I have the granola...now for the yogurt (a giveaway!)

Make sure you read to the end for the giveaway!

I have been wanting to make some homemade granola for a few days now. I love to eat it on my yogurt for breakfast! I had made Foster's Homemade Granola before and while it was good, I wanted to find a different recipe this time.

I happened to come across the blog My Adventures in Food on Sunday afternoon and while browsing through her posts I came across a granola recipe she found on Food Network (ala Alton Brown). I didn't have coconut, but figured I would just have to make the recipe without it this time as I was not going to the store 13 miles away just for one ingredient. I did some improvising and what I did is below. You can see kokomama's version on her site!

Granola
Improvised from My Adventures in Food and Food Network

3 cups whole oats
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. brown sugar (I only had dark brown)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (I use light amber)
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1 cup whole sea salted cashews
1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup kettle roasted peanuts
1-1/2 cups raisins (I used dried assorted fruit - strawberries, cranberries, prunes, raisins, etc)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto a rimmed baking sheet. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins (in my case, the mixed dried fruit) and mix until evenly distributed.

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What better to go with the granola than this yogurt! Recently I was offered the opportunity to try Yoplait's newest flavor of Yo-Plus lowfat yogurt. Yogurt with granola is my favorite breakfast so when I was offered this opportunity, I jumped right up and said yes! Yo-Plus is a creamy, fruit-flavored yogurt with live and active probiotic cultures that help regulate your digestive health year-round. Yo-Plus also is a good source of fiber, calcium and vitamins A & D. If you are interested in trying this now, you can click here for a coupon for $1.50 off a 4 pack. You can also visit their website at www.Yo-Plus.com for tips on how to maintain a balanced life and additional information!

I along with my sponsor will be giving away three (3) Yo-Plus gift bags! With the bag you will receive a water bottle, a coupon for a free 4-pack of Yo-Plus yogurt, and a nutrition notebook! To enter the giveaway just leave a comment and share your personal tips on how to stay healthy and maintain a nutritional diet this year! You can earn another entry if you tweet about this post on twitter or if you post a link to this post on Facebook. Just come back here and leave another comment to let me know you have done this! Good luck!

P.S. You will LOVE this gift bag - it is a large, insulated bag with a zipper top that is perfect for carrying cold items home in from the grocery! Winners will be chosen by 1:00 PM on Friday, February 13, 2009. Giveaway is limited to those in the US only.