Tag: lunchbox ideas

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Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Muffins


Servings: 12 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

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Whole wheat chocolate zucchini muffins are true muffins — only 1/2 cup (refined) sugar in a one-dozen batch. They aren’t too sweet and get an extra flavour kick from a little molasses.

Whole wheat chocolate zucchini muffins: true muffins -- only 1/2 cup sugar on a one-dozen batch -- they aren't too sweet and get an extra flavour kick from a little molasses.

These muffins walk that perfect line between treat and nourishing snack,

These extra chocolaty zucchini muffins are not cupcakes, that’s for sure. In the first bite you’ll notice they taste wholesome and are just sweet enough to be satisfying. These muffins walk that perfect line between treat and nourishing snack, between what my kids want to eat and what I’d like them to eat.

Whole wheat chocolate zucchini muffins are true muffins -- only 1/2 cup sugar on a one-dozen batch. They aren't too sweet and get an extra flavour kick from a little molasses.

Just moist enough.

The zucchini keeps these muffins moist but not sticky and the whole wheat flour (or spelt) is noticeable in every bite. They have a little roughage and that’s a good thing.

Can I eat a muffin?

My usual one-word texts from my son get longer when there are baked goods cooling on the counter and I’m not home. (My kids have learned to ask first because they know that so much of what I cook needs to be photographed before they can dig in.)

Want to make these a little bit healthier?

Omit the chocolate chips and the salt.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Recipe

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned in
  • ½ cup whole wheat or spelt flour, spooned in
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 Tbsp. ground flax
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup oil (olive, canola or grapeseed)
  • 1 ½ cups grated zucchini, excess liquid squeezed out*
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F and line muffin cups with liners or grease them well.
  2. Whisk flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, flax and salt.
  3. In another bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar, molasses, milk and oil.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir gently until almost combined.
  5. Gently stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.
  6. Fill muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes.
  7. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

*Measure the zucchini first and then squeeze out the excess moisture.

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Seven Healthy Pancake Recipes for Pancake Tuesday


Servings: 4 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

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Seven healthy pancake recipes for pancake Tuesday

May be you can tell from the number of pancake recipes on this website that I love pancakes, and healthy pancake recipes in particular. In fact, I made a double batch of our family favourite recipe (Old Black Witch’s Blueberry Pancakes) on the weekend for my daughter and her friends. The leftovers went into the fridge and we ate them for breakfast again today.

Although we have pancakes often enough for breakfast, they’re still a treat if we eat them for supper. That’s why we all delight in Pancake Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is one of the few days of the year that we have pancakes at suppertime and I suppose that’s why we always look forward to it.

  • Easy pumpkin molasses pancakes are healthy and delicious.
    Easy pumpkin molasses pancakes make a healthy breakfast

Make your pancakes healthier

Plain pancakes with regular white flour don’t offer the body a whole lot of sustenance but the options for adding nutrition (and extra flavour) to your pancakes are limitless. As my kids can attest, I’m known for stuffing my pancakes with everything from chia, flax meal and wheat germ to barley flour, vegetables, yogurt and more.

Whatever the season and whatever you’re craving, there is a healthy pancake recipe to suit everyone.

Seven Healthy Pancake Recipes:

Family Favourite Blueberry Pancakes

Buckwheat Flapjacks with Molasses Maple Syrup

Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

Banana Oat Pancakes

Whole Wheat Zucchini Pancakes

Pumpkin Pancakes

Oatmeal Apple Pancakes

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Multi Grain Blueberry Carrot Muffins with Orange Streusel


Servings: 24 muffins serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

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Multi Grain Blueberry Carrot Muffins are wholesome and delicious, stuffed with all sorts of nourishing things.

April lunchbox fatigue.

It happens every spring, this ennui with school lunches. My kids are tired of the same old stuff and would rather pack nothing than pack the same food they have been eating all year. We have tried that — the letting them fend for themselves (they’re 13 & 15 so certainly capable.) The problem is that they arrive home afterschool like angry bears.

Multi Grain Blueberry Carrot Muffins are wholesome and delicious, stuffed with all sorts of nourishing things. Both of my kids are hearty breakfast eaters but for everyone’s sanity they do need to eat more than an apple through the day.

Imagine my delight when I discovered that they both love these Multi Grain Blueberry Carrot Muffins. The muffins are wholesome, stuffed with all sorts of good things like whole wheat flour, cornmeal, carrots and blueberries. Even better, this recipe makes a big batch (2 dozen) and they freeze well.

Multi Grain Blueberry Carrot Muffins are wholesome and delicious, stuffed with all sorts of nourishing things.

The recipe is slightly adapted from The New York Times Food website, one of my favourite online recipe sources.

