Vanilla Almond Granola

When we lived in New Zealand about seven years ago, my parents were very (understandably) particular about my brother, sister, and I having a balanced breakfast. Each morning we would come into the dining room and my mom would have three bowls waiting on the counter, ready for us to eat.

It was the rule that we had to have yogurt, fruit, and either homemade granola or weet-bix. None of us kids really liked this breakfast all that much, and there are a few reasons why.

1. The yogurt was fine, but the fruit had some problems. New Zealand has a lot of great fruit—we had grapes, strawberries, and apples aplenty—but there are a lot of weird fruits too. Take tamarillos, or tree tomatoes, for instance...what kind of kid wants tree tomatoes in their lovely yogurt breakfast?! Or what about persimmons—my unrefined taste buds really did not appreciate those.

2. The grain. We were eating granola until something else came along...weet-bix, a.k.a. pieces of chopped up cardboard that are pressed back together into little bars and eaten for breakfast. Or at least that's what they look and taste like—they literally have no flavor! Of course what they lack in flavor they made up for in nutrition as they are packed full of vitamins, minerals, and a bunch of other stuff that 10-year old Maddie did not care about. Luckily, I could eat the yogurt and fruit separately from the weet-bix so that they were not contaminated. I still do not know why I chose weet-bix over granola—what was I thinking?!

Seven years later, the rule of yogurt/fruit/grain is not in place, but choose it anyways. I love my morning yogurt and granola (with fruit if I can get it!), but I suspect that my appreciation for granola is largely because weet-bix was so lacking in every aspect that everything else seemed great. But really. A bowl of yogurt and granola is so tasty, yet I can eat it for breakfast every morning without feeling guilty at all—especially since I know exactly what's in my granola. No strange chemicals here! Plus, it's super simple to make and smells beyond amazing, like a bakery blew up in my house.

Vanilla Almond Granola

Notes:
*If you chop up whole almonds, do not put the dust from the chopping into the granola, or it will be more dry. The dust from chopping the almonds can be added to smoothies for more nutrition.

Recipe from: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/06/17/vanilla-almond-granola/