Homemade Banana-Sweetened Granola

I'm lucky enough to work at a place that supplies free milk (skim, 2%, and whole!) so my breakfast each weekday morning is usually some type of cereal and milk. I never considered making my own granola before, though, because I remember all the hype when I was younger about how much sugar and fat is in granola. Then I came across this recipe for banana-sweetened granola that seemed too good to be true. Not only did the recipe not contain any sugar (using a banana and some maple syrup-or in my case, honey, because I didn't have any maple syrup-as sweeteners) but it also didn't list oil as an ingredient (although the almonds, flax seeds, and shredded coconut that I added contain natural fats). I don't know how this compares to homemade granola that uses sugar and oil, but I do know that this was good enough to eat as breakfast for a whole week!

Homemade Banana-Sweetened Granola (based on this recipe at Delicious By Nature)

makes about 6 servings

1 ripe or frozen banana
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons flax seeds
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Using a blender, blend together banana, water, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt until very smooth.

Toss banana puree together with rolled oats and nuts. Lay everything out in a single layer on a tinfoil lined baking pan (it may stick a little). Bake for 40 minutes until oats are starting to brown. Stir 4 times throughout, breaking up any clumps that are forming.

Add shredded coconut when there are 12 minutes left of baking time to lightly toast.

Remove from oven and add the flax seeds and raisins. Serve with milk or yogurt or as a snack on its own.

Feel free to substitute different nuts, seeds, and dried fruits if you like. I just added the shredded coconut because I still had some leftover from making the Samoa cupcakes and the raisins from making the carrot cake ice cream.