The Good, The Bad & The Granola

The good and the bad what you ask? Everything.

The truth of the matter is we need fat, sodium, sugars and carbs in our diets… its just the KIND of fat, sodium, sugars and carbs and how much we eat of them.

We are an all or nothing country, generally speaking. For the most part, when research comes out talking about trans fats… we start to cut out as much fat in our diet as we can. Oh… soy is good for us? Lets get it in everything… wait too much can do what… well I wont eat it at all then.

People don’t like “moderation”… your either for or against… you don’t go sitting on the fence when it comes to anything.

Today we’ll talk fat.

As a basic rule of thumb, if a fat is solid at room temperature… its bad. But… fat… good? Yes… fat good. Fat in your diet helps your hair and nails… not to mention your brain, heart and cellular walls. Its the type of fats you need to watch. Think nuts and olive oil rather than bacon and butter. And, as the saying goes, everything in moderation.

Here is a recipe I came up with while fiddling around with granola recipes. I’ve cut the amout of oil in the basic recipe… it really didn’t need it. The oils in the nuts and seeds are plenty. As far as how it reacts with my ever irritable tummy… I’ve been eatting it nearly every day with no problem. The oats and nuts are digested nice and slow, giving all that excessive fluid something to work on until my next meal.

Granola

Ingredients

3 c oats

1 c slivered almonds

1 c sunflower kernals

3/4 cups cocoa nibs (adds a nice chocolate kick without adding sugar)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 c honey

1/8 c vegetable or canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 c of dried friut (for mine I used currants)

Directions

preheat oven to 250 F

Place all of the ingredients, except for the dried fruit into a bowl and mix together until everything is evenly coated and sticky. Make sure nothing is left dry, its easiest to use your hands. Next spread the mixture evenly between two sheet pans (lining them with some parchement paper will help you remove the granola from the pan, but you don’t have to). Place both pans into the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 min, stir every half our or so so that everything gets toasted. When the time is up, remove from the oven and let cool completely. Its going to seem like its still sticky at first… but once cooled it will be fine. Once cooled move to a storage container, add your dried fruit and stir.

This recipe makes quite a bit, you’ll have enough granola for the whole family.