Homemade granola

I altered "meghan's granola" from allrecipes to come up with this.  My mom made the BEST granola when I was a kid, and this makes me think of that.  I have recently adjusted it trying to use as many natural ingredients as possible, but I used to make it with brown sugar instead of agave, fake maple syrup, and canola oil.  I have left out some of the nuts at different times, but for me the coconut and sunflower seeds are a must!  But it is easy to adjust for taste and always tastes good!

Ingredients

8 cups rolled oats (not the quick kind)

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup finely chopped almonds

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup finely chopped cashews

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup agave

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/2 cup honey

1 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine the rest in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Then pour over the dry mixture and stir to coat.  Then pour it onto two cookie sheets place in a preheated 325 degree oven.  Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring every ten minutes to prevent overbrowning the top.  When I used natural ingredients, it didn't get as crunchy at this amount of time, but I liked it the way it was.  You can cook it longer if you want it more crunchy, but watch it close, because it can burn quickly.  Or lower the temperature to 200 and cook for twice as long, still stirring at intervals so it won't burn.  By the way, it hardens more as it cools.  And one more tip, if you make it with real maple, you have to store it in the fridge, or it will mold.  I just poured it into an old ice cream bucket for storage.  The original recipe called for 2 cups raisins or cranberried, (added at the end after it is cool) but I left that out.  ENJOY!