December means shoving as many holiday cookies in my face as possible (when no one is looking).

And struggling to pick out the perfect gifts for my family members.

It’s really not a struggle at all concerning my sister… she always has a long list of items to choose from.

Mostly clothes.

Which works for me, because I can discreetly take borrow what ever I give her when my own stuffed closet is looking a little empty.

Muah ha ha!

My mom, on the other hand, has a much harder time coming up with her list.

Some prodding is definitely required.

It took about 3 or 4 weeks of nudging to finally extract some sort of tangible gift idea.

Success!

More clothes.

For my dad, I simply whip up a large batch of homemade granola every year.

In my opinion, the gifts you can eat are the best kind of gifts… until they’re all gone of course.

This particular granola contains nutty almonds, cashews and tropical coconut flakes! It’s sweetened with pure maple syrup plus a little brown sugar.

Enjoy with unsweetened original almond milk or make a breakfast parfait with fresh, seasonal fruit and creamy Greek yogurt.

P.S. You can adjust the amount of brown sugar to suit your taste. Sugar is amazing and all, but it is possible to overdo it… as crazy as that sounds.

P.P.S. Try swapping in walnuts or pecans.

P.P.S. You really don’t need milk or yogurt, just grab a handful and scarf it down!