Best (Healthy) Breakfast EVER!

I was sitting here in my office eating homemade granola for breakfast and procrastinating my stacks of homework and papers to grade, and I realized that I need to share the recipe with you guys. It is just too good not too. It certainly doesn't compare to those not so healthy for you  breakfasts like crepes, waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, or left over cold pizza (please don't judge me!)

Anyway, my husband eats cereal like there is no tomorrow and he prefers the really sugary ones. So I went on a mission to find something that he could eat for breakfast that was tasty, easy, sweet, healthy, and gave him enough nutrient energy to last until lunch. Let me tell you, that is NO small task when it comes to the hubby.

Pinterest was (of course) an important source of my internet source. I mean, seriously, if the pictures of your food don't look really appetizing, I'm NOT going to try your recipe. No offense...

I got most of my ingredients at Sprouts because they sell things in bulk. I try to buy them when they go on sale, so I already had some stuff on hand. Costco was also handy for some of the dried fruit and nuts. Make sure to compare prices because Costco doesn't always win (even if they have awesome stuff!). And make sure to check their coupon books (they frequently have coupons for their Craisins which made them a great price).

When it came right down to it, two batches of granola only cost me somewhere between $15 and $20 (and I still have leftover nuts and dried fruit). 2 Batches filled up 5 half gallon mason jars. The granola is so filling, that I can only eat about 1/2 cup at a time. I think that makes for about 10+ servings per jar (10 servings x 5 jars = 50 servings. That's only 40 cents per serving!) Of course, prices may differ based on your area's prices, if you wait for things to be on sale, if you eat more or less at a time than me, and what ingredients you put in.

So here it is. I got my inspiration (and most of the recipe) from here. Drum roll please! Dehydrator granola.

Homemade Dehydrator Granola

Ingredients


- 3 apples (I like to use sweet apples like fugi, but mixing sweet with cheap apples works too!)
- 20 dates (I used dehydrated pitted dates so I could just stick them straight into the food processor)
- 1/2 cup honey (or agave or other sweetener, or use nothing at all!)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- other spices (such as nutmeg, pumpkin spice, etc, this is optional and just for when you feel creative)
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
- 1 cup raw almonds (non salted or roasted)
- 1 cup dried cranberries (or raisins, or dried cherries, or anything else you have)
- 1 cup dried apple slices (or dried apricots, or dried peaches, or dried mangos, or any other dried fruit)
- 1.5 cups raw rolled oats
- 1 cup raw sunflower seeds (non salted or roasted)
- 1 cup raw pepita seeds (or hemp seeds, or some other seed available)

Instructions

1. Place cored and sliced apples (with peel), dates, honey, cinnamon, and salt into a food processor and grind until completely smooth. It will look like very wet, slightly lumpy oatmeal. Pour this mixture into a separate large mixing bowl.

2. Add the almonds, cranberries, and dried apple slices to the food processor. Coarsely chop the mixture using the pulse function. How much you chop at this stage determines how "chunky" your granola will be. Less pulsing means chunkier granola. More pulsing means less chunky. I like mine somewhere in the middle. Add them to the bowl with the apple mixture and stir well.

3. Add the oats, sunflower seeds and pepita seeds and stir thoroughly. If you think your granola is too moist, add oats. If you think it is too dry (which I've never had happen), add more ground up apple. Your mixture should be sticky, not runny, and should clump together. 

4. Spread the mixture thinly onto a dehydrator try with a liner or wax paper. Dehydrate at 135 degrees for about 5 hours (maybe more, depending on how moist your mix is, how thick you spread it onto the sheet, and your preference for dryness). I tend to like my granola moist so it has a little chewiness to it. I need to cook mine for 5 hours. 

* Note: if you do not have a dehydrator, spread the mixture onto a cookie sheet with wax paper or liner on it and cook it in your oven's lowest temperature. Keep an eye on it so you dehydrate it and not cook it. I don't know how long this would take - I haven't tried it!

5. After your granola reaches the desired consistency, let it cool completely before packaging. Store it in an air tight container in the refrigerator. We have a vacuum sealer with mason jar attachment. This allows us to put ours in mason jars and remove all the air. We've been able to save it for up to 3 weeks! I love it because I can make more at once!

Try to experiment with flavors. The granola I'm showing in the pictures is a cherry, apricot and macadamia nut granola. We've also made it with dried mangos, cranberries, raisins and all sorts of different nuts and seeds. My husbands favorite way to eat it is with rice or soy milk (like cereal). I like to add some fruit to mine (like strawberries or peaches) and eat it with greek yogurt or soy milk. YUM!!

Hope you enjoy!! Have a happy weekend :)