Homemade honey granola recipe is a great way to start the day! This toasted oats recipe makes a big batch so you can use half of it to turn into no-bake granola bars for snack time or breakfast the next day!
I love breakfast and I love mornings! Really, I wake up bubbly and eager to start each new fresh day!
During the school week we stick to homemade muffins, bars, granola or oatmeal (we do not really buy cereal in our house) for breakfast. So as I am grabbing my giant cup of coffee here’s what I hear: “I want oatmeal,” “I want granola with milk,” No that is too much milk,” “No that is not a big enough bowl,” ” I don’t like nuts in my granola,” “I want more nuts in my granola.”
Although I have to say, the morning household demands of food gets a little tricky. My kids usually prompt me with slight anxiety by telling me all these EXACT ways they want breakfast prepared for them. So I have to plan ahead (have coffee ready to go!) and bowls and oats or granola set out the night before to avoid this! That way they know what to expect and everyone gets the same amount of milk.
Sound familiar? Boy I love my Big C and little C but I am starting to think I do way too much for them (and am setting both C’s future wife up with high standards! Ooops:-)!
Some days I feel powerless when preparing our meals and other days I feel like I am on-top-of my game! Also keeping out the nuts till last, and saving the dry fruit for my granola bowl definitely keeps things running a little smoother in the mornings.
What is the big deal with nuts in foods anyways? I love them and especially crave nuts when I crave chocolate since chocolate cravings are usually a detection that the body really just needs magnesium! But heaven forbid, if the nuts get spotted, I have a major “Mom Fail” day (and the kids sure let me know it). All terror blows out in the children’s faces if they spot one little speckle of a nut in their food! (you totally know what i mean!). So again, save those for last:-)
Then all that is to worry about is if I did not pour the almond milk into this homemade granola recipe or oatmeal cereal the correct way.
This honey granola recipe rocks as two meals! It makes a huge batch so half can be transitioned into no-bake granola bars by adding peanut butter or almond butter!
I have included the recipes of a full batch of granola bars using the entire batch of honey granola. To use half for the granola bar recipe just use 3 cups of granola, 2 Tablespoons honey and ½ cup of peanut butter.
Also, feel free to use whatever nuts you want! I prefer to use blanched almond slivers since they blend into the granola recipe. Then the boys do not really notice them! I also used pumpkin seeds for this recipe because I had a big bag from all our holiday baking going on!
Granola Bar Recipe:
After the granola is baked let it cool slightly. Then separate half of the granola into a jar with a lid to serve later as cereal, snacks, over yogurt or to dress up ice cream! With the other half mix in half a cup of warm peanut butter or almond butter and 2 tablespoons of honey. Pat it into a baking dish using the back of a spatula and cover and store in the refrigerator.
If you want you can make the granola bars at a later time using about 3 cups of the granola recipe.
