Granola makes a change from muesli
I was converted to muesli after a ski holiday to Austria earlier in the year. You could just add all the extra bits you liked and grind a selection of seeds in a lovely wooden spice mill making it kind of special. After a few weeks of being back home the novelty had worn off a bit, and there’s no doubt about it, muesli is quite an effort to eat. No matter how mindfully I ate it, I just had to be in the mood, and I soon slipped back to my old favourite – spelt toast. Until however, I stayed at The Scarlet in Cornwall last month and discovered Granola!
Oh what a joy! Golden crunchy baked muesli. With almond milk. Although recently I have been having it with some live yoghurt for probiotic yumminess.
So, I looked around for a few ‘recipe’ ideas and came up with this template.
6 parts dried ingredients to one part wet.
It’s your choice to use a sweetening agent
You can choose from a vast array of dried ingredients
The wet is a mixture of oil and sweetening agent which could be honey or maple syrup. I have been told not to heat honey higher than 40 degrees and I don’t like wasting it to bake with, so personally I use maple. The oil could be avocado or coconut oil, but generally 3/4 oil to 1/4 sweetening agent. Now, if you are on one of the ‘sugar is bad for you’ quests, then leave it out all together. You wouldn’t add sugar to your muesli. We could get into the ‘anything in moderation’ debate, and what is moderate for some, may be an overload to others. This is a post about how to make it, not an argument as to exactly how healthy it is! After all, we could also debate if it’s okay to add fresh fruit to your cereal or is that classed as sugar too?!
It’s a personal blend.
The dried ingredients are made up of half organic jumbo oats and a scoop of rolled quinoa flakes for protein. I mix up dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Chia seeds and pumpkin seeds are my favourites, with halved hazelnuts being favoured more than walnuts. As far as the dried fruits go, cranberries or a few fat raisins suit me fine. I don’t overload with dried fruit as I’d rather add a few fresh blueberries when serving. Remember, if you want to add flaxseed, you need to grind it first to ensure the oils are absorbed in to your system. Spices and Himalayan pink salt can be added if you like, but for me this is enough just as it is. It’s not an exact science, so play around with it, but if you keep the 6:1 ration, you won’t go far wrong.
Mix the wet and dried ingredients together in a bowl until completely coated and spread onto a lined baking tray. I bake mine at 200C for about 10 minutes, then I lower it to 150C and allow and extra 20-30 minutes. Baking time depends on the oats and your oven. Keep checking it to ensure it doesn’t burn. If you add more dried fruit, check it doesn’t catch! I tend to add my dried fruit after about 15 minutes.
My granola is stored in kilner jars and I have a one cup serving with organic almond milk. I like to add some blueberries or sliced banana (or both!) but I do still like my spelt toast, but I try to have Granola on alternate days. It keeps my insides working well! I find it much more pleasurable to eat than muesli.
