Pecan Pie Granola

Hello all!  My days down under are beginning to wind down but I have another awesome guest post for you today!  Davida is one of the nicest people I’ve ever virtually met and if you have never been to her blog before you NEED to go there and drool over her amazing culinary creations.  Enjoy!  

Hi friends! I’m thrilled Britt asked me to guest post today. I absolutely love My Own Balance and it has quickly become my go-to resource for new workout ideas…though I still haven’t quite jumped on the Zumba bandwagon yet. Don’t hate me Britt!

I blog over at The Healthy Maven where I mainly post healthy recipes, the occasional exercise tip and talk about absolute non-sense every once and a while. 

The main message I promote is everything in moderation, including moderation. My body craves vegetables and enjoys healthified treats but occasionally I just need the buttercream cake.

It’s taken a lot of practice for me to get to a point where I am comfortable with my diet and especially to resist the urge to eat ALL THE COOKIES.

I have two tricks that work for me. 1) Make your food and watch what goes into it. I absolutely love to bake, but watching all of the sugar and fat that goes into baked goods definitely deters you from wanting to eat the entire serving yourself. 2) Don’t keep it in the house. If you know you have a weakness for something then ban it from your kitchen.

There is only one food item which I absolutely cannot keep in my house, granola. All ideas of moderation go out the window when it comes to this stuff. It starts with a small handful and before I know it I’ve eaten the entire batch…whoops.

But I’m not about deprivation. Despite my lack of self-control with granola it is something that I need in my life. My solution? Gift it!

For the holidays this year and for hostess gifts I often gift granola. I have a stockpile of containers from the Dollar Store (mason jars are great too!) that I fill with granola to give away. And then I keep a small bag for myself to get my fix.

It’s easy, it’s edible and it tastes like pecan pie. If you have strong will-power keep it for yourself, but if you’re anything like me give it away! But don’t forget to put some aside for yourself first.

Pecan Pie Granola

Ingredients (Yields: 8 cups)
3 cups rolled oats (GF if necessary)
2 cups pecan pieces
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup mashed pumpkin or applesauce
1/4 cup honey (or agave if vegan)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together (except apricots).

3. Add in coconut oil, vanilla, pumpkin (or apple sauce) and honey and stir to combine.

4. Place mixture on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

5. Bake for 15 mins.

6. Remove from oven and turn over as much of the granola as you can.

7. Place back in oven for another 15 mins.

8. Remove from oven, add in apricots and let cool for 20 mins before placing in a sealed jar or container.

9. Will keep for at least 2 weeks (if it lasts that long!)

Thank you Britt for hosting me today! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend 🙂