Doctor's Kitchen Monday: A New Year with Home-made Granola

It's a new year and although I did lose 15 lbs. last year it feels a hollow victory.  Does it really count if I lost and gained and lost and gained the same 10 lbs over and over and over again, barely inching my way down the scale throughout the year?  Maybe so but I really had higher hopes for the beginning of '08.  Sigh.  But such is life and there's no going back, only going forward.

The two things I'm really trying to tackle this month are the all important B and B's: Breakfast and Beverages. 

Let's start with soda.  I go up and down with my consumption but it's a constant battle against the addictiveness of Coke. Just love the stuff. If I have the choice between Pepsi and water, I'll choose the water, but if Coke is the choice, I'll drink it. The weird thing is I drink more of it at home than at work.  I'd think that would be the opposite but at work I'm moving around so much that I get dehydrated, know it, and crave water.  At home, nothing like an ice cold Coke. Right?  Okay, so I'm a product of effective advertising.

To fight my addiciton I've limited myself to an 8 oz serving a day and turned my attention to water, iced herbal tea, and Crystal Lite when I really need something flavored.  In the meantime I printed out this article and pasted in to the shelf above my desk and will read it every day and even change it out for articles in the same vein to keep myself reminded of just how healthy soda is. Not.

Take a look at this HEALTH BOLT: WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY EVERY TIME YOU DRINK A SODA --  and we wonder why diabetes is so rampant in our culture. Armed with that bit of depression I'm drinking lots of iced herbal tea today with lots of water tonight at work.

Moving on to breakfast I thought  long and hard.  One of the mistakes I've made in past January gung-ho moments is to think that I'm suddenly going to change everything about myself in one fell swoop.  From past experience I think I can safely say that's not going to happen so instead I think I'll try to work with my natural inclinations.  For breakfast, I like carbs mostly.  I can do eggs but in my least healthy moments I'm more of a biscuits & gravy and hashbrowns kind of girl.  Well those are out, obviously, but what I did come up with was granola.  I like cereal but it usually leaves me starving by lunchtime, which is no surprise since most commercial cereals are little more than sugar held together by refined flour.

I decided to make my own granola, which I happen to love. It's hearty, delicious, and if I make my own I can control the ingredients 1) to shape it to my tastes or whims of the week, and 2) which means I can control the sugar.  That's a win-win.

In general, I looked at this recipe of Alton Brown's and also at the granola recipe in the The Omega Diet recipe section at the end. I'll give you both recipes.  I took most of the ingredients from The Omega Diet but used more of Alton's method.

Following the recipes, I list what I changed.

The Omega Diet Homemade Granola

by Artemis P. Simopooulos, M.D. and Jo Robinson

Makes 7 cups.

6 cups regular rolled oats (not instant)

1/3 cup ground flaxseed or chopped walnuts

2-3 Tbsp canola oil

2-4 Tbsp hone or brown sugar (or to taste)

1 cup dried fruit:  raisins, blueberries, cranberries, or papaya

1 1/2 cups dried apples, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients except the dried fruit in a large bowl Spread evenly in a shallow baking pan and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir so granola will bake evenly. Return to oven for another 10-15 minutes until golden.  Remove from oven. Stir in fruit.  Cool completely and store in covered container.

Granola Bars

by Alton Brown

Courtesy of www.foodnetwork.com

8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, about 2 cups
1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, about 1/2 cup
3 ounces sliced almonds, about 1 cup
1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, about 1/2 cup
6 ounces honey, about 1/2 cup
1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, about 1/4 cup packed
1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Glenna's notes:  I used approx. 4 cups or 1 round box of Quaker old-fashioned rolled oats, both a 1/3 cup ground golden flaxmeal AND 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup flaked coconut, and 1/3 cup sliced almonds, all of which I toasted in the oven for 10 minutes, stiring once.

For dried fruit I added 1 cup dired cranberries and another cup of mixed chopped fruit: apples, apricots, and peaches. For the binder, I used Alton's method of combining the honey, butter, and brown sugar on the stove but I reduced the amounts to 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp butter, and 1 tsp vanilla paste.  After bringing it to a boil, I stirred it among the toasted oats, flaxmeal, and nuts, and returned it to the oven for 15 minutes for the final browning, stiring once in the middle of cooking.  I left it to cool on the baking pan.

Comments

[sher]

Love that picture! Years and years ago, I made my own granola and it was much better than the stuff you buy in the store. Wish I could have a bowl of yours right now!

[Susan P]

I will read that article about the soda after I get my can of Pepsi finished off. It is the first one I have had today though. Didn't have the right change when I was buying my powdered donuts for breakfast. :-)

[Deborah Dowd]

I used to be a soda addict (Coke and Dr. Pepper were my drugs of choice), but having read how bad soad is for teeth, bones, stomach, etc, I have moved to iced tea. I still periodically crave a fountain Coke (Costco is my favorite!)

I am too old to beat myself up for my periodic indulgences!

[Glenna]

Sher--Thanks so much! I took some to work last night and it was a big hit. That was gratifying.

Susan--LOL! You'll still drink it--you'll just feel guiltier!!!

Deborah--Oh I agree. Nothing better than an ice cold fountain Coke, heavy on the syrup. Once in a while is a not a problem but I can see how every day is not a good thing. Sigh. Why are most of life's pleasure wrong? :-)

[jennywenny]

Mmm, that granola looks good, as do the granola bars, I've still not got round to trying them as my Ellie Krieger ones are just so delicious and nutritious:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_33623,00.html

Good luck with giving up the soda. I'm lucky I never started that habit, but I cant be helped if there is a cookie or brownie in the office!!

[glenna]

I went and looked at the recipe and liked some things about it. Thanks for sharing.