First and foremost I want to offer a brief, but sincerely heartfelt, thank you for everyone that left comments or sent me messages this past week. It’s been a difficult time, but the warm words and support were truly helpful. Thank you.
As I mentioned in our last post, Grandpa would not have wanted us to mourn for long. So it’s time to get back in the kitchen, and I know he would have enjoyed this next stateside series…It’s time for our recipes from Hawaii to begin! 
Over the next few weeks we’re going to try to replicate some of our island favorites. This particular recipe was hands-down the one I looked forward to recreating the most. The first time I came across this dish was at the Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee Company. I wanted something fresh and light to contrast the heavy resort and restaurant food we had been enjoying, and the Anahola Granola looked perfect. 
Now I came to discover that Anahola Granola is a particular brand of granola made fresh daily in Kauai. It’s a tropical granola made with local ingredients and flavors, and I must say it’s downright fabulous. So after reading the ingredient list and scanning through numerous granola recipes (including Linda’s at Savoring Every Bite) we came up with our recipe for Kauai Granola.
We first gathered the sweetened coconut (We would have preferred unsweetened, but this is all we could find at the store.), whole grain organic oats, chopped walnuts and sesame seeds. 
Then we measured out the canola oil, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. 
Next came the healthy ingredients including orange juice, honey, ground flax-seed and wheat germ. The ground flax-seed and wheat germ were inspired by Linda. 
We then mixed all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, 
and spread it in a thin layer over two parchment lined baking sheets. 
We baked the granola for 15 minutes at 350F, checking it after 10 minutes to make sure it wasn’t getting too crispy. It will burn quickly, so make sure to keep an eye on it. While the granola was baking we turned to our rainbow array of fresh fruit which included fresh pineapple, papaya, strawberries, red grapes, bananas, apples and oranges. 
We then chopped all the fruit, setting aside one half of the papaya for an alternate use. 
We made sure to let the granola cool a bit then we added it to our cereal bowl, topped it with the fresh fruit and served it with a some cold milk. 
Now I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I had high expectations for my cereal and I had never attempted to make homemade granola. Fortunately after pouring the milk over the granola and digging into the fruit laden cereal, I was over the moon. It tasted nearly identical (at least as far as I can remember) to the Anahola Granola I enjoyed for breakfast in Kauai. It was fresh, flavorful and absolutely delicious with the fruit and milk. 4 spoons for me! 
Now Mike and the kids were in for a treat as far as I was concerned. They didn’t eat the granola in Kauai, so this was going to be a whole new experience for them. Fortunately they all loved it as well. 
Mike rang in with 3 solid spoons for the cereal dish as did Mr. N and Miss A. 
The kids, however, give the granola itself 4 spoons. They’ve since enjoyed it served over vanilla yogurt inside half a papaya and drizzled with honey. 
Miss A calls these papaya boats. 
We’ve also enjoyed the granola in parfaits as well as on its own. And if it’s any indication about how much we’re enjoying this recipe, we’ve since made it three times and even picked up an air tight container that we could specifically dedicate to our Kauai granola. (Speaking of which the container is empty…guess what we’ll be making today!) I had no idea how easy it was to make homemade granola and just how fantastic it could be. Of course, my favorite way to eat it is still covered in oodles and oodles of fresh fruit. Delish! 
Cheers and we’ll be back Tuesday with a few more recipes to wrap up our Armenian adventure. Happy weekend!
Print this recipe: Kauai Granola
Eat, Play, Love 
I totally am going to make this. It sounds awesome!!
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Thanks! We love it!
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Once you go homemade granola, you’ll never go back!! Right next to my biscotti jar is my granola jar!! Both are always kept full….or halfway there! I’ve got guests coming in next week and I’m going to make yours, exactly with the fruit! And I’m thinking they will like the kid’s version too, right in the papaya! I know they will love it. There are just stopping by a few days before taking a cruise so I know they won’t want heavy food prior to cruising! and thanks for the mention…it’s always a surprise to be reading along and then see my name!!
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You’ve got that right! I’m hooked on making granola now. It’s so easy and so darn good! I hope you and your guests enjoy the cereal. I just love it. The fruit is so refreshing and the granola gives it that nice little satisfying crunch. 🙂
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Granola is such a fun way to start the day. I only indulge in it when on vacation and then just a little. Yours sounds so tropical and delicious.
