Chocolate Cherry Granola

This granola recipe is ridiculously popular with my friends and family!


1/2 c raw honey  (make sure you know where your honey came from--lots of honey from the grocery store is actually high fructose corn syrup)
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/4 c coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 c organic oats (you can use gf oats if you are making this for someone with gluten intolerance)
1 c nuts of your choice (I usually use 1/2 c almonds and 1/2 c cocoa nibs)
1/2 c unsweetened coconut
1/2 c dried fruit (I usually use cherries or cranberries)
dash of sea salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, combine honey, cocoa powder, vanilla, and coconut oil.  Heat on medium low until melted.  Add oats, nuts, coconut, dried fruit and sea salt.  Be sure to keep stirring so that the cocoa doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.

Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and then spread the granola mixture over the parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes.  Take granola out of the oven and allow it to cool.  This is what will make the granola clump.  Once it is cool  and in chunks, you can store it in an airtight container.

Sunny-Side-Up and Greens over Flatbread

Inspired by my most recent post about eggs, here's an easy recipe inspired by one I found in whole living magazine. (Thanks, Martha Stewart!)  Collards can be bitter, but the lemon juice cuts through the bitterness and instead makes this recipe zesty and delish.

2 medium sized whole wheat pita or flat bread
4 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cups thinly sliced greens.  I used collards, but kale or chard would also work.
1/2 an onion, sliced
a handful of chives
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt, pepper, and other seasonings to taste.  I used sage, thyme, basil, and red pepper.
4 farm-fresh, pastured eggs


Heat the oven to 425.  Line a baking pan with parchment paper.  Brush both sides of pita with olive oil.  Mix greens, onion, and chives in a bowl.  Add the remaining olive oil, the lemon juice, and the seasoning to the bowl of greens.  Toss them all in the bowl until evenly coated.  Mound the mixture onto the pita and bake for 5 minutes.  Then, pull the pan out of the oven, crack the eggs over the greens, and bake until the eggs are set, about 6-7 minutes.

Maple-Pecan-Coconut Granola

This granola is delicious, and even popular among the folks I know who are not into health food.  If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, just be sure that you get your oats from a gluten-free source.  

If you like your granola to have chunks of oats and nuts, the key to keeping that consistency is in the turn between bakes.  Use a flat spatula and simply flip the oats once, keeping the chunks intact.  Stirring the oats instead of turning them will separate the oats and get rid of the chunks.  

This recipe was adapted from the Whole Foods Market Anniversary Cookbook.

Maple-Pecan-Coconut Granola

Serves 6-8

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup unsweetened organic coconut, finely shredded

Pinch of sea salt

2/3 cup maple syrup

6 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil plus enough to grease the pan

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Blend the oats, flour, coconut, and salt together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, and vanilla until completely incorporated.  Add to the oat mixture, stirring well to coat.  Place mixture on a large pan that has been greased with coconut oil.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Pull the granola out of the oven and add the pecans, turning the granola once to mix them in.  Continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes.  Allow the granola to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place or in the refrigerator.