Granola is Easy - The No Excuses Recipe

I could give you all of the ecological and cost-saving reasons for making your own granola, but let's face it, unless it tastes good it would not matter. Here's a tasty granola recipe with natural ingredients that's easy to make. It takes prep of 5 minutes and stores in a sealed container in a cool, dry place for 10-14 days. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with foil, then spray with non-stick cooking spray. This recipe is flexible so you can tailor it to your preferences.

2 cups Quaker Oats (not quick cooking or instant)
1/4 cup sliced almonds (or chopped walnuts or pecans)
1/3 cup raisins (or dried cranberries or cherries)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2-3 tbsp flaxseed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey

Mix the oats, almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds and flaxseed into a large mixing bowl. Microwave the oil and honey 30 seconds and then stir into the oat mixture until well distributed. Spread over the foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool when done and then break into pieces and store in an air tight container. I like to mix some granola into my yogurt for breakfast.

Note: When you bake the granola, the raisins get chewy like in oatmeal cookies. If you prefer the granola with raisins that are less chewy, just add them when storing the granola in the container instead of before baking.