You might be stockpiling food in your freezer IF.…
1) You’re a food blogger and can only cram so much in the fridge.
2) You realize you can stop yourself from eating an entire batch of cookies if you freeze them. Then you realize the cookies taste amazing frozen and now you have annoying freezer crumbs everywhere.
3) Your mom taught you to never throw out food. Leftovers are your friend.
4) You are 86 years old.
5) Your ‘cooking-impaired’ significant other may not survive while you are out of town (Hi mom!)
6) Your nephews are coming to visit for a week!

Check, check, check!
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I’m known as Auntie Angie.
Or more realistically, The fun girl who looks like mommy and bakes reeeeally yummy Glo Bars.
Or perhaps even more realistically, The fun girl who lets us get away with sticky Glo Bar fingers and believes us when we say, ‘Mommy said I could watch one more show before bed’.
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Mommy, did not say that, but we’ll pretend she did.
We can also pretend that this granola is going to last a week and a half in the freezer with Uncle Eric creepin around. He’s a bit of a granola creeper, that guy. I may have to tell him there are beans in it to keep him away.
(vanilla beans, but shhhh…)


Lightened Up Summer Granola (Oil-Free & Reduced Sugar)

Yield
5 cups
Prep time
Rest time
15 minutes
Cook time
Total time
I love granola, but I don’t always love its usual oil and sugar heavy profile. This crunchy lightened up version doesn’t contain any oil and is lightly sweetened, resulting in a light tasting granola perfect for those warmer summer months! I love this granola crumbled over a bowl of Vegan Overnight Oats, a Green Monster, or Raw Buckwheat Breakfast Porridge. Adapted from My Favourite Granola.
Ingredients
For the dry ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
- 1/2 cup uncooked millet
- 2 tbsp ground flax
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
- 1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
For the wet ingredients
- heaping 2 tbsp applesauce
- 1/4 cup Brown Rice Syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- 3 tbsp Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter w/ hemp, flax, chia (or other nut butter)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 vanilla beans, scraped (optional)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick mat.
- In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (except for the vanilla beans and extracts). Microwave for about 60 seconds on high. Now stir in the extracts and scraped vanilla beans until combined.
- Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir well until everything is coated. Mixture will be a bit dry at first but keep mixing as it will eventually come together! Adjust salt to taste. Scoop onto baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring once half way through baking. Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes on the baking sheet. Makes about 5 cups. Store in an air-tight container for 1-2 months.

A couple months ago, I sent my nephews a box of this granola as a special treat. Kristi reported back that they gobbled it up and also asked if Auntie could make this for them when they visit! Granola is a great snack to have on hand to mix in cereal, yogurt, or even on its own.
Of course, I had to do an official taste testing this morning. :)

I crumbled some granola on top of a bowl of Blueberry Vegan Overnight Oats. A lovely summer breakfast!
Now, I just need to hide this from Eric. And myself. Does granola taste good frozen? Don’t answer that.

Here’s what I’ve stockpiled in my freezer so far:
- Blueberry Chia Breakfast Squares
- Our Perfect Veggie Burger (I just froze the raw patties)
- Glo Bars galore
- Granola
- Peanut Butter Crunch Cookie Dough Balls
- Mac n Cheeze sauce (I froze a batch of versions I and version II– they LOVE this recipe!)
- Energy Pills…errr…kale…
I’m now on the hunt for kid-friendly entree ideas. If you have any suggestions, please leave them below!

Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a kiddie pool to set up.
Thanks for the recipe. I like the applesauce touch, I’m excited to try it. I have started using Coconut Sugar instead of Sucanat because it’s supposed to have lower GI level and overall better for you. I also wanted to recommend the website www.greensmoothiegirl.com I think you would find her information really interesting.
Kids Friendly Entrees: (this is my constant daily battle) I have a picky little boy and these are some of the things he loves:
-fruit kabobs
-both raw veggie kabobs and grilled kabobs are a hit at our house
-Butternut squash stuffed (Jumbo) pasta shells with olive oil and rosemary sauce
-quinoa stuffed red bell peppers (stuff pepper with quinoa, corn, homemade/store bought salsa, and tofu)
-Hummus quesadillas
-Spaghetti Squash with tomato sauce
-Tostadas
Hope this helps. Nothing like good food to retain favorite auntie status ;)
Thanks for all your delicious recipes. If you felt so inspired to share any kid friendly entrees you might think of in the future, they would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!
I love your polka dotted apron! I’ve been looking everywhere for one!
I freeze half of everything that I make that can be tossed into the freezer. Otherwise, I catch myself mindlessly munching… Oops! ;)
You are a great Auntie for making all their favourites! :)
I love your dishes and color combination! So beautiful :) Thanks for sharing that great recipe… can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Caroline!
Awww, you are such a good aunt!! If possible, can I please come live in your freezer? I swear I’ll clean up the crumbs. Seriously, your freezer is stocked!!! Love that you used applesauce + almond butter for the granola. I used mashed banana for a recipe once, instead of oil and it came out really well! Also, millet…in granola? I die. :) So excited your family is coming to visit. My parents are coming tomorrow, but I have NOTHING ready to go in the freezer. hehehe
Oh Auntie Angie this looks so good! I agree that frozen treats are even better, so the freezer is not a “safe place” for me to keep treats. I end up eating too many and then I don’t have any to enjoy the next day!
This looks heavenly!
I made granola once and it was lovely but i should have frozen it so it lasted longer, i’m a huge fan of putting cashews in my granola, yummm :)
And hahahaa my BF would starve if i didn’t prepare meals for him when i’m not home :D
I love granola! I just made maple syrup & brown sugar granola bars (not super healthy, but so delicious) that my fiancee and I have been nibbling on for about a week.
This granola sounds perfect! I love that it’s oil free and low sugar. Will be making it right away!
Such a great idea! I love the idea of an oil-free granola, to have a lighter version on hand.
I love to stockpile our freezer with garden-fresh goodies. Right now we have some pesto from this year’s herbs, plus some of last year’s jam. Soon there will be lots of jam in the freezer, and I often freeze extra muffins or cookies when I make too many.
You have given me so many recipes I want to try and make to take on our beach vacation. I have a newly pregnant DIl who is having a hard time finding things healthy enough to eat and sit well on her stomach. Everything you’ve posted lately looks like it will fill the bill!
Thanks…and Hugs~
Thank you :) Enjoy!
I had really great success with doing grilled stuffed bananas. I varied the recipe by adding coconut and removing marshmallows, and it was a big hit! I retrieved the original idea from here: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2564 , It’s a lot of fun to stuff the bananas with goodies!
i wish you were my aunt!! lol they will be well fed i’m sure of it!
Frozen cookies are amazing! Have fun with the kiddos!
This looks so delicious! When I teach my Thrive classes, I always make a batch of granola to show how simple it is, plus the house smells amazing. I’m going to try your recipe changes to make it healthier – I’m sure my students will be happy that it is lower calorie.
That granola looks great! My freezer is stuffed with leftover baked goods…well, so is my fridge. ….and counter
Wow, I’ve never heard of using millet in granola before. Definitely very innovative and something worth recreating. Thank you :)
So excited to try this granola! I have Blueberry Vegan Overnight Oats planned for Wednesday mornings breakfast, and this will be perfect to put on top :) Thanks Angela!
And…Blueberry Chia Breakfast Squares?! Is there a recipe that goes along with those?
The recipe isn’t ready to post yet… :)
How about grilling out one night and have sliders and smores. Also make your own pizzas, spaghetti, tacos, pigs in a blanket. Raw veggies dipped in Ranch dressing. I bet you are a fun Aunt!
Any aunt who bakes delicious granola is a winner. I’m sure the kids love you. Have fun with your family! And you can’t blame Eric…I’d probably be stealing all the granola too! Even if it really did have beans in it.
haha I used to LOVE going to my Aunt’s house. She’d let me drive, listen to awesome music, and eat junk food all day. I’m sure there were a bunch of veggies mixed in there, but I only remember the chocolate and candies.
I’ve put millet in my granola before and I found it way too crunchy! So, I soak the granola overnight and the grains get all soft and chewy. SO good!