DAY NINETEEN: Coconut granola

A little twist on my favourite oaty snack…coconut butter style!

crisp baked oatmeal

This experiment was originally inspired by this recipe by Quirky Cooking.  Jo is a fellow Thermomixer and I love her blog for it’s quirky offerings with a mindset similar to my own.

Taking the coconut butter (homemade of course) and its superfood add-ins I simply wanted to go that bit further and add oats…voila, a no-bake granola.  I had hoped that this would break off in large chunks (just the way I like it best) in its raw state, however it was more of a traditional flaky granola style…that was until I baked it!

Ok, so baking it of course means the granola is no longer raw but I can live with that, it gave a lovely contrast to the raw version- 1 recipe 2 ways.  When it was first baked I wasn’t sure quite sure what I thought…hmmmm, it just didn’t quite have the pizazz.  But once cooled properly it really came into its own with an amazing crisp bite, courtesy of the coconut butter.

I will say that is not a low calorie granola with it lashings of coconut butter, but it is full of good-for-you foods and healthy fats so it still ticks the boxes in my book and would be great as a crisp topping, a little goes a long way. Of course you can also vary the add-ins as much as you like to meet your own personal taste.

no-bake soft oatmeal clusters

Recipe: Coconut granola

Makes one baking sheet full

Ingredients

150g coconut butter (not coconut oil)

20g cacao nibs

100g oats

¼ tsp stevia

3 tbs agave

20g each flaked almonds/chia seeds/dried cranberries/dried blueberries/sun flower seeds (or other combinations)

Method

Melt the coconut butter gently until runny. Mix through all remaining ingredients until fully coated in coconut butter.

Press into a large shallow baking pan to form a layer approx1cm thick. Allow to set in the fridgeand use as a raw granola crumble or bake for approx. 10-15 mins until slightly golden. Allow to cool fully before breaking into chunks.

This raw granola actually tasted so good with some soy milk and a dusting of cinnamon

baked is my favourite!

What Vegan MOFO means to me.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

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.

Dip-tastic

It stands to reason that there are some universal truths. Fruit and veg = good. No one is debating that, right?  But, there has been lots of ‘debate’ in recent days about the nutritional quality of Green Smoothies.

(photo by nabcommunities.com)

Some highly respected doctors  and nutritionist have suggested that green smoothies are ‘bad’, the general premise being that the fibre content is so broken down and refined by the blending action the nutritional benefits are significantly reduced a with further impact of a sugar rush on the body.

Ok, I see the point, and it is does make you think. I think we all need to ‘think’ once in a while and debates like this, whichever side you may take, ensure we do that. It’s no good to simply follow the crowd off the back of the current ‘trend’. It is importantly that we understand why we do the things we do, and chose to do the things that make us feel good. We are all individuals, and what might work for one person, may not suit another.

Where do you draw the line?  The overall conclusion of these debates was that raw wholefoods in their natural state are the best. Well I guess we all knew that all along. But for me, I enjoy both raw and cooked foods in various states. For example, one could question a bowl of soup- cooked veggies then blended to make a creamy soup.  So are soups now even lower on the nutritional scale?

I personally think it a case of getting the balance right. You need to be aware of what you put in your body and make healthy choices where possible…BUT you should also enjoy what you eat. I’m not giving up my soups!  I personally haven’t yet got into the green smoothie revolution, but it was something I was keen to experiment more with.  Have these latest debates made me think twice?  Think, yes certainly, but would I now not drinks these smoothies? No, that wouldn’t change but I may be more selective with their frequency if I was a hard core green smoothie addict.  Awareness and choice is key.

So, the point of today’s post.

I agree with the general principle that raw food is best, and, for me, the notion of integrating simple raw foods into your everyday diet in an enjoyable way is the way forward.

I often grab raw veggie sticks to munch on as a quick snack any time of day….but when combined with a tatsy dip they are so much better!  My new mission is to create a selection of healthy dips that can really take the raw veg to another level.

Whether it be hummous, lentils, baba ghanoush… I want to try them all!

A big priority for me is the ability the freeze the mixture as typically the dips only stay fresh for a few days and I want to be able to make a big batch for speed and ease (my Thermomix finds it hard to make tiny portions) so making a few varieties and freezing individual portion sizes to last me for a month is my aim.

I will keep you posted on my experiments!  I’d be interested to know your thoughts on the whole ‘raw’ foods debate.