Mom's Granola

This recipe grew out of something disgusting. About five years ago, my brother became obsessed with bodybuilding (long story, not for here). Along with many hours in the gym, this came with a truly horrifying diet of egg whites, chicken breasts, the occasional antioxidant-packed blueberry — and no refined sugars, or fats (other than omega-3s, of course), or basically anything delicious.

My brother’s diet made it hard to find foods that the whole family could bear to eat. In an effort to appeal to his tastes, my mom took a recipe for granola from my aunt Gina and altered it to make what she called “healthy granola,” with minimal oil and sweetened with sugar-free maple syrup. (Whether that can actually be called healthy is open to debate.)

Since the inception of my mom’s granola-making career, my brother has started eating again like a medium-normal person, and my mom has altered her recipe to the one below. (At first she substituted in the honey for the fake-sugar syrup without telling my brother.) I’ve gotten to the point where the only kind of granola I actually like is hers.

This is the best recipe in the world, because it’s hard to mess up and it’s infinitely adaptable. Consider the ingredients in the recipe below as guidelines, not actual rules.

Mom’s Granola Recipe

2/3 cup oil (I used olive oil, but any kind of mild cooking oil will do)
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup sunflower butter (or sunflower seeds, added to the dry ingredients)
dash milk
seeds from 1/4 vanilla bean (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla)
3 cups oats (not instant)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 cup wheat germ
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped almonds (or whatever kind of nut you like)
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Combine oil, honey, sunflower butter, milk and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat until bubbling but not boiling. The ingredients won’t really mix, but that’s okay.

Add everything else. Stir together so the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are fully mixed.

Spread thinly onto a cookie sheet. Put in the oven for about a half hour. Take it out and turn the granola over with a spatula, being careful not to break the chunks that will have formed. Bake for about 15 minutes more, or until the oats turn dark golden brown.