03 | April | 2013 | nutcaseinpoint

Just take a look at this goodness-

Oh my gosh, you guys- I just HAVE to share this recipe with you. It’s too good and too easy.

Homemade granola, as I have found out, is near impossible to screw up. So after looking at various websites and blogs on granola recipes, this is what I came up with (keeping in mind I played around with the ingredients I had on hand already!!!)

Here’s what you’ll need:

6 cup quick oats (yes, quick oats- it’s what I already had and I was anticipating this granola to be more as a cereal than a pour-in-your-hand type snack)
1/2 c honey
1/2 c pure maple syrup
2 t cinnamon
4 t chia seeds
2 c nuts (I had a combo of macadamia nuts and cashews from the bulk bin)
1 1/2 c raisins

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix all ingredients except the raisins in a bowl. Make sure mixture is evenly coated.
Pour mixture onto baking sheets and bake for 30 minutes, check and stirring often.
Once granola is ready, remove from oven and pour in a large bowl. Add raisins and stir.
Store in an airtight container.

This variation is like a maple-honey-cinnamon granola. It made the whole house smell fantastic when I made it last night, and I couldn’t WAIT to have it for breakfast this morning! I enjoyed my granola cereal with a generous portion of HUGE fresh blueberries and unsweetened almond milk. OMYGOD perfect.

And with coffee? Even better. I have no idea how I’m going to contain myself from eating all of it today.

Now that I’ve got this pretty basic granola cereal recipe down, I’m excited to try flavor variations (*I’m pretty sure that it will be more of a snacking granola if you use old fashioned oats, but the only way I really like to eat granola is in more of a cereal form)

Question: What’s your favorite brand, flavor, or way to enjoy granola?!!

Hey Guys!

As you know, since I’ve posted it a BAJILLION times, I am currently taking part in Round 5 of Best Body Bootcamp. BUT- the program that Tina wrote up is really only for Monday-Friday (totally up to you to go in order and on the days specified, but work with me here). This leaves Saturday option for cardio or workout of choice and Sunday as a designated Rest Day. I’ve decided to get ahead of myself and write up a pretty sweet workout to do for my workout of choice on Saturday and I thought it would be only fair to share with you (since I know it’s sometimes so much easier to have something already prepared and to follow rather than making something up on your own!)

This workout is pretty self explanatory. I broke it into 4 sections: upper body, lower body, cardio, and abs. Within those sections there are 5 exercises to complete for the specified time. If you want to really be killer, go through the sucker 2x! The best part of this workout is that it can be done ANYWHERE.

I know sometimes I post a lot of workouts that incorporate a variety of equipment that may not be accessible to everyone, so this is something that everyone can complete. NO EXCUSES!

Ok, maybe you need 2 things: a floor and a wall. Pretty sure those are easy to come by where you are.

Second workout I have to share is the Ab Workout I completed last night after my sweaty 40 minute spin at the gym. Best part of this workout is that it is in tabata form! Meaning there are rest periods! And lots of them! (Tabata: 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, 8x through)