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.
