Crunchy Coconut Granola

• 7 cups of rolled oats

• 1 cup sliced almonds

• 1 cup sunflower seeds

• 1 cup flax seeds

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

• 1 tsp salt

• 3/4 cup coconut oil

• 1 cup pure maple syrup

• 1 Tbsp vanilla

• 1/2 cup coconut cream (I LOVE Trader Joe's brand)

First grind the flax seeds in a blender or coffee grinder.  This makes them easier to digest.  Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large baking sheet.  Use two if yours are smaller. 

Melt the coconut oil and combine it with the maple syrup, vanilla and coconut cream.  Wisk well to combine and pour it all over the dry ingredients.  Stir everything until it is well incorporated.

Bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours, stirring after 1 hour.  The long, low baking time makes this granola nice and crunchy.

After the granola is done cooling you can add dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc.  I like mine sans add-ins with milk, blueberries and a splash of coconut cream.  Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Bananas are one of my favorite fruits. I love them cut up on top of my cheerios, slathered with peanut butter or mixed into a smoothie.  But my favorite has to be banana bread. Unfortunately most recipes call for up to a cup of sugar, which I think is ridiculous to begin with and white flour, which is a no-no for my diet these days.  I've adapted a recipe that uses whole wheat flour and no added sugar and it's actually just as good as the regular version, if not better.  Try it out, you won't regret it.

If you don't have brown bananas on hand and you're too impatient to wait a few days, you can brown them by putting them in an oven heated to 300 degrees.  Keep a close eye on them and pull them when they turn brown.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)

1/4 cup honey

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil (I used coconut oil)

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your loaf pan.

Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl mix the bananas with applesauce, honey, eggs, oil and vanilla.

Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture only until just blended.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes.

You can also use this recipe to make muffins or mini-loaves.