The Friday Find: Power Breakfast

This week's Friday Find comes in the form of a healthy and cheap-to-make power breakfast.  This is my family's granola recipe, and what I love about it (aside from it being really yummy) is that there are endless variations.

via Diary of a Locavore

5 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup oat bran

1 cup All Bran or Kashi GoLean

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup mild olive oil

2 teaspoons real vanilla

That's the recipe in its most basic form.  I like to add a heaping cup of dried cranberries or raisins, and chopped dates are yummy in it, too.  I also usually add unsweetened dried coconut for a little extra flavor.  If I ever feel like I'm in a granola rut, I find that browsing through the bulk food aisle at Whole Foods is great inspiration for new ingredients. 

*Don't sweat it if you don't have all of the ingredients listed here.  Aside from the oats, almost everything in the recipe can be substituted with something else that you have kicking around your cupboards.