Multi Grain Blueberry Carrot Muffins with Orange Streusel Recipe

Makes about 2 dozen muffins

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/3 cups flour
  • ⅔ cup whole wheat flour
  • ⅔ cup fine-ground yellow cornmeal
  • ⅔ cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
  • ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • ½ tsp. allspice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
  • 1 ⅓ cup oil (grape seed or canola)
  • 1/3 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups grated carrots
  • 1 ½ cups blueberries

For the streusel (optional):

  • ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ cup cold butter, cubed
  • ½ cup flour
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. finely grated orange zest

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, alspice and salt.)
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, molasses, maple syrup and eggs. 
  3. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently mix until almost blended.
  4. Stir in the carrots and blueberries
  5. Set batter aside at room temperature for 15 minutes. Batter should be on the thick side. (Add 2 Tbsp. more flour if the batter feels too thin.)
  6. Heat oven to 400 F. Grease a muffin pan or line with baking cups.
  7. Make the streusel: In a small bowl, mix ingredients together until blended and crumbly.
  8. Scoop or spoon batter into prepared pan, filling almost to the top. (Mound batter slightly in the center of each cup.) Sprinkle streusel overtop.
  9. Place muffin tin in oven and reduce heat to 375 F. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are springy to the touch.
  10. When cooked, cool on a rack and remove muffins from pan after 15 minutes or so.

 

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One-Pot Bakery Style Molasses Cookies


Servings: 20-22 cookies serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 27 minutes

Cooking time: 12 minutes

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Bakery style molasses cookies are the easiest cookie recipe ever. You mix everything in a single pot and the dough requires no chilling. These gorgeous crinkle cookies travel well so make great lunch box cookies. And it's the perfect recipe for kids to bake on their own.

Homemade molasses cookies without the mess.

Bakery style molasses cookies are the easiest cookie recipe ever. You mix everything in a single pot so clean up is easy. These gorgeous crinkle cookies travel well so make great lunch box cookies. And it’s the perfect recipe for kids to bake on their own.

I love when my kids decide to cook, but the kitchen mess can be a little daunting. Even though they’re responsible for washing up, the kitchen is never quite the same as when they found it, which is saying a lot since I don’t have a super tidy kitchen to begin with.

I have never been one to let a messy kitchen slow me down but I sure enjoyed the ease of cleanup when we made these molasses cookies.

One pot, one wooden spoon and almost two dozen molasses cookies to show for it.

Really, what can be easier?

Bakery style molasses cookies are the easiest cookie recipe ever. You mix everything in a single pot and the dough requires no chilling. These gorgeous crinkle cookies travel well so make great lunch box cookies. And it's the perfect recipe for kids to bake on their own.

These bakery style cookies are a slight adaptation of a recipe from Bon Appetit, via the lovely blog, The Café Sucre Farine. It was their recipe name that caught my eye: “Bakery-style” conjures a gorgeous display of sparkling crinkle cookies.

These are very pretty cookies with the sparkling sugar coating. We rolled ours in fragrant citrus sugar that I had leftover from another cookie project.

Bakery style molasses cookies are the easiest cookie recipe ever. You mix everything in a single pot and the dough requires no chilling. These gorgeous crinkle cookies travel well so make great lunch box cookies. And it's the perfect recipe for kids to bake on their own.

The recipe is similar to my mom’s All-time Favourite Chewy Molasses Crinkle Cookies, only this recipe is much lower in butter and sugar. These bakery style cookies are less rich and aren’t chewy so they travel very well. They’re also great for dunking.

One-Bowl Bakery Style Molasses Cookie Recipe

Makes 20-22 cookies

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour, spooned in
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ginger
  • ½ tsp. cloves
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • Sugar for rolling

Instructions

  1. Preheat to 375°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Melt butter in a medium-sized pot. When just melted remove from heat and stir in the white and brown sugar. Stir in the molasses then the egg, mixing well.
  3. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt just until combined.
  4. Chill dough 30 minutes (or longer if you like).
  5. Place rolling sugar in a small bowl.
  6. Scoop dough by the tablespoonful and roll into balls. Roll in sugar and set on prepared sheet, about 2” apart.
  7. Bake 10-12 minutes. Once set, remove to wire racks and let cool completely.

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Three-Seed Gluten Free Granola Bars


Servings: 16 bars serving(s)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

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Three-seed gluten free granola bars are gluten free and nut free.

Three-Seed Gluten Free Granola Bars are a wholesome treat for snack time.

My kids are obsessed with packaged granola bars.

There is no shortage of baked goods in our house and our cupboards, fridge and freezer are overflowing with lunchbox options. But still my kids say that there’s nothing in the house to eat.

It’s enough to drive me crazy.

