Granola is a nutritious, energy-packed way to start the day!! And always an expression of your own creativity 🙂 Have fun!
Ideas to play with:
- Cashew, coconut, ginger with sunflower seeds and millet puffs
- Or traditional honey, almond with oats and flax
- Maple, pecan, with oats, sunflower, sesame seeds and lots of cinnamon
These are my lose instructions:
- 3 cups GRAINS: oats, buckwheat, quinoa flakes, rice puffs, millet puffs…
- 1-2 cups NUTS: chopped or slivered almonds, cashews, hazel nuts, pecans…
- 1-2 cups SEEDS: sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, chia, ground flax, hemp… (I recommend adding after cooking, except maybe the sunflower seeds)
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded COCONUT (add afterwards to prevent burning)
- 1-2 cups DRIED FRUIT: to be added after cooking: raisins, chopped dates, apricots, figs, goji berries, cranberries… or raw cacao nibs!
- FIBER sources as an option: brans and germs of different grains, flax meal, chia seeds, psyllium…
Spread out all grains, nuts and seeds that you are toasting on a baking sheet. Bake in oven at 300F for about an hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Mix together 3-4 Tbsps melted coconut oil, butter, grapeseed or olive oil with 3-4 Tbsp honey or maple syrup and your choice of spices: cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and vanilla…. Drizzle wet mixture over top once out of the oven and stir.
Tips:
Omega 3 rich nuts/seeds should be added raw after cooking: chia, flax meal, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and walnuts etc.
Other ingredients to add at end to prevent burning: shredded coconut, germs and brans, and any puffed grains.
Sometimes I just toast oats, buckwheat, sunflower seeds and nuts, and add everything else at the end. You can also mix up a raw granola or muesli without any cooking!
When mixing with yogurt, milk or milk alternative for breakfast there is often no need for oil and sweetener, so often I skip the wet mixture 🙂 You can add any spices each morning for a variety.