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I’ve usually only eaten granola on vacations as well, but I have to say, I’m loving having it around the house. We just use a sprinkle in the parfaits and for the cereal I stick to a 1/2 cup serving size. The fruit takes care of keeping me satisfied. 🙂
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I love the combination of fruit especially the papaya! Beautiful!
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Thank you Ray! And thanks for stopping by and commenting. 🙂
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Your Hawaiin Granola is absolutely to die for!!The fresh fruits look so brilliant and the way you’ve lined them up after cutting. I was in Oahu last August and would love to go back to another one of the islands soon!!
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Me too Malli! I can’t wait to get back there again someday. Until then, I’m going to keep making this granola. 😉
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Your Hawaii pictures are absolutely stunning, Kristy! Wow. They don’t make me jealous of your vacation at alllll. 😉 This sounds delicious, and so unique. Love how you presented the papaya boats as well. x
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Thanks Caroline! The kids love the papaya boat presentation too. Now if I can only figure out how to craft a sail. 😉
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I have never tried making my own granola, but you make it seem so simple that I will have to give it a try! The fruit looks to die for!
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It’s so wonderfully easy! The kids have each made a batch on their own now too (Well, with a little help measuring.) There’s hardly even any dishes to clean-up afterwards. It’s by far my favorite recipe to remake so far. I don’t think we’ve made any other recipe from this blog so many times! Thanks for visiting and commenting! 🙂
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I love the presentation over the papaya!
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Thanks Raymund!
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Welcome back Kristy.I hope you will recover from your loss soon.
I love making granola, it is great to have around, healthy, makes a wonderful gift idea 🙂
Those papaya boats sound and look heavenly
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Thank you Sawsan. 🙂 I am finding some peace and acceptance now.
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Now that I’m back from my short/long weekend of doing absolutely nothing lol.. I get to see this amazing cereal. I LOVE IT. I can totally see myself making this on the weekend or before work. Thanks for this recipe 😉
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Sure thing Kay! I hope you enjoy it. Miss A has been eating it up like crazy. She puts it over nearly everything. And it goes really well with her juice. 😉
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I’m definitely going to give your granola a try Kristy. As Eva pointed out, I really like to make it. I’m hoping that making your version of Anahola Granola will make me feel like I’m in Hawaii!
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I hope you enjoy it Barb. We just can’t seem to get enough of it. And like you said, how can you go wrong with feeling a bit like you’re in Hawaii. 🙂
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What a delicious and healthy looking bowl of granola and fresh fruit. Love the papaya boat. Beautiful photos.
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Thank you Norma! And thank you for visiting and commenting. I do love the granola with the fruit – it tastes so good and just knowing how many vitamins I’m getting. Yum!
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I can’t tell you how excited I was to find your recipe! I recently finished off my last bag of Anahola granola, and was already missing it. I can’t wait to give this a try! Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you Lori! I hope you enjoy this as much as we do. I don’t think it could ever replace Anahola granola, but it’s sure darn tasty and definitely reminds me of Hawaii! 🙂
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I’m down to my last frozen bag of Smidge’s Granola and can’t wait to try yours! I love your papaya halves filled with the yummy yogurt and granola! What a pretty way to serve it! This hawaiian granola would cheer us up on our snowy day up here in Canada, that’s for certain!
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It is full of so many refreshing flavors. It’s hard to not thing of warmth and sun. 🙂
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Aloha Kristy,
Thanks for the shout-out! We just celebrated our 25 year anniversary and are using the same granola recipe I developed back then when I lived in the Anahola Valley. Your recipe sounds delicious too, great pictures!
Mahalo, Becky
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Mahalo to you Becky! I’m so grateful that you stopped by the blog. I’m a huge fan and so happy to have come across your granola on our vacation. It absolutely brightened my mornings! 🙂
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This looks really good. Now I want some papaya. I am so sorry to hear about your grandfather. I was not online much last week. Internet is not very good were I am at….
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Thank you. I truly appreciate your kind words. 🙂
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This looks so deliciously refreshing! I don’t really like papaya, but I love the idea of trying them the way you’ve made them (boats) 🙂 Should warm myself up to trying it soon 🙂
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I find that the papaya mixed along with the other fruit is really good. On it’s own as a boat, I’d prefer a very fresh papaya to the one we picked up at the store. It’s just not the same. 😉
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Beautiful photos! I love this healthy breakfast. Yummy.