They’d walk out of the house with nothing but an apple for lunch if it wasn’t for my husband’s insistence on a compromise. We have found our middle ground but the one packaged food that  irks me most is packaged granola bars.

Three-seed gluten free granola bars are gluten free and nut free.

May be it’s that fact that granola bars are just about the simplest things to make at home and that you can stuff all sorts of healthy and delicious things into a batch.

Then there’s the extra packaging that comes with individually wrapped packaged bars.

Whatever their reasons my kids prefer packaged granola bars, which is why it surprised me when they devoured this batch. And it was my daughter, the pickiest of the two, who kept going back for more.

I suspect they were drawn to this recipe because they’re not as oaty as most that I make, and they’re baked so the texture is a little different than the stovetop variety that’s pressed into a pan.

Three-seed gluten free granola bars are gluten free and nut free.

The chocolate coating is optional, depending on how picky your crowd is. (Just melt chocolate chips and spread it on the cooled bars). Dried cranberries or apricots are another nice addition to this recipe.

The extra bonus with these gluten free granola bars is that they’re nut-free too so are school-friendly.

Looking for more snack ideas? You might enjoy these recipes: 10 Wholesome Snack Ideas for the Whole Family

A special thank you to my friend Linda the Cheese Lady for the recipe.

Three-Seed Gluten Free Granola Bar Recipe

Makes 16 generous bars

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 3 Tbsp. sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 2 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup
  • 5 – 6 Tbsp. melted coconut oil (or grape seed or canola oil)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

  1. Line an 8″x8″ pan with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F
  2. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients.  In a medium bowl combine the wet ingredients.
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well.
  4. Stir in chocolate chips.
  5. Press into prepared pan
  6. Bake for 25-28 minutes (you want the edges to be a little brown so they’re crunchy.)
  7. Cool completely before slicing.

Nutritional info: Per bar.

  • Calories: 163.5
  • Fat: 8.5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg
  • Carbs: 20.6 g
  • Sugar: 9.9
  • Fibre: 2.1 g
  • Protein: 2.9 g
  • Potassium 180 mg
  • Protein 2.9 g

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Apple Oatmeal Pancakes | Wholesome and Hearty Breakfast Fare


Servings: 4 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

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Apple oatmeal pancakes are wholesome and heartyIn praise of hearty breakfasts…

It’s amazing what rolled oats and an apple can do for pancakes. I’m fond of all sorts of pancakes but for a breakfast to really tide me over I need more than flour, milk and eggs which is why all of the extras in this recipe appeal to me.

Rolled oats, whole grain flour and flax stick with you through the morning. They supply good nutrition, add texture and a whole lot of flavour. This recipe is sweetened with a bit of molasses, which adds flavour too.

Apple oatmeal pancakes are wholesome and hearty

These are not fluffy pancakes.

Apple Oatmeal Pancakes are on the hearty side of the pancake spectrum. These are cold weather pancakes, just the sort you might crave on a damp, chilly November morning.

Pancakes aren’t just for breakfast

Apple Oatmeal Pancakes make good lunchbox fare too, and can be a perfectly acceptable supper on an evening when a breakfast sort of meal is what everyone is craving.

Apple Oatmeal Pancakes Recipe

Serves 4

  • ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. quick oats (not instant)
  • 1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
  • 1 Tbsp. ground flax, oat bran or wheat germ
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 Tbsp. Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar (optional)
  • 3 Tbsp. oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
  • 1 small to medium apple, scrubbed and grated (skin on)
  • Apple slices for garnish (optional)
  1. In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, flour, flax, baking soda and salt.
  2. In another bowl, beat the egg with the molasses and sugar. Whisk in the oil and milk.
  3. Add wet mixture to dry and stir until combined.
  4. Stir in the grated apple.
  5. Heat griddle over medium and grease with oil. Drop batter into pan by 1/3 cup measure. Top with thinly sliced apple.
  6. When edges are set and bubbles start to form on top, flip and cook until done.
  7. Place cooked pancakes in a warm oven until ready to eat, or cool on a wire rack and freeze.

 

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Bear Paws | Old Fashioned Soft Molasses Cookies


Servings: 20 serving(s)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

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These soft molasses cookies are along the lines of the lovable Bear Paws cookies. 

Bear Paws | Old Fashioned Soft Molasses Cookies

I’m not sure if it’s the cake-like softness of Bear Paws that draws me to these cookies or the cute name.

Whatever it is they’re irresistible. No matter who is in the house, young or old, these cookies go flying off the counter when I bake them. Even during all of my testing the early versions got devoured.

These are definitely good lunchbox and after school snack cookies.

I am typically not one for fiddly cookies but I made an exception for these because I wanted them to have cute toes. Even though they take a little bit to assemble – middle and four toes – the process went quickly once I created the first few. They’ll look shaggy when you put them together but the edges will soften as they bake.

