Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola

Granola is perfect in everyway.  It caters to everyone's taste.  Granola is crunchy, it's superb as a snack, scrumptious as a topping for vegan yogurt, vegan ice cream, and fruit salad; it's also a great cereal.

I never used to like granola.  Growing up, my only encounter with granola was a granola cereal that was as hard as pebbles.  I could pour a gallon of milk in my bowl and these pebbles would soak up every last drop. I tried to eat healthy, but it hurt my teeth too much.

This is where the advantage of age helps.  You live and learn; I've learned that granola can be delicious, just make it yourself!

Granola can be sweet when made with chocolate, dried fruits, maple syrup, or agave.

You can add spices to alter the taste of granola very easily.  For the coming autumn, I will be adding cinnamon, allspice, and pumpkin spice.  Perfect for the cool weather and the perfect treat to take along on my next hike.

Ingredients:

2 cups organic oatmeal 

1 cup organic shredded coconut 

1/2 t sea salt

1/2 cup organic coconut oil, melted 

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup organic peanut butter

1/4 cup organic maple syrup

1 cup vegan mini chocolate chips

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, coconut, and sea salt. Add melted coconut oil, water, peanut butter, and maple syrup.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Evenly spread the mixture on the lined baking sheet.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon.