Meatless Monday: Cranberry Flax Granola with Agave

Hello Darlings!

Have you ever had a recipe idea that you were so excited about and then it doesn’t exactly go as planned? That happened to me this week. This week’s ingredient for Better With Veggies Meatless Mondays From A-Z was flax, and for the longest time I had no ideas for recipes. Finally, I called my mother, “granola bars!” Brilliant idea maman.

 I decided to make vegan granola bars sweetened (and stuck together) with the organic bulk agave syrup that you can get at Sprouts Farmers Market, and then dipped in carob. Sounds fabulous, right? I was most of the way through the recipe I dreamed up and it crumbled. Literally. Bars were just not going to happen. However, the actual granola is incredibly delicious so I made the best of it in all of its crumbled glory.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Almonds, Coarsely Chopped

1 Cup Walnuts, Coarsely Chopped

½ Cup Flax Seeds

½ Cup Sunflower Seeds

1 Cup Dried Cranberries

1 ½ Cups Rolled Oats

1 Cup Organic Agave Syrup

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

½ Teaspoon Nutmeg           

¼ Teaspoon Cloves

¼ Teaspoon Coriander

Yogurt (Vegan, Optional)

Carob Chips (Optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place almonds, walnuts, flax, and sunflower seeds on a baking sheet and toast in preheated oven for ten minutes.

3. Combine toasted nuts and seeds with cranberries and rolled oats in a large bowl.

4. In a separate bowl (or a measuring cup like I did) combine agave syrup and all spices. Mix well.

5. Add the agave-spice mixture to the large bowl and combine well.

6. Place the granola mixture into an oven-safe cooking dish lined with parchment paper.

7. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove, and let cool completely.

8. When your bars crumble like mine did make a yogurt parfait! With vegan carob chips melted in a double boiler and layers of yogurt (vegan or dairy) and the deliciously sweetened granola!

What was your biggest recipe fail? Did you figure out how to make it work? Let me know in the comments below!

Remember to follow me on  , Follow @ChickadeeSays and like ChickadeeSays on Facebook to get updates, sneak peeks, and lots more pictures of Tinkerbelle!

Also, on July 1st Google Reader shuts down for good! Make sure to add your email in the sidebar or follow ChickadeeSays on Bloglovin so you don't miss a post!