Ingredients

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

• 2 cups rolled or old fashioned oats (quick oats will make clusters, which are also good)

• ½ cup nuts, such as slivered almonds or chopped walnuts or pecans

• ⅓ cup shredded coconut

• 1 tablespoon wheat germ

• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds (or another tablespoon of ground flax seeds)

• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, or to taste

• ⅓ cup real maple syrup (not imitation)

• ¼ cup 100% juice, such as apple

• 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract (recipe available in The DIY Kitchen Cookbook)

• ½ cup dried fruit, such as raisins, blueberries, cranberries or chopped apricots

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.

4. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl. (I do it all in one measuring cup.)

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; stir until just combined.

6. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring half way through.

7. Cool, then add dried fruit.

8. Store in an airtight container.

Variations

Try one of the following combinations:

• Dried cherries + sliced almonds (+ mini chocolate chips, if desired!)

• Dried blueberries + sliced almonds

• Diced dried apple rings + chopped walnuts

• Diced dried peaches + chopped pecans

• Diced dried mango + chopped macadamia nuts

• Raisins + chopped peanuts

• Dried cranberries + chopped pistachios (buy them shelled as “nut meats”)

• Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) + chopped pecans + pumpkin pie spice

Want more recipes like this one?

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Do-it-yourself recipes are healthier, cleaner versions of what you’d normally buy in a grocery store. This ebook contains 62 recipes to make your own make-ahead mixes, seasoning blends, snacks, breakfasts, condiments, dressings & drinks. A handful of the recipes are from my blog, including the Pinterest favorites: Cream of Anything Soup Mix and Whole Grain Multigrain Pancake Mix. But most are brand new, and only in the e-cookbook. Some of my favorites are the granola bars, fruit leather, DIY Nutella, barbecue sauce and almond milk. There’s even one for the frequently requested DIY Larabars. See below for an e-cookbook original recipe for DIY Granola!

And they’re easier than you think! So why DIY?

When you do-it-yourself, YOU are in control. You know exactly what’s going into your food. No preservatives, artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners, etc. Just whole, clean, healthy foods instead of processed foods that are full of unnecessary additives.

You can use these recipes as guidelines. Try them out, then make them your own! Tweak them to fit your family preferences or swap out ingredients to make them allergy-friendly. You’ll see I’ve provided a lot of tips and variations for many of the recipes.

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