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Health & Fitness

Peace, Love and a Healthy Granola Recipe

I made a TON of granola for holiday gifts this year! Healthy and DIY!  But just because the holidays are over doesn't mean you can't enjoy granola after the holiday season! Here are my recipes, but you can play with creating your own flavors by adding different nuts, seeds, fruits and sweeteners.  Whatever you want!


Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola

Honestly – this is healthy! It doesn’t have a whole lot of calories or fat because of the powdered PB2 and the healthy chocolate chips. If you don’t know about PB2 yet, check it out! It’s dried peanut butter that has had a lot of the fat and calories removed, but it tastes just like peanut butter.

- 6 cups raw, whole rolled oats
- 1 cup raw, shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil in liquid form (melt if the oil is solid)
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water to make a syrup (more or less to taste)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup roasted peanuts, unsalted (get the ones that are roasted without added oil) and chopped
- 1 cup high-cacao chocolate chips chopped into small pieces
- 1/3 cup PB2 powder

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Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine the coconut oil, coconut sugar syrup and vanilla extract. Combine oats, shredded coconut and salt. Toss in liquid mixture ’til coated.

Spread a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes, stirring every 5 or so. The cooking time depends greatly on the thickness of the layer of mixture. Be careful not to overcook. It’s easy to do! You want the granola dried and just slightly brown. Overcooked granola tastes super burnt, so be careful.

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Put the granola in a bowl to cool. When it feels just slightly warm to the touch, add the chocolate chips and stir. The chocolate will melt and create chunks of granola – a good thing! Toss in chopped peanuts and PB2 powder.


Almond Cranberry Granola

- 6 cups raw, whole rolled oats
- 2 cups raw, shredded coconut – separated into 2 1-cup portions
- 1 cup raw almond slivers
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil in liquid form (melt if the oil is solid)
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water to make a syrup (more or less to taste)
- 2 tablespoons almond extract
- 1 cup craisins

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine the coconut oil, coconut sugar syrup and almond extract. Combine oats, 1 cup shredded coconut and salt. Toss in liquid mixture ’til coated.

Same cooking instructions: spread a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes, stirring every 5 or so. The cooking time depends greatly on the thickness of the layer of mixture. Be careful not to overcook. It’s easy to do! You want the granola dried and just slightly brown. Overcooked granola tastes super burnt, so be careful.

Put the granola in a bowl to cool. When it’s cooled completely, add 1 cup of coconut and the craisins.

SO YUM – enjoy!

Sara Christensen is a private weight loss coach. She’s based in San Diego, but helps women all over the world create bodies and lives they love. Sara believes you deserve to be healthy, vibrant, happy, and thin for the rest of your life.


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