Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Happy Tummy Granola

This granola recipe originally came from my friend Ben's mother in Vermont (thanks Mrs. Adler!), but I substituted a lot of the ingredients to better tailor my own diet needs. It's quite tasty with the changes, and full of wonderful fiber, protein, and vitamins. This is an especially great granola for people who suffer from irregularity in their digestive system.

Ingredients
1/3 cup pure apple juice (no sugar or water added. The brand I bought is called HUCK'S)
1/4 cup maple syrup or good quality honey (i like the honey)
1/6 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar (if you like it sweet, you can do 1/3 cup instead)
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
a dash of salt to taste
2.5 cups rolled oats (make sure these aren't the instant or quick cooking oats, otherwise boooo)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (you can toast this on a fying pan, no oil, just heat for 2-3 minutes)
1/2 cup coarsely shopped raw almonds
1/4 cup coarsely chopped raw hazelnuts
1/4 cup flax seed

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a cookie sheet and set aside.

In a small/medium saucepan, heat the apple juice, syrup, olive oil, and brown sugar and let it simmer for a few minutes. It'll become a bit syrupy. That is when you know it is done. Just DO NOT let it burn. Add the cinammon when you remove the pan from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, wheat germ, almonds, hazelnuts, and flax. Then add the syrupy mixture and mix well together. I like to add the syrup slowly, mixing everything together, before adding more. This is because I always worry about adding too much liquid and making goo.

After it is well mixed, distribute the granola very evenly on the cookie sheet and place it on the bottom rack. After 10 minutes, move the granola around a bit on the sheet so the unbaked pieces have a chance to bake. Check the mixture every 5-7 minutes after that. Total bake time ranges between 20-25 minutes.
Let cool and then store in an airtight container.

Now, I really should mention that although this granola is very heart and stomach healthy, it is not low fat or low calorie by any means. 1/2 cup of wheatgerm contains 410 calories, but it also contains 30 grams of protein and 43 grams of carbs. So be wise. If you're trying to lose weight, don't eat this as a snack. Eat it as part of a meal. I personally enjoy granola on top of a bowl of plain yogurt and berries every morning. This will fill you up and give you a major boost of protein (almonds, hazelnuts, wheatgerm).

Enjoy!
-ILR

(P.S.) My lovely South African roommate Sir Withers just tried the granola on top of his plain yogurt and said it was scrumptious!

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