Every other week, Jory will be sharing a recipe for you and your family to enjoy. She will also provide a new tip for getting your kids involved the kitchen, too.
This week is homemade granola!
Recipe: Homemade granola
Story: The idea of making granola at home used to intimidate me. Until I finally made it. And got my 2-year old to help me. It is actually so easy to make that I keep a fresh batch around at all times. Besides the obvious health benefits of making my own granola such as controlling the amount of sugar, I love that I can customize it to include whichever types of nuts and fruit I want to use or already have on hand.
We love to spoon it over Greek yogurt or make Purée Parfaits, but it is equally tasty over regular yogurt, with milk or over ice cream.
This Week’s Kids in the Kitchen Tip: Kids can help out in the kitchen by mixing ingredients together. For foods like granola or the dry ingredients for baked goods, you can help your teeny tiny chef use a large spoon or show him how to use his clean hands to mix.
Homemade Granola
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
- ½ cup raw almonds*
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- ⅔-1 cup dried cherries, unsweetened*
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt, plus a couple pinches for the nuts
- ½ cup real maple syrup
- ¼ cup organic apple juice, unsweetened
*One piece of advice: chop the nuts and fruit fairly small if the little foodie in your house will be eating it, too.
Preparation:
1. Roast the seeds and nuts.
Heat the oven to 350°.
On a large baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper, spread the sunflower seeds and the pumpkin seeds in an even layer leaving about ⅓ of the sheet empty. (You’ll use it for the nuts).
Bake the seeds for 3 minutes and remove the baking sheet. Spread the nuts onto the last third of the baking sheet and bake for 7 more minutes. Set aside to cool. Chop them well after they have cooled.
Lower the oven to 325°.
2. Heat the liquids.
In a small saucepan, heat the syrup, apple juice and cinnamon over medium heat. Let simmer for around 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally with a small whisk or fork.
3. Prepare the oat mixture.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the oats, sea salt, chopped nuts and seeds and mix through. Pour the heated liquids over the mixture and stir so it is all combined.
4. Cook the oat mixture.
Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or lined with parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spread the mixture out into an even layer and bake for 20 minutes.
5. Add the fruit.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and stir in the fruit. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Cool and enjoy.
To see more about this original recipe, click here. Or, for a tropical twist on granola, try this recipe.
Additional Tip(s):
Use a raised step stool to get your little one safely at counter height. Eliana uses the FunPod while we’re in the kitchen together.
Jory Lieber is a food-focused mom and at-home chef raising her baby girl, Eliana, to eat a variety of healthy foods right from the start. When Eliana began to eat solid foods at around 6-7 months of age, she set a goal to cook as much of her food as possible. She uses a variety of flavors, textures and spices, with the intention of creating a teeny tiny foodie who is open to trying new foods.
She’s learned that cooking food for Eliana is only one part of the process of creating a teeny tiny foodie. The other, equally important, part of this process has been her “education” about different concepts around food, such as where food comes from, being part of the cooking process and “playing” with food, to name a few. She’s been using her background in Early Childhood Education to develop appropriate activities and “lessons” to teach to her teeny tiny student. Follow Jory’s adventures in cooking at Teeny Tiny Foodie.