Summer break for my oldest is in t minus two days. And then the snack attack will happen. The summer holiday is really just a chance for your kid to ask you for a snack 45 times a day, right? I’m already exhausted thinking about it! But I am trying to be on top of the ball, and be prepared while I still have the energy. Because by July 1st, I may be waving the white flag in surrender.
I am not a mom that is a stickler when it comes to food. I grew up with a lot of food issues, and I don’t want to push those onto my oldest. What I do want, is for him to be adventurous, try new things, and make his own choices when it comes to his body. Offering a variety of different snacks that he can choose from is something that is important to me.
I keep snack accessible to him, and aside from straight up candy, he can pick and choose what he wants throughout the day. Cheese sticks, fruit, yogurt, granola bars, crackers, raisins. You name it, we have it! And he eats it.
I know that the junk can get out of hand easily, so I decided to give my own granola a go. I wanted to have limited ingredients, lots of healthy fats, delicious flavor and no peanut butter. Don’t get me wrong, we all love PB&J’s in this house, but peanut butter treats are not my jam.
Ok, let’s talk about this granola though. DO NOT MAKE THIS if you don’t want to be sneaking little clusters throughout the day. DO NOT MAKE THIS if you don’t enjoy caramel, toasty, nutting goodness. And DEFINITELY DO NOT MAKE THIS if you love crunchy, sweet and salty snacks. You have been warned.
This stuff is like crack. I kid you not. My husband was working from home when I whipped this up, and almost nothing gets him away from his desk. But halfway through cooking he meandered out to ask what I was baking. It smells like heaven’s most incredible bakery when it is toasting up in the oven.
It is also pretty dang simple and really low in sugar for granola! I found the original recipe on over at HowSweetEats, one of my favorite food bloggers. I made a few tweaks based on what I had on hand in my kitchen, and voila! Pure joy to top your yogurt with. Or put in a bag to snack on the go. Or eat with milk like the best cereal ever. Or sprinkle over some vanilla bean ice cream. Do I need to continue?
Make this NOW.
Coconut Cashew Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups of Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut or Flakes
- 1 cup Roasted, Salted Cashews, partially chopped
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 3/4 cup Cashew Butter (I made sure to grab unsweetened)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300 and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
- Mix together you oats, coconut and cashews in a large bowl and set aside.
- Stir the remaining ingredients together in a small sauce pan over low heat until combined and melty.
- Pour over oat mixture and stir VERY well. You want all of the pieces to be coated with that delicious mixture!
- Spoon onto your lined baking sheet and smoosh together, almost as if you are making granola bars.
- Toast in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove, stir around a bit, and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove, stir, and bake for a final 15 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on things! You don’t want it to burn in this final stage.
- Let cool in the pan for about an hour, smooshed together. This will create those big cluster that you want!
- Break up and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
I would love to get some more snack ideas from you guys! What do you feed your kids during the summer?
