New moms don’t have much extra time, but they need lots of nutrition for babycare, selfcare, and for some, lactation. The 1200mg of omega 3 fats in this recipe can help ward off the baby blues, and by meeting 11% of the daily requirements for iron it can help prevent low energy due to iron deficiency during this important time. Because it is high in healthy fats it does have a lot of calories, so it is important to keep the portions small – especially if you are not exercising or breastfeeding. This makes a LOT of granola, 40 servings in fact, so be sure to save your extra oatmeal containers or tupperware to hold the extra!
2 ½ lb old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups wheat germ
2 ½ cups coconut flakes
1 cup King Arthur whole-grain white wheat flour
1 ½ cups walnut pieces
1 Tbsp salt
1 cups evaporated cane juice
1 cup raisins
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup water
1 ½ cup canola oil
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsps molasses
Preheat oven to 250F. Mix all dry ingredients except dried fruit in a large bowl. Mix liquid ingredients, then pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredient bowl. Bake in shallow pans (I use 4 cookie sheets for a whole recipe or 2 cookie sheets for half a recipe) at 250F, stirring every 15 minutes. Granola is done when coconut flakes are slightly brown (about 2 hours). Serve plain or with milk or yogurt.
Nutrition facts for 1/40th of recipe: 303 Calories, 15g fat, 39g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 6g protein, 1200g omega 3 fats
