Oat-y Goji Granola

Granola can be so expensive! However, believe it or not, it is pretty easy to make yourself. I took the basic recipe from Marc Bittman, who has a few variations in his new cookbook: How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. I created my own variation with ground flax seed, goji berries and agave nectar. Agave nectar is a sweetener that is derived from the agave plant. It has a much lower glycemic load than sugar, honey or maple syrup, so you don’t get the high/crash from consuming it. Goji berries (or wolfberries) are used in traditional Chinese medicine as a Blood and Yin tonic and they are very nourishing for the Liver and Heart systems.

Oat-y Goji Granola

• 6 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 cup sliced raw almonds
• 1/2 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup dried goji berries, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2-3/4 cup agave nectar

Preheat oven to 300F. Place a half sheet-pan over 2 burners on medium heat. It is necessary to have thick, high quality sheet pans when using them on the burners. If you don’t, a Pyrex casserole dish will do. Toast the oats for 5-8 minutes, constantly stirring, until they smell fragrant.

Then add the coconut, nuts and flax seeds and continue to stir and toast for another 5-10 minutes, or until fragrant and golden brown.

Clockwise from top: sliced almonds, ground flax seed, coconut, sunflower seeds

Add the agave nectar and stir until the oats and nuts are well coated and place the pan in the oven. After 10 minutes, stir in the cranberries and goji berries. Then split the granola onto 2 pans and roast another 10-15 minutes.

Left: Goji berries. Right: Dried cranberries

When the mixture has nice color and you can smell the coconut, take the pans out and cool on a rack, stirring every few minutes, until the mixture crunches up. Store in a airtight container for up to a week.

Close up of the completed granola

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