Sarah's Favorite Granola

The yummiest granola I have found yet! 

I substituted the brown sugar with 1/2 the amount of date sugar. To make date sugar, you simply buy dried dates and put them in a blender or food processor and turn it on until the dates transform into a substance that looks like sugar- don't add anything- just dates. Using date sugar in place of brown sugar has many benefits. Let me pause here and say I am NOT a sugar snob. I think sugar is one of God's most wonderful gifts and I will use it, always. I just find that the date sugar adds a wonderfully sweet taste and out of this world nutritional value. Who doesn't want that? 

(Of course, if you don't want to make and use the date sugar, use 1/2 cup brown sugar.) 

***For more information on these little power-punchers, here is a link www.nutrition-and-you.com/dates.html

                                                 Sarah's Favorite Granola

8 cups rolled oats                                                  

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 1/2 cup oat bran                                                1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup date sugar                                                1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup honey                                                      1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup vegetable oil                                               1 cup finely chopped almonds

1 tbs. ground cinnamon                                       1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 tbs. vanilla extract                                             1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 cups raisins or sweetened cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with foil. 

Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans and walnuts in bowl. 

In a saucepan, stir together; salt, date sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil cinnamon and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir well, making sure everything is coated. 

Spread mixture onto baking sheets. 

Bake for approximately 1 hour, turning the mixture 2 or 3 times. If your oven runs hot, you may want to back your heat down to 250 degrees. Remove and cool. 

If you have a dehydrator, you may want to place your cooled granola onto your trays and dehydrate for  2 hours. This will allow your granola to become super yummy, crispy, and if stored correctly, could offer you nutritional snacks for 30 years or more. 

Add raisins, cranberries, or anything that floats your boat to the finished product.

Enjoy~