Granola Yogurt Yum

I would not consider myself to be a particularly health-conscious eater. I pretty much just eat whatever I want whenever I want. I know one day, my 40-year-old self will look back at my 25-year-old self and say, "Why didn't you eat better and exercise more?!" And my 25-year-old self will say, "Why, when eating Sour Patch Kids and lounging on the couch is so much fun?!"

Anyway, I am aware that for women, calcium intake is particularly important. There is all kinds of research about the best ways to get said calcium (through dairy, vitamin supplements, other sources), but the underlying theme seems to be, get it -- as much as you can, however you can. So, when I came across this granola recipe, I decided this could be a way to up my yogurt intake.

I left several things out of the recipe and just used what I had on hand. Here's what I did:

5 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 big squirt honey

Preheat oven to 300°. In a saucepot combine salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, water, oil, vanilla, and honey. Heat until well blended. Pour over oats in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Spread on large greased cookie sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Cool.

I didn't have any powdered milk, so I eliminated that. I wanted the granola to be pretty plain so that it could go with whatever yogurt I wanted so I left out the nuts and fruit. I'm a big honey fan, so I just squeezed some in there to add a little flavor. About half way through the baking process, I was seriously doubting that this stuff would end up as granola, but I waited -- not patiently -- and by the time 45 minutes rolled around, I had granola! It made so much that I've been eating away at it for the past few weeks. I dish out some yogurt, cover with granola, add in some frozen blueberries and enjoy my delicious, calcium-rich snack. YUM!