Homemade Granola to Go

When you are on the go, eating healthy can be challenging. To help your family make healthier choices, offer a selection of healthy options and let children choose their favorites. By making their own wrap, sandwich, taco, pizza, trail mix or parfait, children are more likely to eat the healthy food.

Make whole grain granola recipe below to take on the go. It can be used as a trail mix, eaten with milk, or used to make a yogurt parfait. Yogurt parfaits are great for kids to make on their own for a snack, meal or as a dessert. They do not require an oven or microwave, and can be tailored to individual preferences by layering their favorite yogurt, fruits and crunchy toppings. Here are a few tips for making a yogurt parfait:

• Vary the yogurt types and flavors based on your family's preference. Choose plain or flavored, low-fat, or non-fat yogurt with the goal of aligning with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans which recommends less than 10% of daily calories coming from added sugar.
• Offer 3-4 types of fruit, and let your children choose at least two. Fruit can be fresh, frozen, canned or dried.
• If you do not have granola, top the parfait with whole grain cereal or nuts instead.
• Granola may be hard for young children to chew. If serving a parfait to young children, consider layering only fruit and yogurt in a parfait, and/or choosing a whole grain cereal instead to avoid a choking hazard.

Additional tips:

• Let children help make granola by measuring the ingredients. Older children and youth can help stir the ingredients together on the stove. Be sure to watch them and teach them to carefully hold the handle of the pan when stirring. Once granola is cool, children can help transfer the granola to an airtight container and can help with cleaning up.
• To save money and reduce food waste, purchase the oatmeal, dried fruit and nuts/seeds, in smaller amounts from the bulk foods section of your local grocery store.
• Use sunflower or pumpkin seeds in place of nuts.
• Make with your favorite dried fruit. Dried cranberries, dried cherries, raisins, and dried apricots all work well.