Low-Fat Granola

I’ve been making this granola a lot lately. It’s great in the morning over soy yogurt and with fruit, or as a snack. I’ve done it with both quick-cooking oats and regular rolled oats and both are good, but the rolled oats lend a bit of a chewier texture that’s better for snacking, while quick-cooking oats make a nice cereal substitute.

As far as fruit goes, I’m sort of picky with dried fruit, so I went with tart dried cherries and dried pineapple, which are two of my favorites lately. You can be liberal with the dried fruit, and add any combination of fruits and even nuts as you please. So, that’s about all there is to it!

Anyways….

Now for a completely off-topic, shameless plug: My currently unemployed husband started a football blog. Football is actually something he knows a thing or two about, as he used to work for Sports Illustrated before leaving New York City to move to the midwest to follow his wife for her job. Don’t worry, it’s not quite as depressing as it sounds (here’s his version of that story and first-ever post).  Of course, I’m not so sure how much crossover there is between gluten-free, vegan blog readers and football blog readers. But football sometimes involves tailgating, and tailgating involves people eating food, and some people who eat food are vegan and gluten-free. So, it kind of fits, right? Plus, being the very experienced blogger that I am, I told him that the key to success is getting someone “big” to link to you (not that I would know first-hand or anything…). While I’m no one big, he pretty much has a guaranteed PR person in me, as I do believe I am his biggest fan (that’s what I signed up for when we got married, right?). Bias aside, he’s smart and funny, a good writer and knows a lot, lot, LOT about football. So, I had to pass the word along to my loyal fans — all 16 of them — just in case any are as into football as they are into food.

Serves: 4

Low-Fat Granola:

2 cups quick cooking certified gluten-free oats

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 packet stevia

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tablespoon coconut oil, liquified

¼ cup coconut nectar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

dried fruits or nuts of choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix together all ingredients except for dried fruit. Lay flat on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes. Let cool.

3. Add dried fruit to cooled granola.