Apple Cherry Granola

Today I got adventurous and decided to make granola so I would have something other than eggs and protein shakes for breakfast.  I usually make a pumpkin granola in the fall, but I wanted something different for summer that was a little lighter.So Apple Cherry Granola was born.

It was a fun process making this and it tastes great.  So a win-win for me.  Now I can eat something cold when my husband has cold cereal for his breakfast.  I know that for most people that is something that they don't have to think about, but for me, I am trying to get off processed foods and eat super healthy.

Here is my recipe so you can enjoy this too!

APPLE CHERRY GRANOLA

prep time: 20 min
cook time: 35 min
total time: 55 min

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Apple Sauce
• 2/3 cup Coconut Oil - Melted
• 1/2 cup Raw Honey (I microwaved mine for 15 sec to make sure it was liquidy)
• 1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
• 1 TBSP Apple Pie Spice
• 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 1/2 cups Sliced Almonds
• 1 cup chopped Pecans
• 10 dried dates, pits removed and then chopped
• 2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2/3 cup dried apple slices broken into small pieces
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds (Pepitas)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup dried cherries 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add apple sauce, coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract and all of your spices and mix well.
3. Add in your nuts, seeds and dates and mix well with the wet ingredients.
4. Place on a large jelly-roll pan lined with parchment paper or if your like me I use a silicone mat.  Spread out the mix evenly so that it will all cook the same.
5. Place in your oven and bake for 20 minutes then turn over and bake for an additional 15 min.  Be sure to watch so that it doesn't burn.
6. Let cool!  This will help you get the crunchiness that you want from granola.
7. Enjoy!!

It's a little time intensive at first cutting up your dates and such, but I think it's well worth it in the end and this will last me for a long time stored in the fridge in a air tight container.  

I'm by no means a food blogger, but once in awhile I'll post something that I find that I like.  Hope you do to!