Healthy Maple Granola

Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadian readers! What are you up to for the long weekend? I’m off to Toronto for a friend’s wedding. You might know that Action de Grâce is not really celebrated among French Quebecers. Actually, it’s not until I moved to Toronto in 2001 that I became aware of how different this holiday is in English Canada.

I will always remember an anecdote related to my first Thanksgiving in Toronto. I was living in university residences and I had planned to stay on campus for the long weekend. Upon finding this out, my (new) friends all felt sorry for me, and a few of them invited me to join their family celebration. I didn’t understand why they were making a big deal out of this. Being alone for Thanksgiving really didn’t bother me as we never had a family tradition surrounding this day. Eleven years later, I have really grown to enjoy this holiday and the getting together with friends and/or family. This year, I’m looking forward to spending Thanksgiving weekend with some of my closest friends.

Now on to today’s recipe. One of the most popular posts on this blog has consistently been my Healthy Homemade Granola Bars. Knowing this, I’ve been meaning to share this simple granola recipe with you for a few years but the timing was never right. I would either make it at night when it’s not ideal to take pictures, or on the go while doing other things. Finally, on a lazy rainy Sunday, I got around to doing it. So here you have it, my favourite granola recipe. Enjoy.

Healthy Maple Granola

• 3 and 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (or other grains such as spelt or barley flakes)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1 and 1/2 cups mixed nuts, coarsely chopped (I like to use 1/2 cup each of almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts)
• 2 tbsp flax seeds, whole or ground
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup raisins

Pour maple syrup mixture over the oats and nuts, and stir until evenly coated.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring the mixture and rotating the baking sheets every 15-20 minutes for even roasting. When the oats are golden brown, remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Transfer to a large clean bowl and stir in the raisins and cranberries. Transfer to an airtight container, and store at room temperature.

Enjoy on its own as a snack, or over some plain yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

Recipe adapted from Lorna Sass’ Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way.