Recovery Granola

I've been getting in a lot of riding lately. Last week I got in 240 miles, up from the 200 the week before. I've tried various recovery drinks, fancy powdered drinks with fancy price tags and they may or may not work but this is turning out to be a pretty reliable option that is very tasty, doesn't come in a mysterious powder and has great nutritional balance. Seems to me we might be missing the simplicity of real food with our fancy store-bought options. 

Wash it down with a glass of milk and you're good to go!

Mix together:

4 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

Variation Ingredients (at least one cup, our favorite shown)

1/2 cup of sunflower seeds

1/4 cup of sesame seeds

1 cup slivered or chopped almonds

1 cup broken or chopped pecans

Preheat oven:

275 degrees

Update:

Coat two 9 x 13 pans with cooking spray (because it's a double recipe...)

Heat to a slow boil in microwave:

1/2 cup maple syrup

-1/3 cup (just a little less than 1/3 cup) flavorless oil, such as vegetable or canola

2 Tbs. water

Flavorings (optional)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Drizzle liquid into dry ingredients:

Make sure it's all mixed together by adding the liquid slowly while stirring the dry stuff.

If you have too much time on your hands:

Squeeze cereal together into clumps with your hands.

Otherwise:

Put prepared cereal into the 9 x 13 pan

Level it out so it bakes evenly

Bake at 275 for 30 minutes

If you are adding dried fruit:

Add it to the mixture at this point

Finally:

Stir the mixture mostly to make sure it's not stuck to the pan.

Level it out again

Bake for another 15 minutes or so until golden brown

Variations:

Nuts you might use; not all together but 1-3 cups total:

• almonds
• pecans
• peanuts -unsalted
• walnuts
• cashews -unsalted
• roasted pistachios
• chopped hazelnuts

Fruits you might use; not all together but 1/2 - 1 cup total:

• sweetened flake coconut
• chopped dried pineapple
• dried cherries
• dark or golden raisins
• dried cranberries
• dried blueberries
• chopped dried pears
• chopped dates
• chopped mangos

Keeps in a sealed container for a couple weeks!

Based on Great Granola by Pam Anderson