Granola is one of my favorite things to eat in the morning. This tasty item is flavorful, full of texture and delicious. Granola can also be quite nutritious but it's hard to know how much of certain ingredients are in store bought brands, leaving room for excess sugar you don't need. A couple of weeks ago I came up with this granola recipe, it's vegan, gluten free and I don't use any regular sugar. I eat this with yogurt or milk, sprinkle it on top of oatmeal or eat it on it's own as a snack. I hope you enjoy it!

2 cups gluten free oats

1/2 cup olive oil (I prefer regular to extra virgin in this recipe, it is much milder in flavor)

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup slivered almonds

4 tbsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Toss the oats with olive oil and half of the maple syrup in a bowl. Spread out mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in oven and cook for ten minutes. Remove from oven and remix granola on pan adding the remaining maple syrup, almonds and cinnamon to the mix. You want to make sure the ingredients are evenly coated with the wet ingredients. Place back in oven and bake for ten minutes. Make sure the mixture is thinly spread so it evenly cooks. If it starts to look like it is getting to dark, turn down the oven temperature. You should start to smell the nutty flavor of the mixture, remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Break into pieces and store in airtight containers.

You can add different nuts or dried fruit to your recipe. I like to keep mine plain so I can add different flavors when I eat it to change things up. Below, I made hot grain cereal topped with the granola, almonds, pistachios, pears and cinnamon. Enjoy!