Breakfast Parfaits

I am a sucker for a healthy breakfast that masquerades as dessert.

This recipe is to-die for, I love all the nuts and coconut in it. It's a fantastic basic granola recipe, and after making it a time or two you can decide what you want to add to it - sometimes I'll add different nuts and dried fruit, or vanilla flavoring, or those yogurt-covered raisin things. YUM!

Just layer the granola with fresh (or jarred) fruit and yogurt to make a filling, satisfying breakfast 'treat'. Thank the lord for Ina Garten - for once, something I'll make a lot because it doesn't have tons of butter and cream ;)

Breakfast Parfaits

(from Barefoot Contessa at Home, 2006)

Ingredients:

1 c. quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats

1/2 c. sweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 c. sliced or slivered almonds

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. honey

2 c. of your favorite fruit, diced if needed

2 c. plain yogurt (or flavored if you so desire; I like Dannon Light & Fit vanilla)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, oil, and honey together in a large bowl until they are completely combined. Pour onto a sheet pan and bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring once.

Combine the fruit in a bowl. In 4 glasses, layer first the fruit, then the yogurt, and the cooled granola alternately until you fill the glasses.