RED, WHITE, AND BLUE GRAWNOLA

I’ve always liked a good handful of granola, whether it’s to top off a smoothie bowl or indulging in a large pinch as a snack. I’m always on the lookout for healthy, delicious recipes, and just the other night I watched Niomi Smart's video featuring '3 Healthy Breakfast Ideas'. I didn't have all the ingredients she used, and I wanted to use fresh berries instead of dried ones to lower the sugar content. I'm trying so hard to stay away from sugar... those Oreos though last night were such a good cheat (oops). As I was saying, I wanted to give this homemade granola a red, white, and blue twist for the Fourth of July! (mentally inserts all related Fourth of July emojis). Personally, I don't like fresh blueberries, but I do love blueberry flavor which is so weird, I know. Blueberries are one of the healthiest berries offering tons of antioxidants, protecting against cancer, cholesterol, heart disease, blood pressure, improving memory and brain functions, fighting against infections... need I go on? My gracious neighbor brought over a large bowl of blueberries and after watching Niomi's video, I knew they would be absolutely delish in granola as they would turn gooey. So what I did was follow her guidelines, but I added my own twists. Even though she's an amazing health nut, I think I faired well in making this granola even healthier. This recipe yields a lot of granola and it stores for up to 4 weeks in an air-tight container, so you'll have plenty to eat over the next week or two, depending on how many different creative ways you come up with to use it. In fact, I just made this last night, and I already added a handful to a frozen blended banana for breakfast this morning... SO GOOD. It's incredibly easy to throw together, yet so tasty – two perfect combinations, right? The great thing about this recipe is you can do what I did - just get the core ingredients in, and play around with what you add.

You will need:

2 cups of gluten free oats
approximately 1 cup of blueberries
1/4 cup strawberries
1 handful of almonds
1 tablespoon of coconut flakes
1 teaspoon of melted coconut oil
a drizzle of agave nectar

Your instruction guide:

Step one: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Step two: Pop your blueberries and strawberries into a large bowl and mash them well. I found that a mashed potato masher works best. Step three: Now, go ahead and toss in your 2 cups of oats, almonds, and coconut flakes into the bowl with the mashed berries and mix until it's well combined. Step four: Finally, drizzle in your coconut oil and agave nectar and give the mixture a stir again.

Step five: Now, depending on how thick you want your granola, you can play around with your pan size. I started off with a small, round glass pan, but I ended up switching to a large baking sheet so I could spread it all out in a thin layer. This made the granola chewy in the middle, yet a tad crispy on the edges. It's a person preference, so do what you fancy. Step six: Lightly oil your pan, then press down on your mixture with a fork until it is flattened and as even as you can make it. Step seven: Bake the granola for approximately 20 minutes. After that increase the temperature to 425 and cook for another 10 minutes, checking every 5 minutes to make sure the granola isn't burning. Step eight: Once the granola is done, all you have to do is let it cool, then break it into pieces.