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.

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts

The key to making this recipe healthy is the quality of the bacon.  Farm-raised pork that has been raised on a pasture (the way nature intended) is an excellent source of healthy fat.  Pork that was raised industrially has been fed food that pigs are never intended to eat.  The result is that the pigs are unhealthy, and when we eat them, our body turns that unhealthy pig fat into unhealthy person fat.  Additionally, you want to avoid bacon that has been made with nitrates, which are known to cause cancer.

If you live in a rural area, you can get bacon like this at a local farm.  If you live in the city, most farmer's markets have this kind of pork.

If you live in New England and can get access to local Maple Syrup, all the better.  Aunt Jemima (and the like) is fake food, full of chemicals, sugar, and garbage, and does not qualify as a healthy choice.


1 lb Brussels Sprouts (Organic if possible)
3/4 lb high quality, pastured bacon (Nitrate-free)
1/4 cup real maple syrup


preheat oven to 425


Wash and slice the Brussels sprouts in half and place them in a pan.  Cut the bacon into small pieces and stir them into the Brussels sprouts.  Drizzle the maple syrup over the sprouts and bacon.


Bake for 30-45 minutes, until sprouts are tender.  Stir once at about 20 minutes.