Pumpkin Spice Granola

Alright, first of all, I’ve gotta give a big shout-out to my friends over at Chobani for sending me a delicious package of their products. I love representing companies that I can actually stand behind, and Chobani is definitely one of those companies! Greek yogurt is always something I have in my fridge, and Chobani is always the brand I buy.

Especially now that they came out with their whole milk Greek yogurt. This sounds like an advertisement, but I promise – I’m not getting paid for this. I just actually do really love Chobani! AND, along with their actual yogurt, they also sent me their new Chobani Drinks…and let me tell you, people. I got addicted. They’ve sold me on those babies for sure. I LOVE them. Such a perfect snack, ideal for taking with you on the go, and, like all their products, it’s healthy. Aaaand I sound like an ad again…

I PROMISE I’M NOT. I just love food in all its forms ?. Though this is not an ad, I do feel like they deserve some love for sending me a big package of free stuff, which made me feel like the most LEGIT blogger ever. It made my whole day, guys. Actually…my whole weekend. My whole week? Is that going too far? Thanks, Chobani! You da best.

Those drinks doh…those drinks.

ANYWAY…let’s talk granola. This granola is love. First of all, before we even talk about this granola, can we just talk about how awesome homemade granola is in the first place??? It tastes SO much better than store bought, and – bonus – you don’t have to sell your first born child in order to afford it. Double win.

But for real, making granola at home is pretty dang cheap. The base ingredient is oats, which are SUPA cheap, and then it ranges in price depending on how fanc-ay you get. I got kind of fancy here. I like being fancy when it comes to granola. It makes me feel all healthy and hip and cool.

Hey, look at me, I added quinoa and flax seed to my granola. Want to add me to your cool group of fancy foodies who eat weirdly healthy food? Yayyyy!

But let’s be real…I’m not fancy enough on a regular basis to be accepted into the fancy food group like the people who use matcha and goji berries. People who order Pizza Hut at least once every week aren’t allowed in that club. It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be over here with my store-bought salad and frozen waffles, wishing I was cool enough to eat goji berries.

CLOSE-up (^^^) so you can see all the goodness that’s in there. I’ll break it down for ya:

• Oats (duh)
• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Flax seed
• Quinoa

And then there’s the liquid portion which makes the granola stick together and get nice and crunchy!

• Maple Syrup
• Coconut Oil
• Pumpkin Spice spices (I know it’s not a liquid…but it is stirred into the liquid…just go with it)
• Vanilla
• Brown Sugar (see previous note about non-liquid ???)
• Egg white

Wait…egg white? DON’T BE SCARED. It makes your granola even better. Egg white helps bind the granola together, allows you to use less oil, AND makes it crunchier (which is key with granola, people. Key). And it bakes in the oven…gets all nice and cooked…so don’t let the egg addition scare you. Try it out! Just definitely use only the white and not the yolk. Or you’ll have a granola frittata ?.

I know I said this earlier…but I’m going to say it again. Homemade granola is a MUST! It is so easy to make – just mix everything together in a bowl, throw it onto a baking sheet, bake it for 45 minutes, let it set, throw it in a big jar, and SNACK FOR DAYZ.

Some granola tips:

1. Let it sit before taking a bite. Granola is like bacon, it needs to chill for a sec before you dive in. Or else it won’t be crispy and crunchy. And it is MANDATORY for granola to be crunch-crunch-crunchy. Love.
2. Eat it with yogurt. Eat it with milk. Eat it with your hands straight from the jar.
3. Speaking of jar, store the granola in a big ol’ mason jar so that you feel even more crunchy and hip. You’ve gotta keep with the granola vibes, yo ✌?.

Speaking of yogurt (I’m on all kinds of rabbit trails today…my goodness), let’s talk one more time about Chobani. Because granola and yogurt is ma fave. I had it for lunch three times this week (but that’s partially because I didn’t make dinner the night before…so no leftovers…whoops #confessions). Here’s what I do: buy a big tub of plain Chobani yogurt and flavor/sweeten it myself with vanilla extract and either honey or some type of natural sweetener. That way, I’m not buying the pre-flavored kinds that are PACKED with sugar, chemicals, and artificial flavor.

Could I possibly sound any more hippy in this post?

Anyway, add the vanilla, add the sweetener, mix together, and BAM – you have a whole tub of yogurt ready to be topped with some homemade granola goodness. Like so…

I’m officially struggling to not let my mindset switch to Christmas time. STRUGGLING HARD, internet friends. Haaalllpppp. I want to give Thanksgiving its attention, but….Christmas. I’m doing my best, but I did convince Seth to watch a Christmas movie with me the other night.

My excuse was that he will be in the field for a lot of December, so we should start at least watching Christmas movies (if not putting up lights and listening to music) early. He seceded to my pleas ?.

And I may or may not have watched a Hallmark Christmas movie last night during the election commercials. DON’T JUDGE ME.

Ironic that I’m talking about Christmas while writing about Pumpkin Spice Granola. Ohhh wellllll ?.

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Nutrition information is for 1/3 cup of granola.

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy snacks? Check these out:

Crispy Garlic Bread Chickpeas [21 Day Fix]

Avocado, Arugula, and Tomato Toasts with Easy Balsamic Syrup

Five 21 Day Fix Snacks