Maple Sunbutter Granola

I am a huge fan of granola, I eat it not only for breakfast, but as a snack, or lunch and sometimes even for dinner. I’ve also been known to eat it by the handful right out the jar!

The combination of ingredients is endless and you can combine your favorites to come up with millions of possibilities.

I used the Sunflower Seed Butter that I made last week for this particular granola. I am a big fan of Livvy from 86Lemons and I found her recipe for Maple Sunbutter Granola shortly after I made my sunflower seed butter. Seemed like fate to me!

In the past I’ve made the full version of recipes only to have a lot go to waste before I can eat it all, so I decided to only make a half batch of this granola. I had no trouble wolfing this down within a few days, so next time I will be sure to make the full four cups!

Ingredients:
Makes 2 cups

• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/8 cup flaxseed seed meal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
• 1/8 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/8 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/8 cup Sunflower Seed Butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Brand)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with oil. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flax meal, salt, coconut flakes, and sunflower seeds, and mix well.
2. Place the maple syrup and Sunflower Seed Butter in a small microwaveable bowl (such as a glass Pyrex measuring cup with a pour spout) and warm in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add in the vanilla and mix together thoroughly.
3. Pour the maple and Sunflower Seed Butter mixture over the oats and stir to combine.
4. Spread the granola onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden color, stirring halfway through cooking time.
5. If you decide to add dried fruit, you can stir this into the granola when it has cooled. This prevents the dried fruit from burning or drying out too much. Enjoy!

Have you ever made your own granola? What’s your favorite way to eat it? I like mine with almond milk.

Simple Homemade Ketchup-No High Fructose Corn Syrup

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Ketchup. I love ketchup. My kids love ketchup. We put ketchup on everything. I don’t love High Fructose Corn Syrup (HCFS) though and most commercial brands of ketchup include HFCS. So, about 6 months ago I began to make my own ketchup from scratch. It took several batches of ketchup to find just the right balance of spices to satisfy my family. Everyone now prefers my homemade ketchup over store bought brands!

Ingredients:
Makes about 2 cups of ketchup

• 12 oz. can of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup sucanat (I use Wholesome Sweeteners brand)
• 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground clove
• 1 pinch all spice
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. Transfer ketchup into a glass jar (Mason jars work great for this, I re-use spaghetti jars) and refrigerate. Although ketchup can certainly be used right away, the flavors do seem to intensify over time.

Does your family love ketchup? What’s your favorite condiment?