hulled sunflower seeds

raw hulled pumpkin seeds

flax seeds

sliced almonds

pecans

walnuts

unsweetened coconut chips

1/2 cup of real maple syrup

1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of packed brown sugar (more or less depending on your how sweet you'd like it)

2 tbsp of sea salt

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Mix your dry ingredients into a large bowl and add the olive oil, maple syrup, brown sugar and sea salt. Mix, mix, mix until evenly distributed. Spread onto two cookie sheets and place in the oven for about 45 minutes. Every 15 mins, mix the ingredients on the pan so everything bakes evenly. Serve with fruit and yogurt, your favorite milk, or just eat dry as a snack.

Note: I like to leave the nuts whole, but if your prefer, you can chopped them up before mixing them into the bowl. Try it both ways!