After three solid years of grocery shopping for myself I’ve finally got it down to a science. Zig-zag through the produce department, swing through the bread, baking and – of course – peanut butter isles, grab a few special items for a new meal this week, stop by the dairy fridge and just before leaving scan the meats and fish for any sales.

Simple, easy, less than 30 minutes. At least, usually.

If I have to buy granola it’s a whole other story. I can just never find the right one

It’s either too sweet, or doesn’t have enough fruit, or too sweet, or doesn’t have any fruit, or too sweet or has LITERALLY no fruit, or is too sweet…get my drift?

They’re all too sweet! Or – if they’re not – they don’t have any mix ins like chocolate, nuts or dried fruit.

If I have to buy granola, which ends up being about every other week, my shopping trip is at least 10 minutes longer. I pick up every single brand scanning the ingredients, the nutrition facts panel, peering in through the oddly shaped, semi-transparent window to the mixture within. Is it what I want? Will my yogurt parfaits be perfect this week?

I know a high class problem, but when you eat yogurt almost every day it gets to you. So…this past week I finally decided to give in and try to make my own at home. I read through dozens of recipes and found the same problems I do in the supermarket. TOO MUCH SUGAR AND NOT ENOUGH FRUIT! Some have brown sugar mixed with maple syrup and honey, others have nearly a cup of molasses.

Don’t get me wrong I love sweet foods as much as the next person, but I want my granola to match my yogurt preferences – mostly plain with just a hint flavor and hopefully a tasty bite.

So here it is (thanks to my mom who’s been asking why I stopped posting recipes) a recipe from me, enjoy! And yes, I know it’s been a while.

Ingredients:

1. 4 cups old fashioned oats
2. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 1 cup chopped pecans
5. 1/2 cup olive oil
6. 1/4 cup honey 
7. 1 teaspoon vanilla
8. raisins and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips sprinkled in to your preference...I'm not about to tell you what enough fruit is

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300F
2. Mix the top 7 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until there are no globs of honey left
3. Spread out mixture on baking sheet, it's okay if it is thick or clumpy since you want some of the oats to stick together
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until the mixture is fragrant and beginning to turn a darker brown
5. Once slightly cooled mix in raisins and mini chocolate chips
6. Mix into your favorite yogurt and enjoy!