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Thank you Tia! And thanks for visiting. 🙂
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I love making granola, it’s so easy and you can control the sugar and fat content too! Beautiful photo’s of your breakfast! I love how you made the papaya boats, very colorful and fun! What a great way to bring a bit of your vacation to the kitchen! Have a great weekend!
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Thanks Lisa! I’m with you – I like knowing what I’m eating and how much sugar and fat are involved – especially when it comes to granola. 🙂
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What a beautiful, fresh breakfast – and so colourful too. I love making granola, thought I’ve never tried it with orange juice, nor coconut either. I definitely will last time, and I have to say I don’t normally have such a wonderful pile of fruit on at the end when I eat it 😀
I think I’d skip the papaya though – I always thinkg it looks so pretty, and I love preparing it, but it doesn’t seem to have a taste… it’s like an over-priced melon/cucumber hybrid. Perhaps I just never had a good one, but after having papaya and mango juice once I had such high hopes, and was so disappointed when I tried fresh, whole papaya 😦
Great to see you back – looking forward to Hawaii!! 🙂
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I had to laugh Charles! Mike says the same thing about papaya. I don’t mind the papaya mixed in with the other fruit. I enjoy the texture of it. But on it’s own, I prefer it in Hawaii. It’s not quite the same from the grocery store. 😉
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Your photos are gorgeous! The granola sounds so full of flavors I love. I would LOVE to eat it over that papaya drizzled with honey and a little yogurt. What’s not to love. Take care sweetie and I do hope you are recovering the loss. It is so difficult to lose someone you love so dearly.
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Thank you Geni. I’m hanging in there – good moments and sad moments. I think I’m on to the mostly good memory moments now though. 🙂
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Glad to see you back in the kitchen, that is always the best feeling after I have been sad. Looks wonderful, and the picture of the rainbow is beautiful!!!
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I couldn’t agree more Dawn. I spent most of the day following the news in the kitchen – baking non-blog related things. It is the best feeling. Something about being in a kitchen…
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Granola bars aren’t a big thing in India where I live. These are only just picking up and you get them only in big cities. Your recipe looks so healthy and topped with the fruits, esp the papaya boat, it is so so tempting!
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Thanks for visiting and commenting! The cereal version with fruit is my favorite way to enjoy the granola, but it is fantastic with yogurt too. 🙂
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Wonderful to see you back, and with a post loaded with colors!
and, with the theme of Paradise on Earth!
just perfect….
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Thank you Sally. 😉 It seemed fitting.
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I’ve never made granola before Kristy but my friend Barb from Profiteroles and Ponytails does! This recipe sound delicious; and what a great way to remember your wonderful vacation!
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I don’t think I’ll ever buy granola again now. This is just too darn easy and good. 🙂
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Yay for your first granola success! And I love the idea of the papaya boats, too. So fun – all that fresh fruit is getting me all excited for summer. 🙂
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Me too Courtney! I can hardly wait. 🙂
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So nice to have you back Kristy…
This is an absolutely *gorgeous* looking dish and I love the addition of coconut in the granola – something I never do but would make a great flavour add-on. Nothing says tropical like papaya… those boats look great and I can see why they were a big hit with the kids. What a nice way to remember your trip… Beautiful presentation and photos Kristy.
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Thanks Kelly! I’m not normally a huge fan of coconut, but it blends really nicely in the granola. A touch of the tropics… 🙂
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Looks like the perfect thing to eat a after a vacation!
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Definitely – it brings it all back but at the same time is pretty darn healthy. 🙂
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I don’t know how I haven’t seen your blog before, but the papaya boats look fantastic! Very simple, and refreshing. Beautiful pictures too. Enjoy your time traveling, but keep updating your page…this granola and the fruit looks amazing!
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Thanks for visiting and commenting! The papaya is fantastic – although for some reason it just tastes better in Hawaii. LOL. 🙂
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That pictures of the bowl of fruit and again once it was chopped are just amazing! What a great recipe and beautifully photographed post!
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Thanks John! The colors just make me happy too. 🙂
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