Making your own granola is a healthier alternative to buying instant packets of oatmeal. (Provided photo — Yvona Fast)

Most Americans start their day with breakfast cereal. What’s your favorite?

The most popular breakfast cereal is Cheerios. The healthiest is oatmeal — if you make it yourself, rather than using over-sweetened instant packets.

Granola is often touted as a healthy cereal or snack food, and it can be just that. But often, the stuff you buy in the store is loaded with sugar and fat. Depending on the brand, it can carry up to 600 calories in just one cup, so read your labels carefully. Better yet, make your own — it’s easy.

The base of granola is grain, most commonly, oats. Other things are added: seeds, nuts, other grains, bran flakes or flax seeds, dried fruit. The dry ingredients are held together with a blend of oil and sugar, maple syrup or honey.

Avoid dried fruits with added sugar; they’re already sweet. Remember that nuts and dried fruits are calorie-dense; use them sparingly. Stick mainly to grains; for variety, add grains like buckwheat or millet.

Making your own is easy. Mix ingredients you like with a little maple syrup or honey and oil (like coconut oil or vegetable oil). Then spread out on parchment paper and dry at low heat in your oven or a dehydrator. You’ll be amazed at the difference in freshness and flavor from commercial granola.

What you will need:

¯ Oats — and other grains, if you wish

¯ Nuts — whichever kind you like, or omit them if you’re allergic

¯ Seeds, like sunflower seeds or pepitas

¯ Dried fruits — apples, raisins, currants, cranberries, apricots, etc.

¯ Oil

¯ Sweetener — maple syrup, honey or brown sugar

¯ Seasonings you like — cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom, ginger, salt

¯ Optional healthy additions, like wheat germ, bran, flax or chia seeds

A granola recipe is just a starting point for your own creativity. Change it up each time using different dried fruits, varying the nuts, adding other grains, using different sweeteners (agave, brown sugar or even frozen unsweetened apple juice concentrate) and different oils (coconut, canola, corn, almond, vegetable) and using seasonings like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger or vanilla.

It is a good way to use up leftovers. You can add bits of grains, seeds, nuts or dried fruit from your cupboard. I used teff because I had a quarter-cup left in a bag. I also added a quarter-cup of apple cider to the liquid ingredients because it was all that was left in the bottom of a half-gallon of cider I had taken out of the freezer a while ago, and was taking up room in my fridge.

By using certified GF oats, you can make your granola gluten-free. Have family members with nut allergies? Omit nuts for a nut-free granola. And it’s also dairy-free.

To serve, crumble and eat with milk or on top of yogurt for breakfast. Use the bigger pieces as a snack on a hike or outing. Crumble and make granola bars.

Store your homemade granola in airtight containers at room temperature for up to two months, although it might not last that long. You can also put it in cellophane bags tied with pretty ribbons to give as gifts.

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My 3-Grain Maple Walnut Granola with Buckwheat

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Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

1/4 cup teff, optional

1 cup raw buckwheat (optional but adds protein and a nice crunch)

1/4 cup ground flax (optional– adds a nutritional boost)

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/2 cup or more nuts of your choice, optional (walnuts, pecans, almonds) – I used 1 cup chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons or 1 cup sunflower seeds or pepitas, optional

Oat or wheat bran, optional

Wheat germ, optional

1/3 cup oil (like coconut, walnut, almond or canola)

2/3 cup maple syrup or honey or agave or combination (more if you like it sweeter

1/4 cup apple cider (optional – I used the leftover)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

Optional mix-ins:

3/4 cup coconut

1/2 cup or more dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, apples, apricots, currants

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cover rimmed cookie sheets or baking pans with parchment and have ready.

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In a saucepan on the stove or in a microwave-safe dish, combine oil, maple syrup, and seasonings like vanilla or cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then pour over dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. Stir in dried fruit and coconut, if using.

Spread the granola on the prepared baking sheets. Place in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.

Turn the oven off and leave until morning, or several hours.

Break apart and place in an airtight container.

Note: I added a half-cup of red currants from the freezer sprinkled on top before putting in the oven. You could try the same thing with frozen berries, like blueberries, elderberries or raspberries.

Note: You can easily double or even triple this recipe, many granola recipes are based on 6 or 8 cups of oats.

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Author of the award-winning cookbook Garden Gourmet: Fresh & Fabulous Meals from your Garden, CSA or Farmers’ Market, Yvona Fast lives in Lake Clear and has two passions: writing and cooking. She can be found at www.yvonafast.com and reached at yvonawrite @yvonawrites.