Why you should make your own: Buying granola or muesli started to become a painful process for me. I would stand in the isle for so long reading the back of packets that claimed they are healthy to uncover the ridiculous amount of sugars, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, etc. that they contained. When I found granola/ muesli that had the least amount of this in it, they were often un roasted and tasted really bland. I also don't like sultanas so it was really hard to find one without any! I spent many mornings picking them out before adding my yogurt! I finally decided to give it a go at making my own, and honestly I wish I started years ago. It is so simple, it only contains the things I like and most importantly I know exactly what's in it. I have since made a huge range of varieties, and here is my latest recipe! Why I chose these specific ingredients for this recipe:
To make a good granola you need wet ingredients to make your oats super toasty roasty! - I have chosen coconut syrup because it's not only really tasty but it's an all natural sweetener made from the nectar of flowers from coconuts, making it an excellent wholesome way to sweeten this food. I use Plant Food Organic Coconut Syrup. - I use dry roasted almonds because they already have more flavour than raw almonds. Since we are not slow roasting the nuts it's hard to get as much flavour from raw ones while making granola. These almonds still have nothing added to them so they are super healthy! - I have chosen salted peanuts for this recipe as I have recently discovered that a little salt makes granola taste amazing! The moderate amount on the peanuts ensure that you don't miss the mark on the perfect amount of salt. - raw peanut butter really helps to spread the peanut flavour in this recipe plus the natural oil in peanut butter helps to toast up the oats really well making them golden and crispy. Using raw organic peanut butter keeps this recipe clean as its only ingredient is peanuts so it's no different from the healthiness of whole nuts but the benefit of spreading the flavour through the oats. - I like to also use mixed nuts and seeds on top of the whole nuts as they are great for clumping to the oats and other ingredients meaning that you still get a nutty flavour even if you don't get a whole nut on your spoon. The chia and flax seeds are easy added health bonuses.
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups of rolled oats 1 cup of dry roasted almonds 1 cup of salted peanuts 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries 1/2 cup mixed nuts finely chopped and seeds (such as 247 protein mix) 2/3 cup coconut flakes 2 tbs coconut syrup 1 1/2 tbs raw organic peanut butter 1 tbs raw honey Method: 1. Preheat your oven to the grill plus oven setting at 200 degrees, line a medium baking tray with baking paper. 2.In large mixing bowl mix the oats, coconut syrup and peanut butter. Spread the oats mixture evenly in the lined tray. 3. Place in the oven and set your timer for 2 mins. (1 min if you don't know how hot your grill in your oven is) Every two minutes pull the tray out and mix the oats so the golden ones move to the bottom and the lower oats can be on top. Repeat this 3 times and remove from oven. 4. In the mixing bowl add the peanuts, almonds, coconut flakes, mixed nuts and seeds and honey and mix. Add the nut mixture to the tray with the oats and mix them through. 5. Please the tray back in the oven and repeat the roasting of 2 mins at a time stirring between each round until you are happy with how roasted your granola is. (Beware that the nuts roast much faster than the oats and can easily burn). 6. Add cranberries, jar your mixture and enjoy!!
This will last about 2 weeks in an air tight container. (Consider how long store bought products last and what they must put in there for it to last so long, enjoy knowing what is in your granola and that you are looking after your body) AK xx