Friday, March 13, 2009

Low-Fat Winter Fruit Granola


I really love the sweet crunchy style granola but when I make granola at home it feels counterproductive to add so much oil and sugar (to something that to me is supposed to be healthy) so I opt for granola recipes like this one. And this one was good - though I wouldn't add the crystallized ginger next time. I like ginger but don't love it in sweet things. I mistakenly added the dried fruit too early (instead of stirring it in at the very end) but it wasn't all bad because it made the dried apples wonderfully crunchy. I saw this chocolate chocolate chunk granola at Whole Foods not too long ago... I really must make an exception to my "healthy granola" rule and try making that one!

Some people have asked where I got the cup from - it was a gift many years ago and I have no idea where my friend got it from! It has Totoro on the other side though.

Other healthy snacks:
Sunny Jungle Bars
Cocoa Nibbles
No Fail Granola
Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins


Low-Fat Winter Fruit Granola
Adapted from The Best Life Diet Cookbook found on Ezra Pound Cake

You can easily replace the almonds with another nut, the dried fruit with whatever other dried fruit you want, and omit the ginger. I didn't use almond extract - just vanilla.

Makes 24 1/4-cup servings

4 cups regular rolled oats
1/4 cup unprocessed wheat bran
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped dried pears or apples
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dates
2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Combine the oats and bran in a large bowl.

In a small pan over medium heat, stir in the canola oil, maple syrup, and vanilla and almond extracts. When the mixture begins to bubble, pour it over the oat mixture and mix well.

Pour it onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Add the almonds and stir the mixture thoroughly. Continue to bake until the oats and almonds are lightly toasted, about 10 minutes more, stirring again halfway through.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Bake until the oats are crisp, about 5 minutes longer.

Remove the pan from the oven and stir the mixture. Let the granola cool for 5 minutes, the stir again.

When completely cool, store the granola in an air-tight container for up to 4 weeks.

30 comments:

Elyse said...

Yay for a healthy granola recipe! I hate that so many granolas are so bad for you. Your post comes to save the day!! Now I can have my granola and eat it, too!

Kit Chen said...

Can you explain why there's oil in granola recipes? The only granola I've made for myself is from Mark Bittman's recipe, which I thought was pretty good. It contains no added fat, and I even used only half the sugar (maple syrup) he called for. You'll see in the comments that people razzed him about not adding fat to the granola, but, having made this thing, I can't figure out why it's needed at all.

Beatrice said...

I made the exact same mistake with the dried fruit when I attempted homemade granola! Who knew that you couldn't bake dried fruit?

Anonymous said...

Granola is one of my favorite brekkies--this one looks great. I always add my fruit after everything else is cooked and cooled--but crunchy actually sounds pretty good!

Chris said...

The addition of ginger sounds really lovely! That and the extracts make this an easily made gourmet granola :)

Pearl said...

loooove granola :)

Pearl said...

mmm what a great recipe!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Mmmm!!!

Snooky doodle said...

this looks so good. I love granola for breakfast :) nice recipe

Anonymous said...

I have the same feelings about granola - I don't like to add things that aren't as healthful as the good stuff that makes granola a smart choice. But then you have the issue of less clumping...so what's a cook to do?

The Food Librarian said...

I love granola and got out of making it each week...need to get back into it! Thanks for the reminder and this wonderful recipe!!

kickpleat said...

I haven't made granola in a little while, so I will definitely make some tomorrow. This looks like a good recipe. Love the ginger addition.

Fitness Foodie said...

I love homemade granola. I had plans to make some this weekend, but haven't gotten around to it yet. You have a lot of dried fruit in yours, great idea, I think I need to add more to mine.

Anonymous said...

I love the mushroom cup!!

Unknown said...

This looks wonderful...reminds me of a granola my mom had. We're STILL trying to find the recipe for that!

grace said...

i feel the same way--granola should be good for you and that's all there is to it. meanwhile, i'm loving your mug. :)

Sarena Shasteen - The Non-Dairy Queen said...

I have been thinking about making homemade granola...I will give this one a try!

CookiePie said...

Looks great! I'm not a big granola fan, but the homemade stuff is usually SO much better than anything out of a box!

Casey said...

Woah woah woah, that glass with the mushrooms. Where's it from!? It's ADORABLE.

Sara said...

Yum! I love ginger! What a great addition to granola.

Anonymous said...

Mmmm, we also love the ginger too. Gives it a nice BITE. :)

Maris said...

Sounds great! I made granola last week and it totally hit the spot.

Maris said...

Big coincidence! I just made granola but yours looks delicious also!

VeganCowGirl said...

Looks and SOUNDS great! I am always looking for new granola recipes. I hear you on adding the dried fruit too early...I always accidently burn mine when I make that fatal mistake.

Deborah said...

I keep saying I'm going to make granola - I should follow through and make this!

Anonymous said...

re: loss of that delicious crunchy texture in lowfat granolas: I've had some success with adding a lightly beaten egg white to the wet mix prior to baking - could this work for you?

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: Thanks for the tip!

saveur said...

I really liked this granola! It is a bit plain and definitely loose, but great with yogurt for breakfast. Its deficiencies are overlooked because it is healthy! :)

I wrote about it here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/low-fat-winter-fruit-granola-what-i-eat-when-i-eat-alone-part-2/

Sylvia said...

Granola is such an awesome winter snack! I am happy that there is a low fat option though, because sometimes I get carried away eating it.. It'd be nice to have some guilt free!

-Sylvia
Antique Jewelry

Three-Cookies said...

This looks nutritious and simple to make. I should make these soon, thanks for the inspiration