Awesome Granola Without Whey or Any of That Other Non-Vegan Stuff

Granola is mind blowingly delicious. It is one of those foods like trail mix that just about everybody loves. It's sweet, crunchy, and packed with a million yummy flavors. It's great as a filling snack while hiking or as an addition on breakfast cereal.

It may be high in calories (all those nuts, dried fruits, and sugar), but other than that it's great, right?

I think so.

But when it comes to buying granola as a vegan, there is one fundamental problem: the majority of granolas sold in stores aren't actually vegan. I'm not quite sure why, but for some reason most store granolas have whey powder added into them. Maybe it's in an attempt to add a cheap source of protein so they can buff up their nutrition facts label, but honestly I don't see why they would need to do so when so many granolas are made with nuts (a great source of protein).

Whatever the reasoning behind this is, whey is a milk product and therefore not vegan. So it's unnecessary addition into granola really limits our choices.

Fortunately, with a few yummy ingredients and only a little bit of time, it's wicked easy to make homemade granola without any dairy. If you haven't ever made your own granola, or would like to try a new version, here's my recipe:

Awesome Granola Without Whey or Any of That Other Non-Vegan Stuff
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds (or 1/2 cup whole)
1/2 chopped walnuts (I don't chop them much, just a little)
1/4 cup flax seed (I often grind them up - ground, they are really good for digestion)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce (I use unsweetened)
2 Tbl agave nectar (you could also use maple syrup or honey)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5 cups old fashioned rolled oats, uncooked
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine all ingredients except the cranberries and raisins. Spread onto baking sheet (you might need to use two). Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are getting lightly toasted. Then mix it around on the sheet and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and add cranberries and raisins. 

Note: It's sweet, but not super sweet, so if you like sugar a lot, just add more. Also, like all the recipes I post (except for baked things like muffins or cookies) the proportions in the recipe are very flexible. If you don't have an ingredient, or don't like one, then leave it out or replace it.