Just a little crystallized ginger provides a lot of flavor for this better-for-you granola. It adds zing and nutrition, too. Ginger is commonly used for motion sickness or an upset stomach. In fact there is one study in particular that proved that ginger was far superior to Dramamine for motion sickness!
Mace and Cardamom are two spices we don’t use often in the U.S. Mace is the outside covering of the nutmeg, (use nutmeg if you don’t have mace on hand), and Cardamom is the resinous, strongly aromatic seed used in India, Asia and the Netherlands. Both are full of warm, spicy flavor that tastes great with ginger!
Preheat the oven to 300F. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients except dried fruit and ginger. Drizzle in the maple syrup and stir well. Add orange juice and zest, stirring so all ingredients are coated.
Spread the mix out onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, stirring checking about every 10 minutes so nothing burns.
Remove from oven, add the dried fruit and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.