i’m sharing my recipe!
since moving back home with my mum, she seems to always want some of whatever i’m eating so i started making bigger servings of everything but this lasts about 2 weeks in the cupboard anyway so a big portion is always good.
and you can always half the ingredients if its too much for one.
the special steps i do (patting down and leaving overnight) are what makes the granola stick together and become super crunchy like the store-bought kind mmm…
dry ingredients:
- 3 cups – rolled oats (rolled because they’re better for you than quick oats. lower GI)
- 3 tsp – chia seeds (i mix both white & black – black for extra protein. white for extra ALA Omega3)
- 1 tsp – ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp – salt
- 1 cup – filling: chopped up nuts & seeds
you can use whatever you like but i use:- silvered almonds (silvered bc when you roast normal almonds, they can be cancerous)
- macadamias
- cashews
- sunflower seed kernels (yum)
- pepitas
** honestly a cup full of any nuts and/or seeds will do. i add extras raw nuts to my granola after baking it anyway but im just specific with which nuts i choose to put in the oven and which to put in raw because of the health risks – watch this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFwHm6fgQXI if you’re interested in learning why. i know there’re only risks if you roast over a certain temperature but id rather be safe than sorry and i love the tastes of all nuts anyway!
wet ingredients:
- 1/3 cup – melted coconut oil (coco because this adds to the yummy taste + loads of health benefits)
- 1/3 cup – natural sweet syrup (maple syrup is best or anything with a similar texture. i tried date syrup and it was too thick)
- 1 tbsp – vanilla essence or extract
m.e.t.h.o.d man: (iykyk)
- preheat oven low at 150°C
- mix dry ingredients in large bowl (to equally spread)
- add and mix wet ingredients in
- line a large oven tray with baking paper
- pour the mixture into the centre of the paper and spread evenly
- rip another sheet of baking paper and place on top of the mixture, then using your hand press down on the top paper to squish the ingredients together (this is what gets it to combine and crunch)
- take top paper off and place tray in oven
- bake for about 20mins then turn off oven
** i then like to leave the mixture in over night – this is the best way the mixture sticks together ** but if you need it that day, at least keep them sitting until the oven completely cools down.
if you’re concerned with leaving it overnight for any reason, you can place another tray or a kitchen cloth over the granola but its closed in the oven anyway so nothing should be getting into it - when you take it out, break the granola into little bite size pieces and put in a large container
i then add a handful of other chopped nuts (ones that shouldn’t be heated/roasted like pecans and walnuts) and dry fruits (mainly sultanas) and keep it in the cupboard
the coconut oil and maple syrup with cinnamon are what creates the yummy sweet flavour and the seeds and nuts just bring it home. you can essentially add any kind of filling you want – choc chips, coconut flakes, marshmallows etc. but these are what i use and i never get over the flavour! if you’re more on the chocolatey side, you can always sub the cinnamon for cocoa powder (:
i would add in coconut chips but i’ve been eating a lot of coconut yogurt lately so i didn’t think it needed it. when i mix it with my yogurt, i dice up a strawberry or two and a few blueberries. its yummy as heck and an easy little bowl of nutrients to get into your system.
buen provecho!