Healthy Snack: Homemade Granola

I use "granola" as an adjective. Like "She's kind of granola." "I didn't realize how granola that part of the city was." I mean natural. Unprocessed. Earthy. But when I grab the box of granola bars out of the pantry and look at the list of ingredients, I'm a little worried. Lots of chemicals and gourmet-industrial creations. Not the healthiest choice. But it's a choice that many of us are convinced we should be making to lose weight and stay healthy.

Here's an even better choice: make your own granola. It's easy and allows you to control the raw ingredients you use. You'll KNOW it's a healthy choice for you...and your kids too. This one includes not only grains and nuts, but protein and dried fruits.

Granola
Once you've made this healthy mix, you can keep it in airtight containers for a couple of weeks. Pack it up in plastic bags for snacking or pour a little skim milk over it for your morning cereal.

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup whole roasted, unsalted almonds
4 tablespoons whole flaxseeds (I found this and the wheat germ in the bulk section of the grocery store.)
1 cup toasted wheat germ (If what you buy is not toasted, just put in an oven at 350 for 10 minutes before you assemble the granola.)
4 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup water (For extra flavor, you can use apple juice or orange juice instead of water.)
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (Use a mix of your favorites. Raisins or chopped dates or apricots. I used dried cherries, cranberries and blueberries for mine.)

Stir all ingredients except dried fruit together in a large bowl. Coat two 9 by 13 baking dishes with cooking spray. Spread the mixture in a thin layer in both pans and bake in a 300 degree oven, stirring every ten minutes. Granola is done when dry and lightly browned. This should take between 30 and 60 minutes depending on your oven and pans used. Let cool and stir dried fruits in.

Note: Make sure and stir often and watch for overbrowning. A burned corner can ruin the entire batch by the time it's stirred in.