Coconut hemp heart granola

Jen and I were at the grocery store looking for granola. The 'good' stuff (organic yada yada) is really expensive - $6-7 for 8 oz or something. It got me wondering why granola is so expensive? Maybe it's hard to make? Maybe the raw materials are expensive? Maybe you need expensive granola certification from the National Granola Council to make it, or the Granola Police come and rain granola justice down on you and your extended family? I decided to risk it.

We liked the sound of an online recipe we found and adapted it so we didn't have to cook any quinoa. Warning: this stuff is pretty calorie dense (700/cup ≈ a chipotle burrito), so don't go nuts, no pun intended, speaking of which, I would probably use fewer walnuts next time, they're everyhwar).

So, ok, we used a lot of expensive ingredients to make it (nuts, dried fruit, etc). I'm going to ignore that and not do the full cost calculation for this recipe per ounce, and complain again that I still don't know why granola is so expensive. I plan on making it regularly from now on.

Coconut hemp heart granola

1/2 cup hemp hearts
1 cup raw walnut halves, chopped
1/2 cup raw sliced almonds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup golden flax meal*
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup agave nectar

* The original recipe calls for whole flax seeds. The nutrients in whole flax seeds are not easily accessible to our bodies because the seed shell protects them, using flax meal makes the full nutrient content available. If you have whole flax seeds, and a spice grinder (or a mortar and pestle if you have lots of arm and time available), you can just grind them.

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together
3. I mixed the wet ingredients in a liquid measuring cup, whisked to mix
4. Pour wet ingredients on dry ingredients, mix well
5. Spread on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet in an even layer
6. Bake for 30 minutes
7. Take out of oven, eat some because it's delicious warm
8. Let dry completely before storing in an airtight container

The granola after it's out of the oven, use a spatula to break it up after it dries a bit

Adapted from http://www.loveandzest.com/2014/01/coconut-quinoa-granola.html.