Winslow could happily eat this granola every single morning

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Betty Winslow with her
Good Morning Granola (Photo: Andrew Weber/Sentinel-Tribune)

Think you know granola?
You don’t know Betty Winslow’s version.
“This is different than typical granolas,” she said. “I added a lot of
stuff” to the original recipe she received from a friend years ago “as I
heard things about what is healthy.”
Among goodies she added to the mix are walnuts, flaxseed, and canola oil, “which is supposed to be good
for you.”
The friend in question is her former pastor’s wife from Bowling Green
Covenant Church, Kay McAuliffe, who has since moved to Tampa.
“Kay’s recipe had more oil, more honey, and it didn’t have the flaxseed or cinnamon, plus it only had one
kind of oats.”
That last item mattered to Winslow.
“I don’t like cooked oatmeal and I have high cholesterol, so I was trying to figure out a way to get more
oatmeal in my diet.”
She couldn’t be more pleased with the results of her experimentation.
“I eat it almost every morning and never get tired of it.
“I like the fact that it kind of tastes dessert-y.” With the inclusion of the cinnamon it makes her think
of cinnamon rolls.
Winslow also recommends introducing variety by making the granola in
different flavors, using some of the suggestions at the end of the
recipe.
“You can substitute pumpkin spice for the cinnamon,” for example.
That’s “one of the things I think people like about it is you can adjust it for personal preference.”
A single batch yields 8 to 10 cups, estimates Winslow, who makes a new batch every two weeks.
“It’s really easy to double. You just need a much bigger mixing bowl, and two 11-by-17 cake pans.”
The extra granola will come in handy if you’re feeling creative.
After all, “it’s also yummy stirred into yogurt or sprinkled over ice cream or applesauce.”
Winslow has one important piece of advice for those who plan to make some granola themselves.
“The most important step is to heat the oil and honey. It makes the
honey thin. I’ve tried using the honey right out of the bottle and it
made (the granola) too clumpy. People might be tempted to skip that
step, but they shouldn’t.”
Winslow, whose kitchen is filled with cookbooks, and who subscribes to
several food-oriented magazines, is currently taking a rare hiatus from
cooking.
“I do most of the cooking” for the family. “I really like it except I’m not always crazy about the
daily-ness of it.”
But right now she is recovering from a recent hospitalization so her
husband has picked up the slack until she’s able to return to her job in
the library at Bowling Green Christian Academy.
Soon she’ll be back to whipping up family favorites, including lasagna
and a meatloaf recipe that she “tweaked lately. It uses salad dressing
instead of tomatoes” in deference to her mother’s tightly limited diet
related to renal failure, which makes tomatoes a no-no. Winslow was
pleasantly surprised at how good the meatloaf tastes made that way.
But sometimes “tweaking” can get her in trouble.
The dish she is most known for his her potato salad. It’s what she’s ordered to bring to extended family
gatherings.
The last time she made it she left the peel on the potato chunks. “I
thought that would be nice and edgy, and my nephews didn’t like that!”

Good Morning Granola
Body: 4 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups quick oats (not instant)
1/2 cup powdered dry nonfat milk
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried fruit (optional)
Lightly oil an 11-by-17-inch cake pan (or two 9-by-13 pans) with canola oil and set aside. Preheat oven
to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together oats, milk powder, flaxseed, wheat germ, sesame seeds, cinnamon,
walnuts and salt. Mix well.
Pour oil and honey into a 1-cup measuring cup and heat in microwave for one minute. Add extract. Pour
over oat mixture and stir in well, breaking up clumps as you go. Pour granola into oiled pan and spread
out in an even layer. Place pan on center rack in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring well every 10
minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow granola to cool. Stir in dried fruit, if desired. Store in
airtight container. Makes about 8 cups.
Some delicious additions and substitutions: almond or other favorite extract instead of vanilla, chopped
pecans or almonds instead of walnuts, pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon, or real maple syrup instead
of honey.

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