Saturday 28 January 2012

Homemade granola- two ways

Last weekend I really fancied a bowl of granola!

I’d seen some posh tasty looking ‘healthy granola’ in the health food section of the super market, it was chocolate orange flavour and I wanted it there and then! I was so excited (is that odd?) to get home and try this new snack with a dollop of soy yoghurt as an afternoon treat… but I have to admit I was left a little disappointed. It just didn’t do it for me. I’m not sure if it was the flavour combo, the texture or the fact that maybe it wasn’t as amazing as the packaging would have me believe...plus it was very expensive!

Undeterred, I vowed to make my own. I’m surprised I haven’t done so before now. It is really so simple to make, stores for weeks in the cupboard (as if it would last that long!) and is the perfect snack to nibble on at any time of the day when a bowl of porridge just doesn’t quite have the same appeal. I just love oats in all forms!

My granola is now all but gone and today I made a second batch based on the ‘fruity nutty’ version- my favourite of the two if it had to choose, plus I trialed a healthy chocolate version of my own which will be posted soon no doubt once I've had a chanve to refine it a little more. I’m sure I’ll also be playing around with other flavour combos in coming weeks… I will keep you posted.

For now, here you have two recipes for starters. I ate the first as breakfast and the second as dessert…

breakfast…a generous handful of the nutty fruity topped a bowl of grated apple mixed into soy yoghurt sprinkled with cinnamon.

dessert…the coconut banana version had a more tropical trip and was mixed through a bowl of soy yoghurt and mango chunks. Fresh mango would be ideal but I only had frozen chunks at the time which I allowed to defrost before mixing through.

I’d be interested to hear about your own granola experiments as I know so many people already make their own.



Banana coconut- Ingredients

1 ¼ cup oats
½ cup chopped almonds
2 tbs each chia seeds/pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds
4 tbs dessicated coconut
1 banana- pureed
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbs cocout butter- melted
2tbs maple syrup or brown rice syrup
½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt

Nutty fruity- ingredients

1 ¼ cup oats
2 tbs chia seeds
1 cup mix of nuts (I used cashew, walnut and hazelnut)
2tbs each of sunflower and pumpkin seeds
2tbs ground flax
3 tbs apple puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs coconut oil- melted
2 tbs maple syrup
1 tbs rapadura/palm sugar
1 cup dried fruit- optional (I used dates and cranberries) Note: mix into granola once cooled.

Makes approx. 3 medium bowls each (or two baking sheets)

Method for both: 

Melt coconut butter/oil into other liquid ingredients. Add all dry ingredients and mix through. Spoon onto two lightly greased baking sheets making sure to achieve a thin even layer with some clumpy bits. Bake at 170C for 10-15 minutes until slightly golden. Allow to cool fully before storing. Stores in an airtight container in a cupboard for a few weeks.



For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

13 comments:

  1. My dad will really love this. He loves granola for breakfast. He recently went into a little picky-phase of eating after having a new set of dentures. I know this will really cheer him up. Thanks for the post!

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    1. Hi MyFudo, Thank you for your lovely comment- there so many endless variations to have fun with. I have since made an amazing chocolate version with raw cacoa powder and cacoa nibs. It was so good!

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  2. Would you grant me a wish ? I’d really appreciate it if you create a "plain" version of your granola :)

    Only yesterday I tried to make some kind of granola, it was more like crumbles on top of a cake. I mixed together 2 tbs of oil and 3 tbs oats and added some sweetener. They got very crunchy and delicious but I’m afraid there was something missing :(

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    1. Hi Katharina, I'd love to grant your wish! I just wondered what you meant by plain granola, as without the added dried fruit, the second option would be more like plain granola primarily with oats nuts and seeds. You could probably reduce the nuts a little if you wish but the 'binding' ingredients would stay the same.

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    2. I think I just should give that a try :)

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    3. Go for it! let me know how you get on. you could always make half the amount to 'test' it out.

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    4. I did it ! But it turned out to be my very own version. At first I melted 10g coconut butter and added 20g oats and 10g molasses. I´m sure, they would be incredibly delicious if I had not forgotten them in the oven. They are burnt right now. Shit happens :)

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    5. Hi Katharina, your version with molasses sounds very interesting- it suggests a gingerbread version could be an amazing experiment! Shame you burnt them ;-)

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  3. Just wanted you to know that I made your nutty-fruity granola and I'm in love! It is the best granola I've ever had (I've never made homemade before so my experience has been store-bought only). My husband has been having it for dessert with fresh berries. It's terrific! I am making more today. Yum!! Thank you!

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    1. Thank you for your sweet comment, it's made my day. So glad you liked it! Now you've made me want a bowl right now...! Now you've tried homemade you'll naver want to go back to store bought :-)

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  4. I'm not sure that treat will work well with my new set of veneers. But heck, for what it's worth, I'm sure my sevierville cosmetic dentist wouldn't mind me feasting on those! Thanks for the treat. :)

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  5. Hi Geoff, You are very welcome- enjoy!

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  6. Aww, too bad I just had this dental implants fairfield. Is that invisalign friendly? I love the pictures I feel like eating those now. Huhuhu.

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Comments make me smile....go on!

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