Ever since cleaning out and reorganizing my kitchen over winter break, I've become obsessed with saving and stocking jars with all sorts of things in my pantry (my roommates can certainly attest to this). One of the best cost- and time-saving tips I could give anyone, is to shop in the bulk section of your grocery store and load up on beans, grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and so on. Here are a few reasons why I love buying in bulk- 1.) Quite a bit cheaper; 2.) Less packaging involved (you can even save and reuse the plastic bags you use for bulk items) 3.) Most bulk items (not including candy) are non-processed, nutrient-packed whole foods and staple ingredients that are great to have on hand to be used in a variety of ways; and 4) I just love the rustic, old-fashion look of filled jars in the pantry, but maybe that's just me!
One of my favorite ways to use bulk ingredients is to make my own granola, which I've only recently even attempted to do because I've never been a huge granola fan. That being said, I think most of the time when I say I'm not a fan of a particular food is probably because it's overly processed with tons of added fats, sugars and lots of other unnecessary ingredients; so it's not always the food itself (because I love just about every food), it's just how its made. That's why I like to make my own food my scratch because I know exactly what's in it and I have the freedom to make it to my own personal liking. Awesome! So when I finally got around to making granola from scratch, I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed it. Granola is such a versatile and nutrient packed snack that is great on yogurt or with milk, on its own, or even on a pb & j sandwich for an extra crunch (yum!)
This recipe is extremely simple and can be easily adapted to your preferences for nuts, dried fruits, spices or whatever you have on hand. Don't worry about measurements or exact proportions because you really can't go wrong and it's all about how you like it. So get creative, have some fun with this one and try something different each time you make it. It's great to make one huge batch at a time so you can store it in a jar, tupperware or bag in your pantry to use for a few weeks.
Ingredients:
1 lb old-fashion oats
few big handfuls of chopped nuts (I used chopped almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds)
handful of shredded coconut
handful of dried cranberries
2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
~1/2cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
few dashes of cinnamon and allspice
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
3. Spread into a 9 x 13 baking dish and bake for about 30-50minutes, stirring every 10minutes or so until nice and golden brown.
4. Store in the a couple big glass mason jars, tupperwares, or plastic baggies in your pantry and enjoy in all sorts of different ways!
