Granola Bread

More About This Recipe

• Breakfast at our home is a bit hectic. In the midst of waking up groggy, showering, getting dressed and making ourselves look presentable, we somehow manage to squeeze in about 10 minutes of time each morning to down our coffee, eggs and toast (and fruit, if we're lucky to have an extra 30 seconds to wash and cut it into slices) before running out the door. Being that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I am always disappointed when I can devote only moments of my day to enjoying my food -- and those who know me well know that a.) I hate being rushed, and b.) I hate being rushed through a meal. And if I am, well, just don't talk to me for a while. So if I'm only going to have a sliver of time to eat breakfast each morning, I better make it worthwhile. Enter granola bread. Granola bread, to me, is a melding of a few of my favorite breakfast foods into one loaf. It reminds me of granola (duh), cereal, toast and oatmeal all at the same time. For this loaf I used Nature Valley Granola Bars (the Oats and Honey kind... yum yum) and threw in a handful of raisins to give the loaf an extra punch of flavor and texture. And let me tell you, it makes those 10 measly minutes the best part of my morning. What's great about this loaf is that you can really play around with the ingredients. Use a different flavor granola bar (I'd love to taste a Pecan Crunch or Peanut Butter version next, or Cinnamon tossed with grated apple) and add in your favorite mix-ins (I chose just raisins this time, but grated carrots or apples, as previously mentioned, would work well too, as well as walnuts or almonds). Though it doesn't cure your distaste for being rushed in the morning, this granola bread is the best thing for breakfast eaters who want a hearty, delicious morning meal but only have 10 minutes (or less) to spare.