Basic Granola

Time: About 45 minutes, mostly unattended
Servings: 10

4 c rolled oats
1 c unsweetened coconut flakes
1 c chopped nuts
4 Tbsp coconut oil or butter, softened
2 Tbsp honey, maple syrup, molasses, or sorghum syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c chia seeds
1/4 c ground flax seeds
Add in options such as chocolate chips, dried fruit, or fresh fruit

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut flakes, coconut oil, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and extract. Stir until well-combined.

Spread the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Stir, and then bake another 10 minutes. Stir and check that the ingredients seem somewhat evenly toasted. If there are still patches of untoasted ingredients, return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Pour into an airtight container. Add the chia seeds and ground flax. Shake to combine.

Add in options can be added at this point. Or leave the granola plain and choose add ins at each serving. Serve over yogurt or add milk for cereal.

Cherry Syrup

Time: 10 minutes

Servings: about 2 cups

Ingredients

1 lb fresh sweet cherries

1/2 c water

1 Tbsp sugar or 2-3 drops liquid stevia extract

1 Tbsp whole grain flour

Remove the stems and pits from the cherries. I remove pits by slicing all the way around the cherry, separating the two halves, and then taking out the pit with fingers or a strawberry hulling tool.

Whisk the water, sugar, and flour together in a saucepan. Add the cherries. Cook over medium high heat, stirring often, until the liquid thickens into a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat and serve warm over pancakes, French toast, or waffles. Also delicious in yogurt or ice cream.

Refrigerate leftovers.

Banana Blueberry "Cereal"

Sometimes I want something drowning in milk. Like cereal. Only without the cereal.

Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 1

1 banana
1/4 c blueberries (or cherries or raspberries or whatever)
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
1 Tbsp toasted walnuts
2 Tbsp plain yogurt
Your favorite variety of milk

Chop the banana into the bowl. Add the blueberries, chia seeds, flax seeds, and walnuts. Top with the yogurt and pour in enough milk to make everything swim. Stir. Enjoy.

Basic Oatmeal

Servings: 1

Time: Overnight soak (optional but recommended); 5-15 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 c rolled or steel cut oats

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

1 c water (for soak)

1 Tbsp ground flax seeds

1 tsp chia seeds

Add-in Ideas

• Blueberries, toasted almonds, cinnamon
• Banana, toasted pecans, unsweetened coconut flakes
• Apple or pumpkin butter, milk
• Unsweetened applesauce, toasted walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg 
• Bananas, dark chocolate pieces
• Blueberries, strawberries, yogurt
• Peaches, unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted pecans, cinnamon

The night before, put the oats, vinegar, and water in a bowl. Let soak overnight. In the morning, pour off the water and rinse the oats. Return them to the bowl (for microwave cooking) or the pot (for stovetop cooking) and add 1/2 c water. Cook in the microwave or on the stovetop until most of the water is evaporated and the oats are softened to your preferred texture. Rolled oats will take 2-5 minutes. Steel cut oats more like 10-15 minutes. 

When done, stir in the flax and chia seeds with any add-ins.

Maple Oatmeal Bars with Dates

This is my version of this recipe.

1/4 c maple syrup
1/2 c coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 c pitted dates, chopped
2 eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c oat flour
3 c rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
Dash cardamom (it's tasty, and quite strong)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Grease a 9x13-inch pan with butter.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together until well-combined. Bake 25 minutes or until turning golden brown at the edges. Cool at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

Cold Oatmeal Cereal

1/4 - 1/3 c oats (steel cut or rolled), or a combination of oats, rye flakes, millet, or other whole grain
1 Tbsp plain yogurt
Milk (enough just to cover grains; any kind of milk is fine)

Combine in a cereal bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, stir in any mix-ins. Some of my favorites include:

• Chia seeds and ground flax seeds
• Fresh or frozen fruit (thawing is optional)
• Canned pumpkin
• Unsweetened, shredded coconut
• Toasted nuts
• Jams or jellies
• Applesauce or apple butter (preferably without added sweeteners)
• Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and/or cardamom

Pour in additional milk if needed for desired consistency.

Waffles from Sourdough Discard

Time & Servings

• About 15 - 20 minutes
• Makes about 8 waffles

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 ½ c sourdough starter

1 ½ Tbsp melted butter

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

Preheat a waffle iron. Place a baking sheet in the oven turned to the lowest setting.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until they come to a uniform color. Do not over-mix. Using a spatula, gently fold in the rest of the ingredients until just incorporated. Pour into the hot waffle iron. Place finished waffles in the warm oven while the remaining waffles cook.

Top with maple syrup, fruit, fruit syrup (like this peach syrup), whipped cream, or yogurt.

Makes about 8 waffles.

Oatmeal Banana Bars

This is a sugar-free (and very tasty) alternative to this recipe.

2 c old fashioned oats
1 c unsweetened coconut flakes
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/4 c ground flax seed
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c chopped dried apricots
1/4 tsp salt
dash nutmeg
2 overripe bananas that have been frozen and thawed
2 Tbsp unsweetened apple butter (optional; adds sweetness and a cinnamon accent)
3 drops stevia extract
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter an 8x8-inch baking pan.

In a mixing bowl, toss together the oats, coconut, chia seeds, flax seed, walnuts, apricots, salt, and nutmeg. Add the bananas, apple butter, stevia, melted butter and coconut oil. Mash the bananas while mixing until mixture becomes relatively uniform. Press into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on top. Allow to cool before cutting.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Think of this as a template, not a recipe. The flaked coconut, flax seed, walnuts, chia seeds, and cranberries are all optional. You could add oat bran or wheat germ. Use different nuts and fruit. Add 1/4 c pure maple syrup to the recipe for chunkier granola. I like to leave the granola sweetener-free and add little if I want it when I pour an individual serving. To add more pumpkin to each serving and help use up the rest of the container, I like to add a scoop of pumpkin purée to my cereal bowl. Adding a spoonful of yogurt with the milk adds probiotics and extra protein.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

4 c rolled oats

1/4 c unsweetened flaked coconut

2 Tbsp ground flax seed

1/4 c chopped walnuts

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c pumpkin puree

1/2 c apple sauce

2 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp chia seeds

1/2 c dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flaked coconut, flax seed, walnuts, spices, and salt. Add the pumpkin puree, apple sauce, coconut oil (it doesn't have to be melted first -- the oven will melt it for you), and vanilla. Stir until all of the oats are evenly moistened. 

Pour the wet granola onto a baking sheet with a rim (also called a jellyroll pan). Line your pan with parchment paper if you don't want to have to wipe it off later. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the top layer becomes fragrant and lightly golden. Stir well and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Stir one more time and bake 5-10 minutes, until the granola is slightly dry (though not crispy) and evenly golden. 

Cool completely. Pour into an airtight container. Add chia seeds and dried cranberries. Put the lid on the container and shake to combine. 

Enjoy a bowl with your favorite milk or yogurt.