In the 19th century, American breakfasts were described by the French philosopher Constantin-Francois de Volney as “most calculated to injure the stomach, the teeth, and the health in general,” including “cheese of the fattest kind, slices of salt or hung beef.” Perhaps it was those breakfasts that inspired John Harvey Kellogg to develop granola as an alternative breakfast food at his sanitarium in Battle Creek, Mich.
Kellogg might be surprised to see some of the changes in today’s granola. I recently browsed through the bulk cereals at a large natural food store where I counted 20 kinds. Sugar was the first ingredient in one, the second ingredient in 10, and all of them had high amounts of oil.
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My granola relies on whole ingredients for flavor, keeping sugar and fat amounts within reason. And it’s totally customizable: You can use any chopped nuts or seeds, substitute a different liquid sweetener, such as agave or honey, or switch one of the spices to cinnamon. After baking, you can add dried fruit, such as raisins, cranberries, figs, dates or apricots. You could also use it as a base for granola bars, as a topping for fruit crisps, or as an instant pop-in-your-mouth snack.
Tips
*I chose flaked coconut for the visual and textural contrasts. You could also use shredded.
*Use the thickest oats you can find. The thicker the oats, the less it has been processed.
Almond maple granola
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 50 to 60 minutes
Makes: 5 cups, about 10 servings
3 cups thick rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon each: fennel seed, ground nutmeg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Heat oven to 350 degrees. Stir oats, coconut, almonds, salt, allspice, fennel seed and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Whisk maple syrup and oil together in a glass measuring cup. Dump into oat mixture; mix with a rubber spatula and a few fingers until evenly distributed. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Pour the granola onto the baking sheet. Use the spatula to spread the granola more-or-less evenly.
2 Bake, turning with a spatula once or twice, 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven; let granola set in baking sheet until cool and dry.
Nutrition information per 1/2 cup serving: 278 calories, 16 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 30 g carbohydrates, 6 g protein, 145 mg sodium, 5 g fiber
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