I haven’t eaten granola for years until my new friend, Susan, introduced me to Purely Elizabeth grain-free granola. Susan is as conservative as me when it comes to food. I totally trusted her, but out of habit, I looked at the ingredients list. It was pretty impressive. All organic, the granola is sweetened, lightly, with coconut sugar and made with coconut oil. I had some with Greek yogurt almost every day when we were in New Hampshire. And bought more when we got to New York. No, they didn’t sponsor this post, I wish.

As soon as we kind of settled down in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina (Keanu and I are like picky single men—we are still looking for the right place for us), I made my own version of that grain-free granola. I think the only reason mine tasted better was the psychological aspect: the cinnamon and vanilla smell wafting through the air and the fact that it didn’t spend any time in a plastic bag.

FYI, in this house granola isn’t breakfast. Granola is a snack or something sweet! However, this grain-free granola is something else. Since it’s not full of sugar and carbs—it’s all nuts and seeds, pure protein, and very mildly sweet (without the prunes), it can be breakfast. Half a cup of it with two scoops of yogurt for breakfast can only do you good, especially if you’re constipated.

Don’t make a huge batch unless you know you’re going to eat it all in a week.

If you don’t have time to make it, then try Purely Elizabeth’s granola. It’s pretty affordable if you’re not a student in Boston, like my son, Leo. If you are a student, then you should definitely make it—don’t tell me you don’t have 5 minutes to spare. Plus, you can read while it’s in the oven for 20 minutes, if the aroma isn’t very distracting.