It's Grrrr-eat!

I vividly remember my saturday mornings as a child, filled with saturday morning cartoons and a bowl of sugary cereal. In retrospect, I think it was really just a bowl of sugar? Fruit loops, Lucky charms, Frosted flakes, Count Chocula, when I was a kid you didn't have to ask me twice what kind of cereal I liked; as long as each morsel of cereal was coated with a layer of sugary goodness, I was sold. I believed in Tony the Tiger's Frosted flakes, when I was a kid, I truly did believe that they were great. Cornflakes, All Bran, even Raisin Bran...it was hard to get me to eat that as a kid, not as colourful, not as fun, no toy inside, and of course, not as sweet. But my oh my how the tables have turned. You couldn't pay me to eat those cereals anymore, I actually find them too sweet to say the least. I think I had so much sugar in my youth I killed my tastebuds? That is, if that is at all possible, or if not killed perhaps altered. Well, the sweet tooth beast is under control and I now enjoy sour things and healthy things like green apples, and fresh tangy vegetable juice, and granola! Yes, I've fallen for granola, I'm not much of a cereal person anymore, but it's the only cereal I really think is grrr-eat these days!

Homemade Granola
(This recipe was adapted from Cream Puffs in Venice who adapted it from Out to brunch)

1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup crushed pecans
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup vegan butter

Preheat oven to 300 Degrees F. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then mix in vanilla. Melt Butter over medium heat and stir in syrup until mixture begins to bubble. Pour syrup mixture over dry ingredients. Blend well ensuring everything is coated with the syrup mixture. Line baking pan with parchment paper and spread Granola evenly across. Bake for 15-17mins. After 17mins, remove from oven and shuffle mixture. Bake again for another 13-14mins. Let cool. Break granola into bite size chunks and store in an airtight container.

I usually top my granola with fresh berries and almond milk.