Ingredient: pumpkin seeds

Not Too Sweet Granola

Not Too Sweet Granola

I have a salt tooth. Even as a little kid, I was on the fence about candy. Sure, I’ll eat a little dessert here and there, but it’s not a driving force. At one of my first jobs out of college my office mates wanted to throw me a birthday party. I kindly requested that they didn’t buy a cake, but instead encouraged them to get a round of brie and pop a few candles on top. They did and it was perfect! Today I’m mostly “planty,” (my husband’s new perfect descriptor versus the rather dull “plant-based”) so I’d skip the brie, but maybe instead ask for a container of cashew cheese. Most granolas on the market are way too sweet for me, so I came up with this recipe that I think is just about perfect. Sometimes I have all the nuts and seeds listed below, but sometimes not — it’s a very flexible recipe. Often I’ll swap out some for things like ground chia (if you don’t grind the chia, the pesky little seeds embed themselves in your teeth) or hemp seeds. However, if you like things a little sweeter, just add more honey. Or if you prefer a richer, denser version, increase the oil. By the way, nuts and seeds go rancid pretty quickly, so I keep a small amount of the granola in a glass jar on my counter, but freeze the rest to keep it fresh.

Salad Stuff

Salad Stuff

This so-called recipe is something I make fairly regularly and always have in my fridge. I love it because it adds a little extra crunch, a few more nutrients and a bit of fiber to my salad. The salad toppers in the grocery store are filled with things like yogurt covered almonds, sugar-dipped dried fruit, added oils, and crap like disodium inosinate and FD&C red 3. Bleh. My mix might be considered rather bland, but it’s certainly much healthier, nutrient-dense and, without a doubt, more affordable than what you see in the grocery store.

Some Dense-Ass Bread

Some Dense-Ass Bread

I’ve been obsessed since winter with recreating Mestemacher bread — the dark, seedy bread from Germany that comes with only six slices hermetically sealed and sold on the lowest possible bread shelf at my local Amazon, I mean, Whole Foods store. I like that bread, however,