Lil' Spice is Nice Gluten-Free Granola

Here is it, the beginning of my long awaited "food blog". My name is Stephanie Laidlaw and I live in the city of hope and healing, called Grand Rapids MI. Yes it's true, many Michiganders have a love/hate relationship with Michigan for it's long winter and gorgeous summers, so they may not label it as a city of hope and healing. But, for me in the last few years I have found a home in GR and a place to heal from chronic pain. For most people that know me, they know that if you get me started about what kinds of new foods you are eating or what to eat to feel better and heal, that you have just opened a door to let me loose on "telling you what to do." That is not my intention with this space. I intend to help create a place that people who desire to live a gluten (and dairy) free life may have a resource and a place to come to for new ideas. Hopefully this space will force me to to keep discovering new ways to make eating as nutritious and fulfilling as possible. And most of all, I hope to connect with people that have the same desire to eat different for health reasons or simply to just change the world we live in. Let's face it, what kind of food you eat can be right in line next to what you believe politically and spiritually. What we choose to put in our bodies is a powerful thing. I am excited to see where this journey takes me... and now for a new recipe...

Lil' Spice is Nice

Gluten- Free Granola

3 cups of Bob's Red Mill gluten free oats

1 cup of sliced almonds or nut of choice

1 cup of pecans or another nut of choice

3/4 cup of dried cranberries/ or raisins

3/4 cup of dried Michigan cherries

1/2 cup of sunflower seeds

1 cup dried organic coconut

1 TB of ground cinnamon

1 ts. of ground nutmeg

1/2 ts. of ground cardamon

1/2 ts. of ground cloves

1 cup of local honey

1/2 cup of blackstrap molasses

1/4 cup of melted coconut oil (or other lighter oil, like walnut or olive)

Mix all the ingredients together in a giant bowl and lay flat on a cookie sheet that has parchment paper on it. Spread out so that it is 1-2 inches thick across and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 25-30 min. You can tell it is done but the scent being all through the house and by the toasty color it has turned. It still will be very soft so let it cool and it will crisp up so that you can crumble into a packaging container, or you can eat all of it before it gets there. I recommend saving some and eating it with almond milk in the morning or for snacks. I have also found that it is pretty tasty with some organic goat milk yogurt. Of course you could just eat it by itself as well. My favorite is in the morning for breakfast!