Killer cereal

Cold cereal used to be my favorite food. I never liked the sugary stuff though. My favorites, even when I was a kid, were GrapeNuts, Shredded Wheat and the like. Remember the huge shredded wheat biscuits that came in individually wrapped packages, the ones with no sugar or anything? I loved those things. Weird, I know. When I cut way back on buying commercial cold cereal, I knew I would need to find a good homemade substitute. I need my cold cereal in the mornings. Just because I'm not buying pre-packaged food anymore doesn't mean I'm going to wake up in the morning and cook. That would be asking way too much. I love most granolas, so with a few tweaks, including doubling the recipe (because who wants to make granola 2 times a week?) I have created my absolute favorite cold cereal granola. In fact, the whole family loves it which unfortunately means less for me. It is so good I could pretty much eat this all day. I think I had 2 bowls today with milk, but its also good right out of the container, on yogurt, ice cream, warm peaches...sometimes I do make it twice a week.

Tamlynn's Favorite Granola

Mix together in a large bowl:
8 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flax seeds
2 cups chopped raw almonds or pecans
3-4 Tb cinnamon

In a saucepan slowly melt and mix together:
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla

Pour the honey/oil mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Divide the granola and spread on two large baking sheets. Toast in a 300F degree oven for 20 minutes, stirring carefully after 10 minutes. Watch carefully so the granola doesn't burn in the last few minutes.

The type of baking sheets and oven temps may vary the toasting time. You really don't want to burn your granola. It's sad. Let the granola cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store for one or two weeks at room temp or in the freezer if it takes you longer to eat this much. Variations: add whatever you want! Try pecans, sunflower seeds, wheat germ. Add dried fruit after granola has cooled. My kids whine about dried fruit in their granola, so I just sprinkle some in my bowl before eating. Try raisins, (if you must) dried cranberries, blueberries, currants, chopped apricots, coconut, etc. Let me know if you try this and how you like it.