Healthy Granola With Wheat Germ Food

GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
• Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
• Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
• Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

OAT AND WHEAT GERM GRANOLA

Steps:

• Mix oats, sesame seeds, wheat germ and nuts in a good sized bowl.
• In another bowl or large measuring cup,measure oil, add honey, mix and pour over oat mixture.
• Stir well to blend and coat granola.
• Spread out evenly on cookie sheet or in baking pan.
• Bake at 250 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown.
• Stir every 15 during baking to prevent scorching.
• Be careful not to over brown.
• Stir in dry fruits while mixture is still warm.
• Let cool and store in airtight container.

HEALTHY GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
• Pour in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer.
• Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway (for extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
• Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed (at least 45 minutes). Top with the dried fruit (and optional chocolate chips, if using). Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don't want extra-clumpy granola.
• Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. The dried fruit can freeze solid, so let it warm to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

HEALTHY GRANOLA WITH WHEAT GERM

Steps:

• mix all dry ingredients in a larg bowl. mix wet ingredients in a sperate bowl. add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine well. spread onto 2 cookie sheets with edges (the the granola doesn't fall off the sides). bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours stiring every 15 minutes. store in a tightly sealed covered container to keep it crunchy.

CHEF JOHN'S GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner.
• Combine brown sugar, maple syrup, oil, and salt in a bowl. Add oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and coconut. Mix well, making sure all ingredients are coated evenly.
• Pour onto prepared baking sheet and distribute in an even layer.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes lightly with the tines of a fork so mixture toasts evenly and granola is golden brown.
• Pour into a bowl and, while mixture is still hot, mix in currants. Cool. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA BARS (HEALTH OR ENERGY BARS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Combine the oats, wheat germ, flax seeds, sesame seeds and almonds; spread out evenly on the rimmed baking sheet and toast for approximately 10 to 15 minutes until golden, stirring occasionally and watching carefully so as not to burn.
• In the meantime, in a large bowl combine salt, coconut, cinnamon and dried cranberries; set aside.
• In a large measuring cup place the vanilla, honey, butter and brown sugar. Microwave approximately 2 minutes. Mixture will foam and bubble. Stir to completely dissolve brown sugar.
• When oat mixture is done toasting, transfer to the same bowl with coconut mixture and stir to evenly combine. Add the honey mixture and stir to incorporate.
• Line a 9" x 13" baking pan with waxed paper. Spread the mixture, using the back of a wooden spoon, pressing to create a smooth, even surface. Place another piece of waxed paper over the top, pressing down to evenly compact the mixture. Compacting is important so the bars won't fall apart when cut. (Suggestion: place one pan of same size within the other and press to even out mixture.).
• Refrigerate and completely cool the mixture about 2 hours to assure a clean cut. Firmly press down with a large knife to cut into bars. Do not saw. Wrap bars in waxed paper and store in refrigerator or freezer.

MAPLE GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.
• In a small saucepan, combine the oil and syrup and heat, stirring, over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract.
• In a large bowl, toss together the wheat germ, sesame seeds, coconut, oats, pumpkin seeds, cashews, and almonds.
• Add the syrup mixture and stir to coat evenly.
• Spread the granola mixture out on a baking sheet.
• Bake until golden brown, about an 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• Stir the mixture occasionally while baking so it toasts evenly.
• Transfer the warm toasted granola to a large bowl and stir in the dried fruits and let cool.
• Store in a tightly sealed container a room temperature for 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.

ULTIMATE IRRESISTIBLE GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, wheat germ, coconut and sunflower seeds. In a small pan over medium heat, stir together the oil and honey. Cook and stir until blended. You could also do this in a large measuring cup in the microwave, heating for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Pour over the oat mixture, and stir to coat evenly. Spread out in an even layer on two cookie sheets.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the oats and nuts are toasted. Immediately after it comes out of the oven, stir in the raisins and dried cranberries. Let stand until cooled, and stir again to break up any large clusters. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks, but I guarantee it won't be around that long!