Homemade granola with Greek Yogurt
March 24, 2010 by taha
Okay, I thought I would try something new on our blog. One thing that most of us probably agree on is that many outdoor adventure/fitness enthusiasts enjoy eating good, healthy food. Although, I have to say I may be the exception to that as I do give in to my McDonald’s and Starbucks cravings probably a little too often. Anyway, I got this recipe from my mother-in-law for homemade granola and it is so good that I had to share it. It is very easy to prepare and stores quite well, although our supply doesn’t last long so I’m always making a fresh batch! So here’s the recipe:
- 1 cup of quick cooking (not instant) rolled oats
- 1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds (I use slivered)
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons of good honey
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, oil and honey together in a large bowl until they are completely combined. Pour mixture onto a sheet pan and bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring once.
I then serve the granola with honey and greek yogurt. I use the honey flavored greek yogurt, but plain is good as well. This is a great way to start the day or have as a snack. It is also really delicious on ice cream or sprinkled over fruit. I included a photo below so you could see how I serve it when we have guests over for brunch. I also make it “pretty” for the kids. They seem to think it tastes like a treat that way! Hey, whatever it takes!!
Anyway, give it a try and let me know what you think. We would love to hear back from you as well on your favorite, healthy and easy recipes. You can either email us your favorties at: info@takeahikearizona.com or submit comments on our blog. We look forward to sharing more fun, easy recipes with you in the coming months. Enjoy!
A delicious and easy recipe!
Hiking in the Rain
March 9, 2010 by taha
Okay, so I’m sure you’ve heard the song “Singing in the rain” right? Well, there should be one for Hiking in the rain! Wow, we have had so much rain this year in the desert!! I have never seen the desert as green as it is right now. There is so much ground cover and plenty of tiny wildflowers popping up everywhere. If you haven’t been out there yet, you should try to make some time to do so. We do not get great rainy seasons like this too often.
Speaking of which, we just did a hike this past Sunday (a very stormy day). We started out (and finished the hike) with 17 people in an absolute downpour! First of all, I have to say hats off to the hardy souls that joined us for what promised to be a very wet hike. Fortunately, the rain did slow down and actually stopped for some time so we were not being rained on the whole hike. I have not had many opportunities to actually hike here in the desert during a rainstorm. It seems more often than not, that our rains are accompanied by thunder and lightning and we do not go out in that weather. But on Sunday, we were fortunate enough to have the rain minus the lightning which would have been a showstopper. Anyway, as I was saying, this is one of the first times I’ve been out hiking in the desert mountains in the rain here in the valley. I have to say it was absolutely beautiful! The creosote bushes, which give our desert that great aroma when it rains, literally filled the air with their scent. It kind of reminded me of when I used to hike in the pine forests back east and you couldn’t seem to breathe in enough of the beautiful scented air.
Not only did the desert smell fresh and the air felt crisp, but we were rewarded with some great views from within the clouds and above the clouds as we hiked up. At some points during the hike it felt like we were walking out of the mist into a new world. It was very serene to say the least. Then to top off the hike, the clouds cleared just enough to let the sun peak through and create an unbelievably bright, colorful rainbow as we were hiking back down to reality. It really doesn’t get any better than that! Anyway, I was just so in awe of the beauty of the desert on this hike, that I just had to mention it on our blog. And I wanted to highly recommend to those of you who haven’t done so yet, try to take advantage of some of the rainy days and get out there and hike! Just don’t go if there is thunder and lightning in the forecast! If you do get out there, let me know about your experience and send me some photos. I’d love to hear about it.
Lastly, you can go to our photo gallery on our site http://www.takeahikearizona.com and look at the gorgeous photos we took during this hike. They are included in the WM Symposium folder on our flickr page (which is linked to our photo gallery). I also included a photo with this post of the rainbow we saw on our way back down.
Sonoran Desert Rainbow
Snag and Save excursions
March 9, 2010 by taha
For those of you joining Take A Hike Arizona on our Snag and Save hikes, here are the directions to the trailheads that we will be starting from.
Piestewa Peak Park (Phoenix Mountains Preserve). From Highway 51, take the Glendale Ave exit. Head east on Glendale Ave (which actually turns into Lincoln Ave as you head further east). About 3/4 of a mile from Highway 51, you take a left turn at the traffic lights onto Squaw Peak Drive. Follow this road straight into the park and stay on this road all the way to the far end where you come to a circular parking area and can drive no further. This is where we will be meeting to start this hike.
McDowell Sonoran Preserve (Gateway Trailhead). For those of you with GPS, the exact address for this location is 18333 E. Thompson Peak Parkway, Scottsdale. We will be meeting at the main building area on the east side of the parking lot. For those of you who still drive around the old fashioned way (like me), here are the directions.
Heading North on Hwy 101, take the Frank Lloyd Wright exit. This exit will drop you onto the service road that runs parallel to the highway (Pima Rd). Stay on this road through the first set of traffic lights (cross over Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd at the traffic lights). Go past the West World entrance. Stay straight until your next set of traffic lights at Bell Rd. Turn right onto Bell Rd. Follow Bell Rd past the Ice Den skating rink and past the Basha’s shopping center. At Thompson Peak Parkway (major intersection) take a left. Follow Thompson Peak Parkway for a few hundred yards. The entrance to the Gateway Trailhead parking area is on your right. Follow the entrance into the parking area and park wherever you find a spot. We will all meet up by the main building.
Heading South on Highway 101, take the Pima Rd/Princess Rd exit. From the exit ramp, stay straight through the first set of lights at Pima Rd. At the second set of lights, take a left onto Bell Rd. Follow Bell Rd past the Ice Den skating rink and past the Basha’s shopping center. At Thompson Peak Parkway (major intersection) take a left. Follow Thompson Peak Parkway for a few hundred yards. The entrance to the Gateway Trailhead parking area is on your right. Follow the entrance into the parking area and park wherever you find a spot. We will all meet up by the main building.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@takeahikearizona.com. See you there!
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