Sure they’re not smooth on top like the store-bought version but I was going for texture as I worked with this recipe. In the end we all agreed that they really resemble puppy paws.

Bear Paws | Old Fashioned Soft Molasses Cookies
If you’re not in assembly mode you could always roll the dough and use a hand-shaped cookie cutter to create these. Maybe there are paw-shaped cookie cutters out there too.

Whichever method you choose to shape these cookies, they’ll be delicious. The gentle spicing is wonderful and the texture is just so perfect.

Bear Paws | Old Fashioned Soft Molasses Cookies

Reader tip: Easy way to shape your paws

“We were looking for an alternative to store bought bear paw cookies for school lunches. These turned out great. The dough is very soft, so we rolled about 2/3 of it into a log and chilled for half an hour. We rolled the remaining dough in thinner logs (less than 1 inch diameter) and chilled those also. Then we sliced discs from the logs and arranged into the palm and fingers. They turned out wonderfully and tasted even better. We quadrupled the ginger and cinnamon because we like them spicy. Thanks for the recipe, I can tell we will be making these again.”

Bear Paws | Old Fashioned Soft Molasses Cookie Recipe

Makes about 20 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup hot water
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 3 cups flour, spooned in (can use half whole grain)
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line cookie  sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Beat in molasses and egg.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, spices, and salt.
  4. Combine the hot water and baking soda in a little cup. Pour into the butter mixture and stir to combine.
  5. Add the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated.

To make the paws:

  1. Using a medium cookie scoop or a tablespoon, make the middle of the paws and then use a teaspoon measure to make four toes. This will be a little messy but will get easier once you have done a few.
  2. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

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Cornmeal Molasses Pancakes


Servings: 4 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

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cornmeal molasses pancakes Only seven more days of school before summer vacation officially begins. My son is in the midst of exams and my daughter has no more homework.

Although their bodies are in the classroom each day I’m pretty sure their minds are already on vacation. cornmeal molasses pancakes Which brings me to breakfast — Both of my kids have been extra sluggish in the mornings these past few weeks. The cool rainy weather here in Southern New Brunswick hasn’t helped but it’s really school fatigue that has set in. They’re tired of the routine. We’re all tired of the routine… cornmeal molasses pancakes To add a little pizazz to our morning I have been serving pancakes. They give the impression of a leisurely weekend morning on a busy weekday.

Handy Tips:

Pancakes make good lunchbox food. Cut cooked pancakes into chunks and put in a lunchbox-size storage container. Pack a bit of syrup or applesauce for dipping or to serve on the side.

Freeze extra pancakes and reheat them in the toaster for speedy breakfast prep or afterschool snacks.

Cornmeal Molasses Pancakes Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ cup cornmeal (fine ground)
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup milk, plain yogurt or a combination of the two
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 Tbsp. oil or melted butter
  • 2 Tbsp. Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • ½ cup blueberries

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  2. In another bowl whisk the milk, eggs, oil and molasses.
  3. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir lightly until half combined. Stir in the blueberries. (Be careful not to overmix.)
  4. Heat griddle or fry pan. Drop 2-3 Tbsp. of batter onto oiled pan and cook until bubbles start to form and burst. Flip gently and continue cooking until done (this won’t take very long).
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Healthy Applesauce Granola


Servings: many serving(s)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 55 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

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easy applesauce granola

Why buy what you can so easily make at home?

Some of the easiest things to make at home are those that we often buy. Take granola, for example. It’s really just a matter of tossing things together and then throwing them in a slow oven for three-quarters of an hour, stirring from time to time.

easy applesauce granola

Make it once and you’ll never buy granola again. And then you’ll start making up your own recipe, substituting different nuts and seeds. You might even throw in some Smarties or chocolate chips at the end and call it trail mix so your kids will eat it.

This recipe is adapted from Brown Eggs and Jam Jars, an excellent new cookbook from the author of Simple Bites blog.

healthy applesauce granola

Healthy Applesauce Granola Recipe

  • 4 cups old-fashioned (large flake) rolled oats
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • ½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut (or shredded)
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup applesauce
  • ½ cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 3 Tbsp. olive, canola or grape seed oil
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  1. Preheat the oven to 300 F and line a large sided cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl stir together the oats, sunflower seeds, coconut, pumpkin seeds, salt & cinnamon. (The dried cranberries are added after the granola has cooked.)
  3. In a medium bowl whisk the applesauce with the molasses and oil.
  4. Stir the wet mixture into the dry, making sure to coat the rolled oats well.
  5. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. If it still needs to dry out a bit leave it in the oven, turn the oven off and check it after five minutes, then 10 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven, stir in the dried cranberries. Cool completely before packing it in a container. 

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