CSC: Apple Pie Granola with Two-Minute Date Puree

My first recipe book from The China Study Quick and Easy Cookbook was the Apple Pie Granola - which first required preparing the Two-Minute Date Puree. I don't think I'm giving out any proprietary secrets here by telling you that the puree consists of exactly two ingredients: Medjool dates, and water.

Tip #1 would be this - avoid buying the super-expensive packages of Medjool dates. Seriously, the smallest I could find was $14. Would I eat all of those? Yes, they are delicious! But, there are other healthy snacks with a much lower price tag. My recommendation is that if your grocery store carries these in the bulk section, get 'em there. About nine should give you a cup.

I tossed the two ingredients into the smallest cup of my Ninja blender (love, love the Ninja!) and let it do all the work. I know it looks a little lumpy on the right, but was nice and smooth when I scooped it out.

Moving on, I prepped and measured the remaining ingredients for the granola, then whipped together the sauce in a saucepan.

The book gives you the option to finish in the saucepan, or in the oven - I like a crunchier granola, so I went with the oven. Parchment paper is definitely a girl's best friend!

After it cooled, I tossed the oats with the apples - using my pie fork! - and stored the granola in a 1.5 quart Oxo pop container (my favorite container in the world, no question). Fit perfectly! Paired with a little unsweetened almond milk, I had breakfast for a week - delicious! Definitely a successful start!

China Study Cookbook: 20 Recipes In!

That's right! After less than a month, I've prepared twenty of the recipes, and two I've repeated!

Originally I had intended to cook my way through the three sample weekly meal plans provided, but the craziness of our summer schedules hasn't worked well with that idea. Now I'm just selecting a few that will fit in here and there, and tracking the results as I go. I've accumulated quite the list to share! So, if you're interested, I'm going to begin posting my adventures from this book - if you're not, well, just ignore the posts.

And by the way... NINE MILES!