Like most 20 somethings in America, I watched all those health documentaries on Netflix a few years ago. Food, Inc., Forks over Knives, Ingredients, Fat, Sick, and nearly Dead, Supersize Me, I watched them all. Now, obviously I’m not the picture of health or a vegan or picketing for animal rights… BUT, there were a few things I took away from those documentaries. One of them was checking food labels for ingredients. Guys, some of the ingredients in the foods we regularly consume are terrifying! The ingredients lists are filled with words I’ve never heard of and can’t even begin to pronounce. Tilled monoglycerides, yellow #5, propylene glycol alginate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, BHT, niacinamide?!?! I mean, what?!
Since I (usually) eat greek yogurt with fruit and granola for breakfast every morning, I decided to try my hand at homemade granola and bypass the niacinamide. Guess what? It turned out delicious and it was super easy to make! All it takes is adding your ingredients to a bowel, mixing, and baking!
Every time I’ve made granola I’ve added different ingredients and usually never measure – It’s just how I live my life. BUT, I sort of measured for the recipe below. Here’s what I used:
2 C old fashioned oats
1 C unsweetened coconut flakes
1 1/2 C roughly chopped pecans
2 T chia seads
2 T brown sugar
2/3 C of coconut oil
a splash of vanilla extract
a few shakes of cinnamon
Mix the ingredients, bake for 12 minutes on 300, and enjoy!
Dried pineapple would probably be amazing in this recipe but it’s about $5 for a teeny tiny package at Publix, so you know I skipped that. In the past I’ve used honey as a sweetener, but sometimes I don’t love the taste on honey mixed with coconut. I’ve also used different nuts, dried fruits, and spices. Next time I think I’m going to make a dried cherry, almond, vanilla granola. Mmmmmmmm! The best part about homemade granola is that you can just add whatever floats your boat!
There’s something special about homemade cranberry sauce accompanying a Thanksgiving meal. While it’s incredibly easy to pick up the canned stuff at the grocery store, it’s truly not that much harder to make it at home. This sauce can even be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. My favorite way to eat this sauce is spread on a sandwich made of Thanksgiving leftovers. 
Add your cranberries, the juice of 2 oranges, a little zest, and sugar to a sauce pot. Heat on medium high for about 20 minutes. Continue to stir. The sauce will thicken and the natural pectin in the cranberries will give your sauce a “jellied” effect. Remove from heat and serve either warm or cold.
