Simple Homemade Granola

This simple, easy, and healthy homemade granola is the perfect budget-friendly granola that your whole family can enjoy or even cook together!

Drew has gotten me hooked on smoothie bowls topped with granola. He’s been eating them for our whole relationship and man, are they good. 

A long time ago, I tried making some homemade granola because I would see it being sold at farmer’s markets for so much money! It is SOOO easy and cheap to make that I thought it was ridiculous people were charging that much for it. Even granola in the grocery store can be expensive, so why not just make it?

Here’s the thing:

1. Homemade granola is the bomb.
2. When it’s cooking, it makes the whole house smell like cinnamon and honey.
3. When the granola comes out of the oven and is nice and warm, it is to die for.
4. Being in control of the ingredients I put in my granola simply makes me feel good.
5. Now that I have a child of my own, I realize that making homemade granola can be a fun way to get your children involved in cooking…while providing learning opportunities (see below).

Getting Your Kids Involved:

Ty is 18-months-old now, so at this point he is able to (very cutely) grab some of the oats from the bag with his chubby hands and sprinkle them into the bowl while I am holding him. I continue to mix all of the ingredients in while I am holding him, explaining each step as I go. He seems truly fascinated, but who knows what’s really going on inside that head.

For those of you with kids a little older than Ty, I imagine your granola making experience will be more like getting frozen yogurt with tons of exciting options for toppings, mixed in with plenty of chances to activate their brains. Let’s explore all of the teachable moments below:

• Start by making the granola base together showing them how to measure the ingredients.
• Give your children a sense of choice by providing several options of add-in ingredients that each child gets to select for their granola – similar to getting FroYo. Practice speaking and listening skills by saying the name of each ingredient. You could even turn this step into a song. 
• They can practice their math skills by counting how many chocolate chips or walnuts (or any add-in ingredient of their choice) they put into their granola (e.g., “Let’s count how many chocolate chips you add to your bowl. 1-2-3-4…Wow, Sophie (my future child’s name), that was great counting!”).
• After the granola is out of the oven and safely cooled, but still nice and warm, transfer each kid’s granola to a bowl for them to eat or have them sprinkle the granola on top of a fresh and healthy smoothie. Have them practice paying attention to some of their senses by having them tell you what flavors they can taste (really I just want to hear Ty try to say “cinnamon”) or talk about what the granola feels like or sounds like in their mouths. I imagine creating a song together with the chorus going something like:

And a CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH! 

We go MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH! 

With a BUNCH, BUNCH, BUNCH!

Of granoooola!” 

You get the idea. 

• Store the remaining granola in a storage container. Have your kids practice their fine motor and spelling skills by having them write their names on the labels. Challenge their imagination (and inventive spelling skills) by having them come up with creative names for their granola and having them spell it based on the sounds they hear in the words. 
• If you’re okay with making a racket, have your kids make some sick beats by shaking their granola in the container or pretending the containers are a set of drums.
• And finally, teach your kids to be respectful and clean household citizens by having them put the granola container in the cupboard and clean up their area.

Whether you involve your kids in making this homemade granola or not, it is a healthy and budget-friendly granola that your whole family can enjoy!