Let me tell you about my little William! He is sweet and kind also fiery and full of energy. He loves all things sports and usually has little interest in what is happening in the kitchen unless it involves sampling whatever is being prepared.
He is also sensitive and still building confidence. Last year, in school, he was questioned many times at school about his lunches. I would not necessarily call it teasing, but it was enough questions to bother William. In fact, on many days he came home with his lunchbox almost completely full of food because he did not want to eat in front of his friends. The weird thing, is sometimes it was a common food like spaghetti and meatballs or chicken soup!
The other day, my little guy came home and asked me if he could make some crunchy stuff to put on top of plain yogurt with peaches. I asked him what made him want to make crunchy stuff and he said he saw one of his friends eating a peach yogurt that came with crunchy stuff on top.
So we cleared a space on our overflowing island in the kitchen and dug around for some ingredients in the pantry to make our own crunchy stuff… aka, granola!
I made William the chef and he had his brother and sisters to help as his sous chefs! He especially liked being in charge of who could contribute what to HIS recipe! As this is usually Cameron’s role!
RECIPE for William’s Crunchy Granola
2 cups pecans* 1 cup pumpkin seeds* 1 cup almonds* 1 cup organic, gluten-free rolled oats 1 Tbsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp real salt 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted 1/4 cup honey 1 cup raisins
*I soak all of our raw nuts and seeds and then dry them in the dehydrator to aid in digestion.
Putting it together:
Preheat the oven to 300F and line one baking sheet with parchment paper. (I doubled the above amounts because I always make double to save)
Chop the pecans, pumpkin seeds, and almonds in batches then add them to a large mixing bowl. Add the rolled oats, spices, and salt, and toss to combine well.
Whisk together the melted coconut oil and honey and add to the large bowl of nuts, seeds, and oats. Stir well to combine.
Bake on a rimmed baking sheet for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Add the raisins and toss to combine. Cool for at least 30 minutes to allow it to get crunchy!
Once completely cool, store in the pantry in a glass mason jar or other glass containers!
William could not wait until lunch the next day, so he built his raspberry yogurt for a bedtime snack that night! Plain, raw milk yogurt from Miller’s Organic Farm, frozen organic raspberries, and William’s Crunchy Stuff (aka Granola)!
The girls loved William’s granola on their oatmeal with bananas and pomegranates!!
We hope you enjoy William’s granola too!!