I’m a big fan of eating savory foods for breakfast. And by savory I mean “this could be dinner” more than “how about some bacon and eggs”. It probably started around the time I went gluten free and realized I needed to stop munching on scones, bagels, muffins, pancakes, waffles and other sweet treats for breakfast. (I’ve since discovered fabulous gluten-free recipes for these things, of course.) My replacement for the sweets often revolved around eating dinner leftovers. Breakfast became a plate full of reheated vegetables, maybe some chicken or rice, a few slices of avocado. I quickly developed a taste for these morning meals, and that’s what I eat about 90% of the time.

Every so often, though, I want that sweetness for breakfast. And when I do, I always turn to homemade granola. Granola is super easy to make. So easy, in fact, that I just don’t understand why people buy it. (Especially “gourmet” granola for $10/bag.) Homemade granola tastes fresh–no rancid nuts or rock-hard dried fruit here–and you can customize it to your taste. If you don’t like pecans, try sliced almonds or chopped walnuts. No longer the season for pumpkin seeds? Sesame seeds or unsalted shelled sunflower seeds taste great, too. And I always vary the batch according to the dried fruits I have on hand. Anything works–currants, raisins, apricots, cherries, pears, prunes. The granola keeps well in the pantry for a couple of weeks; you can make a batch and enjoy it over the course of many breakfasts (or snacks) with a splash of almond milk or on top of thick Greek yogurt.

One thing to mention is the oats themselves. I can’t tolerate regular oats–the risk of cross-contamination is too high–but I do fine with certified gluten-free oats. I use gluten-free rolled oats from Bob’s Red Mill, GF Harvest, or PrOatina. Have you seen other brands of gf oats? Let us know in the comments section. ~LbR