I know. You’re thinking, Dear God Fran, we’ve been waiting all this time for you to stop talking about your dang book and get back to talking about great food — and this is what you come up with? Granola? REALLY?
Yes, really. And stop mocking me. (I also have an amazing Snickerdoodle recipe I’ll share soon so don’t freak out!)
Granola, done right makes plain Greek yogurt something you actually look forward to…well after you drizzle the yogurt with a little honey…but still! I honestly look forward to getting up, having my latte and then digging into yummy yogurt with pecans, dates, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, pepitas, oats, coconut, cinnamon and more!
I’m sure this makes the once, low calorie yogurt, no longer low calorie, but at least it’s healthy and has lots of protein. I’ve been trying to lose the same ten pounds for two years now and I’m hoping yogurt, granola, Crunch Fitness, and the little discipline I have left can help me get there. I found this recipe on a blog called Quinn’s Place. It’s called Auntie Sarah’s Coconut Granola and it’s great. Quinn is pretty dang impressive and not afraid to experiment, which I love! Check out her blog by clicking the above links.
My sister Mary liked it (and she usually hates anything with coconut) and my brother Bernie and his wife Donna loved it so much I made them a batch when I was visiting recently. I made it with the full amount of coconut oil and maple syrup, but you calorie conscious folks could probably reduce the syrup and oil and it would be just as good.
So, without further adieu, and because I owe you guys, below is the recipe for my new addiction, Auntie Sarah’s Coconut Granola.
And, in case you’re wondering, I’m not done with Come on Down! Trust me, this is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a great, laugh-out-loud summer read and has 23 five star reviews on Amazon, none of which I paid for!
It’s perfect to read, or listen to on a car ride, a plane ride, a beach chair, or drunk in the bar of your choice, so if you haven’t read it yet, or have a friend or relative who hasn’t read it, please let them know about it. And if you have time, please leave a review!
I’ve had people of numerous nationalities tell me my mom was their mom too, so it’s not just for Italians! Here’s a link to Come on Down! A Little Story About My Italian Mom’s Big Dream on Amazon. You can get it other places too. I have them listed in this February blog post.
And if you get a friend to buy it and send me a pic of them with it, I’ll send you one of my Italian Curse Word Wine Charms...not very classy but they add fun to any party. (Here is a translation for those of you who were not raised by a fiery Italian mom, and apologies in advance to my respectable readers: (Left to right they mean, turd, small female turd, rat, woman of the night/whore.) My cousin, Irene from Italy, cracked up when she saw them. Just email me via my author website: FranTunno.com and we’ll be in touch!
Ok, I’ve gotta go and eat some yogurt with granola then go to yoga class! (Look at me trying to impress you with my healthy habits.) I’ll be sending another post on July 4th about my upcoming essay in the Huffington Post!
As always (and definitely not mandatory) if you enjoy this blog and would like to be a supporter so I can dig myself out of the horrendous debt I’ve put myself in while self-publishing, just click on buymeacoffee.com/FranTunno And thanks so much to all of you who are supporting my blog!
Auntie Sarah’s Coconut Granola with Fran Tweaks
See note at bottom first. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large rimmed cookie sheet with parchment.
Gather and prepare all ingredients and combine them in a large bowl, mixing until evenly coated with syrup and oil. Add any extra salt or vanilla to taste.
Spread the granola across the parchment lined pan evenly. Bake for 1 hour, tossing the granola every 15 minutes to prevent burning. If the granola doesn't look golden, bake for an additional 15 minutes until it does, but be careful it doesn't burn.
Remove from oven and cool completely. Store in glass jars or quart containers at room temperature. It's delicious on yogurt, ice cream, pudding, oatmeal or with fresh or cooked fruit. This makes about 2 quarts.
Quinn's recipe called for olive oil or coconut oil, but I like coconut so I used that. Be sure to taste your sunflowers for freshness. I used dry roasted unsalted hazelnuts. I used the whole amount of oil and syrup but you could probably use less and it would probably be as good. I used dates, but might try dried cherries or cranberries, or both next time.
4 Comments
Matilda Novak
July 1, 2026 at 5:13 pmHi Fran,
My sister and i LOVE Coconut, so very much looking forward to trying this recipe….(as well as the upcoming snickerdoodles). I Finally heard your read of “Come on Down” which was every bit as good as I expected!! Love you and hope you sell a zillion. I’ll see if i can figure out how to leave a review on Amazon. Thanks for all the recipes there as well!
Fran Tunno
July 1, 2026 at 5:53 pmMatilda! Thank you so much! I hope it brought a smile to your face! You will love the granola! Let me know if you have any questions on the recipes. Just a note. Some of the books have only 1/4 cup of bread crumbs in Uncle Richard’s meatballs, but it should be 3/4 cup. Just FYI!
Petrea Burchard
July 1, 2026 at 2:42 pmI love granola—and I make my own, the store-bought stuff isn’t any good. But I hate to tell you, if I want to lose weight I can’t eat it every day. At least, not as much as I want! But it’s healthy and delicious and great with plain greek (nonfat) yogurt~!
Fran Tunno
July 1, 2026 at 5:50 pmYeah, I figured that was probably part of the reason the pounds are not melting away, but it’s so good I’m wondering if being thinner is worth the sacrifice. Perhaps not!