Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax Granola

WE DID IT!  

Costco had a coupon for Nature's path Pumpkin Flax Granola so we decided to try it. Though it has 6g protein and 5g fiber which is far better than most breakfast cereals, it still has 10g of sugar!  So it is fine for a treat but still not a great substitute for breakfast.  Therefore the kids and I set out on a mission to see if we could reproduced a healthier version.

Here are the original ingredients:  Rolled oats, evaporated cane juice, soy oil, brown rice flour, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, oat syrup solids (oat syrup solids, tocopherols), sea salt, molasses, cinnamon.  It also is produced at a facility that uses peanuts and tree nuts.  

Here is what we used in our first batch: 2 cups rolled oats, 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup crispy brown rice, 1/4 c pumpkin seeds, 1/4 ground flax seed, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup canola oil, 1/4 cup molasses, 1/8 c brown rice syrup.

Bake at 325 for 7 min, remove and mix around, bake for another 7 minutes.

I am not a huge molasses fan and was worried it would be too much so I made a second batch with 1/4 cup honey, no brown rice syrup as this was not necessary and I shouldn't have added it to the first batch. 

Note that I used ground flax seed instead of solid like the original recipe since our bodies can't absorb the solid flax and they just get stuck in your teeth which is really annoying so why not use the ground version--plus then you don't need to use as much oil! Also, I added some crispy brown rice since the original granola had something that was puffed it it but we couldn't figure out what and thought this would be a good choice to try--I think it was!

We did a blind taste test with all three types and both Lucy and Liberty didn't know the difference between any of them.  I could tell the store bought only because of a slight texture difference that I was aware of in advance but otherwise all three really taste almost identical except maybe a slight taste of molasses in the homemade molasses version (it also gives it a darker color).

The last test was to have Lucy eat it with milk like cereal.  She just smiled, nodded her head and said "Good!".

Now I am wondering about adding hemp protein for more nutrients or coconut oil for an even yummier result!  hmmmmmmm

Happy Eating!
Chanda