Granola

Store-bought granola is overpriced and potentially contains ingredients you don't want. Now that I've made granola myself, I'm perplexed at why the cost of supermarket granola is so high. You only need a handful of ingredients and a little bit of time. 

Granola

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (not the fake stuff)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F with the oven rack in the center position. Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet, 13" x 18", with parchment paper to cover the bottom entirely.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients -- oats, walnuts, coconut and flax seeds.
In a microwaveable measuring cup, combine the remaining ingredients. Microwaving this mixture for 20-30 seconds will allow you to mix it more smoothly. You want the mixture to be pourable.
When the liquid mixture is smooth and pourable, use a large wooden spoon to stir the dry ingredients while slowly pouring liquid into the bowl. Mix until evenly coated.
Spread the granola evenly onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 325 F, remove from oven and use a spatula to stir it up. The edges will cook fastest, and you want to move those edge parts to the center. Return the granola to the oven for 8-10 more minutes. Total bake time is 18-20  minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before crumbling the granola and storing in an airtight container. Store at room temperature.

Can you believe how easy that was? You could add extra ingredients like raisins (not my thing, personally), other dried fruit, other toasted nuts or peanuts, etc.
I haven't yet added up the cost of raw ingredients, but it certainly must be cheaper than store-bought granola at $5-6 per 12 ounce bag.