Homemade Granola

by Mary & Christina on September 3, 2010

We hope that everyone has a very enjoyable Labor Day weekend and that Hurricane Earl doesn’t have too much of an impact upon it!  If you find yourself with some extra time this weekend, you should really make some homemade granola that will hopefully last you throughout the week, that is if you don’t eat it all in one sitting!

In the June 2010 issue of Bon Appetit, an article was written about the different options for ingredients when making your own granola, including the source of fat & sweetener.  The article is pretty interesting and provides you with some good ideas for different ingredients you can use.  Making your own granola is so simple and tastes so much better than store bought granola.  Best of all you can control the ingredients in your granola.  Most store bought brands are loaded with added sugars and other ingredients.  This recipe from Bon Appetit is one of the better granola recipes that we have tried.  The flavors of toasted pecans, cinnamon, and ginger are very distinct and complement each other well.  Feel free to use this recipe as a base and experiment with different ingredients…there are endless combinations you can use to create your own granola.

Everyday Granola from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

  • 3 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup assorted dried fruit (we used dried cherries, cranberries, & raisins)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 300°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
  • Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth.
  • Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss. Spread on prepared sheet.
  • Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes. Place sheet on rack. Stir granola; cool. Mix in fruit.
  • *DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight.

Nutritional Information: Serving Size 1/4 Cup: Calories (kcal) 148.5; %Calories from Fat 41.7; Fat (g) 6.9; Saturated Fat (g) 1.2; Cholesterol (mg) 0; Carbohydrates (g) 20.8; Dietary Fiber (g) 3.6; Total Sugars (g) 9.6; Net Carbs (g) 17.2; Protein (g) 2.3

 

QuestionDo you have a favorite Granola recipe?  If so, feel free to share !

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Flourless Chocolate Cookies

by Mary & Christina on September 2, 2010

We found this recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cookies when we were perusing New York Magazine’s website.  This recipe is from François Payard and are available at Payard’s Upper East Side pâtisserie.  The original recipe calls for walnuts, but we aren’t big fans of nuts in our sweets (unless of course it is straight up peanut butter!) so we omitted them.  To see the recipe with the walnuts, click the link.  These flourless cookies are chewy and gooey.  The egg whites add a meringuey quality,although the fudginess of the cookie is much more prevalent.  Make sure you follow the recipe closely–you do not want to over mix your batter!  We also ran into some trouble when we went to remove the cookies from the parchment paper on the tray.  Some of our cookies were sticking and it made it very hard to remove them.  Next time we will definitely lightly grease the parchment paper in hopes that it will be easier to remove the cookies.  We found that we enjoyed our flourless chocolate cookies topped with vanilla bean ice cream.  You should try it!

Yields: 12 cookies

Ingredients

  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

  • Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 320 degrees.
  • Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. (we recommend lightly greasing the parchment paper)
  • In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt.
  • While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).
  • Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking.
  • Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

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10 Laws of Injury Prevention (Part 1)

September 1, 2010

It is VERY easy to get injured.  Unless you are EXTREMELY lucky, it happens to us all.  Two years ago Christina suffered a tibial stress fracture that put her out of running/other exercises for months.  Mary has had more minor injuries including tendonitis and IT band problems.  We are going to break this post down [...]

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Swiss Oatmeal

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Why should I cross-train?

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Whether you’re a runner, a cyclist, or a swimmer, you may think that sticking to your one sport would be most beneficial for you regarding your performance.  While it is important to heavily train in your sport, it is also important to incorporate cross-training into your training schedule.  Why you ask?  Read and find out! [...]

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Tomato Soup with Goat Cheese Crostini

August 25, 2010

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Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

August 24, 2010

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MS City to Shore Ride

August 23, 2010

On September 25th, we will be riding in the  MS City to Shore Bike Ride to raise money and support those who are battling Multiple Sclerosis. We are challenging ourselves to ride our bikes 75/100 miles from Philadelphia to Ocean City, NJ. The National MS Society uses the funds raised through Bike MS to fuel [...]

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Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

August 19, 2010

This salad makes for the PERFECT dinner during the summer months; it takes minimal time to prepare and is light, nutritious, and delicious.  We found this recipe from the Cooking Light Magazine.  The recipe got 5/5 stars and out of the 92 people that reviewed the salad, all had nothing but great things to say about [...]

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