Blueberry Almond Granola

Description: My kid's school asked that the parents send a snack in for the kids to munch during the day while they do their schoolwork since lunch is so late in the day. I found this tastey treat in a magazine from Penzey's (btw- if your not familiar with them CHECK THEM OUT!!) This is a great little snack for what I needed it for- and I can imagine a hundred ways to tweak it and use it! Add some cinnamon to the honey mixture and use dried diced apples instead of berries to make a harvest granola, or use sweetened dried coconut, dried diced pineapple and some cherry flavored dried cranberries to make a Hawiian granola. YUM!!! What a wonderfully sneaky way to get more fiber into your kid's diet!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup almonds, raw (I use sliced)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup dried blueberries

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. In a medium sized bowl combine oats, oat bran, ground flax, wheat germ, almonds and salt. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan bring honey, brown sugar, vanilla, canola oil, and water just to a bubble over low heat.
4. pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture, using a spatula to scrape out every last drop- and toss until the oats are evenly moistened.
5. Spread the oats into 2 ungreased 9x13 casserole dishes, and bake at 300 for 20 min, stirring twice.
6. Cool completely- add blueberries.
7. Can be stored in a sealed container for up to two weeks. Granola will keep longer in the freezer.