I used to buy Kashi’s almond/flax granola by the case at Sam’s Club, but no more. I’m making my own using this delicious recipe. It’s so versatile! Even better, the KIDS love it. They won’t touch Kashi or “normal” healthy granola, but they eat this faster than I can make it. The base recipe is inspired by Hungry Hungry Hippie’s Quinoa Granola recipe, tweaked to my family’s taste.
I’ve been doubling the recipe without the nuts, spreading out one pan, then adding nuts for the other pan (the kids don’t like most nuts). I also skip all dried fruit (again, for the kids), but it’s delicious with dried dates and cranberries.
For a single pan of granola:
Mix about 4-5 cups of “seeds and grains” including your favorite mix of:
- oats
- quinoa
- hemp hearts
- buckwheat groats (I had to order these from Amazon – I couldn’t find locally – but totally worth it. They add a really unique texture and are very chewy!)
- unprocessed bran flakes
- chia seeds
- unsweetened coconut, shredded
We personally like about 2 cups of oats and the rest a mix of seeds and grains, with about 1/2 c coconut and 2-3T chia. They kids LOVE quinoa in this. It really surprised me (I thought it’d break our teeth, but it’s delicious and chewy/texture without being too hard). Mix up the above in a big bowl and adjust the texture and balance of grains to your taste.
Melt 1/2 c. of coconut oil and pour over the grains. Add 1/2 c. pure maple syrup. Stir up, spread in a pan lined with parchment paper, and toast in the oven at 250 degrees for about an hour. Stir half way through to get the toastiness even (especially if your pan is threatening to overflow!) I like mine pretty brown and toasty so I’ll cook it a bit longer.
If you don’t have picky kids, you can add another 1-2 c. of nuts (I love almonds, pecans, and sunflower seeds) and/or dried fruit without having to change the oil and syrup much at all. If it’s a little sticky/clumpy, then it’s good. You can play with the measurements and cut a little of the oil and sugar out if needed, but I usually just add more nuts. 
After it cools, I store in a quart mason jar. We usually nibble on the pan so much that I’m lucky if I end up with one jar for the next day!
Sprinkle some of this still warm on plain Fage yogurt and I’m in heaven.
Sounds delicious if it weren’t for all the nasty coconut. I didn’t know RAW quinoa was edible?
You can leave the nasty coconut out. I didn’t know raw quinoa was edible either — I thought it’d be hard like rice. But it’s not. I’m sure it’s probably like flax — if the seed isn’t broken open, you don’t absorb the nutrients. So we try to chew it really well (though they’re really small, it’s hard). The kids saw some interesting results in the bathroom, if you know what I mean… Snort. But it’s really really good and it does cook at a low temp for an hour or more, so it’s technically no longer “raw.”
What would I substitute the coconut oil with?
Butter, peanut butter, or a mix of those would probably work. I had a different recipe for granola bars that used 1/2 butter and 1/2 PB. It was heavenly, if you like peanuts.