3.19.2013

Snack Time

We eat a lot of yogurt at our house. Everyday when Miles wakes up from his nap he and I both have a yogurt. He gets to choose between blueberry (which he calls "boojew") and strawberry (shaboo). I usually have Greek yogurt. I love that it's so packed with protein - if I have it as an afternoon snack it really tides me over until dinner.

Lately, I've been loving my yogurt with a sprinkle of homemade granola on top. This is a great recipe from Bon Appetit. The nice thing is that you can adapt it anyway you like - switch out the almonds, pecans, or pumpkin seeds for your favorite nuts, the maple syrup for honey, or the cranberries for another dried fruit.

For me though, I'll have to to stick to the cranberries. Miles loves when he shouts "ceeboo!" and I fish out some cranberries and toss them into his yogurt.

Granola

1 large egg white
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup roughly chopped, unsalted almonds
1/2 cup roughly chopped, unsalted pecans
1/2 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut shavings (sometimes called coconut chips)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients except cranberries in a large bowl and stir to combine. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet. It will crisp as it cools. Mix in cranberries.

Makes approximately 8 cups.

Notes: If you don't have kosher salt, you can use 3/4 teaspoon table salt. Store in air-tight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.