Crunch. Crunch Crunch. Crunchy Crunchy Crunch Crunch.

Okay, I'll stop now. But seriously; you won't be able to stop crunching on this delicious homemade honey almond granola.

After spending some wonderful and much needed time back home with my family for Thanksgiving, I came back to New York in need of some "health" food. Or at least something to entice me to eat more fruit with my breakfast. The holiday season is my favorite time for comfort foods. The seasonal flavors really get me this time of year; from pumpkin to eggnog to gingerbread to my all time favorite peppermint. Cover any treat in peppermint and I am DONE FOR. Really. If you thought I liked pumpkin, you have no idea how much I love peppermint. But we'll save that talk for another day...

In the meantime, I really wanted something tasty but delicious to add to a morning bowl of açaí or yogurt. Chia seeds are a great way to add protein but I wanted something with more texture; granola was the (sweeter and tastier) answer. Do you realize how easy it is to make granola?! It's kind of crazy that companies get away with charging so much for a small box of this stuff because you mix a few ingredients together in a bowl and you've got yourself a non-processed, heaping portion of crunch.

Now, as an all time lover of granola, I've got this really strange pet peeve of hearing people chew/slurp/sip/chomp/munch/crunch. It's worse than nails on a chalkboard to me. I get it. It's a weird pet peeve to have especially when you love crunchy foods. The easiest way to torture me would be to put me in a room full of people eating chips and granola. I shudder just thinking about it. How did this come to be you ask? I have no idea. However, I might just put my pet peeve aside to share this granola with you. It's that yummy.

I mean, topped with bananas and a drizzle of honey how can you go wrong?

Honey Almond Granola

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon warm water
1/2 cup honey
1/4 vegetable oil
1 teaspoon almond extract

In a large mixing bowl combine slivered almonds, old-fashioned oats, and salt. Add shredded coconut in if you like. Stir until combined.

Ina small bowl combine honey and hot water. Stir until honey is thinner in texture. You could also skip this step and simply microwave the honey for ten seconds to make it more liquified; I do not have a microwave, hence the water step. Next, add the vegetable oil and almond extract to the honey mixture and stir until uniform.

Stir the honey and oil into the oats and almonds until the oats are evenly coated. Spread the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 250°F for one hour, turning granola every 15 minutes to ensure even baking. Your kitchen will smell like almondy heaven. You're welcome.

After one hour, remove granola from oven and let the baking sheet cool on a wire rack for 30 min. Granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.