Nut-Free (and easily dairy-free) Granola

It's funny, though not in the ha ha sense, what a wreck I was back in 2009 when Roo received his first peanut and tree nut allergy diagnosis. No more hazelnut latte? No peanut butter cookies? No mid-afternoon hand full of chocolate covered almonds? What about Pad Thai? How about my favorite breakfast, granola?!

Today our nut avoidance is par for the course, and at this point it's so ingrained in our daily routine that I don't devote much energy to it. And you know what? With recipes like this, what's to miss?

Nut-Free Granola

Cooking spray or flavorless oil of your choice
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp. butter (or dairy free margarine, such as Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine)
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
2 cups puffed corn cereal (or puffed rice, if you prefer)
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup dried mango, chopped
1/4 cup dried pineapple, chopped
2 tbsp. pepitas
2 tbsp. sunflower seeds
1 hand full of fresh berries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or grease with your oil of choice.

2. Place honey, butter, and brown sugar in a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 25 seconds and stir until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and honey is runny.

3. Toss rolled oats and puffed corn with honey-butter mixture. Spread on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 10-12 minutes, stirring often to promote even browning. Remove oat mixture from oven and cool completely.

4. Gently stir together oat mixture, dried cherries, dried mango, dried pineapple, pepitas, and sunflower seeds. Serve over yogurt, milk, or munch on its own as trail mix. For a dairy-free version, serve over soy milk or yogurt, rice milk, coconut milk yogurt, hemp milk, or anything else you like. Top with a few fresh berries or other seasonal fresh fruit.