Granola, A Healthy Version

I've been wanting to try this granola recipe I read on David Lebovitz's blog quite a while back. I do make granola a lot but I'm always interested in trying a new one. I usually add dried fruits to mine but this recipe doesn't call for any ( although I suppose you could throw some in once it comes out of the oven.) With the new year here, everyone's making resolutions to loose weight and eat more healthily ..or is it healthfully? Whatever! So I thought it would be a great time to try it out.
He actually got the recipe from Nigella Lawson's site. She, apparently, uses unsweetened fruit purees such as peach, pear or banana but he used unsweetened applesauce and that's what we're using, too.
I made a few changes to the ingredient list he used but he does say that you can swap ingredients out. One of the ingredients I didn't have was sesame seeds. I did, however, have Salba seeds ( also known as Salvia hispanica L.). The seeds kind of resemble sesame seeds, too. If you've never tried this product, or even heard of it before, I urge you to seek it out. I found mine in my local health food store. It's a bit pricey but it has all kinds of" good for you" things going for it . You can add it into your baked goods, cereals, salads, or, yes, granola.
I also didn't have rice syrup so, to keep the healthy thing going, I used some organic Raw Blue Agave I had. I mean, I did have maple syrup and honey but, again, healthier and a sweetener with a low glycemic index.
So now that we've covered all the healthy topics, let's get baking some granola!


In a small saucepan, warm the unsweetened applesauce, rice syrup ( or agave), honey and veggie oil.( I used canola).

Once you've placed the oats, almonds ( you can used whichever nut you like, too), sunflower seeds, sesame seeds ( or, of course, Salba), light brown sugar, spices and salt into a large mixing bowl, pour the applesauce mixture over the oat mixture and stir it all together.

Dump the whole mess onto your baking sheet and stir a little more to get all the dry oat mixture incorporated.

Bake it in a 300 oven for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

It gets a nice golden color.

Once it comes out of the oven, give it a stir and transfer it to a large bowl to cool.

Granola

Mix in a large bowl:

5 cups old fashioned rolled oats

3 cups almonds ( or any other nut you like)

1 cup sunflower seeds

3/4 cup untoasted sesame seeds ( as you already know, I used Salba, but only 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. sea salt ( I used a little less and still could taste it fine)

In a small saucepan combine:

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup rice syrup ( I used agave)

1/4 cup honey

2 tbsp. veg. oil ( I used canola)

1. Heat the applesauce mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, til it's warm.

2. Pour wet mixture over oat mixture and stir to combine.

3. Dump the mixture onto a cookie sheet and stir more to get it all covered.

4. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

5. Take out of the oven and stir to be sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the baking sheet.

Allow to cool a few minutes, then transfer to a large bowl to cool completely.

Transfer granola to an air tight container. It will keep for up to one month.