Showing posts with label cereals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cereals. Show all posts
I have always loved making my own granola. My next door neighbor Mabel shared with me her recipe for homemade granola back in the 1980's and I started making it then. It was something my family always loved.
Its a highly nutritious cereal and if you can make your own from scratch it is a bazillion times more tastier than anything you can buy in the shops. You get to control the sugars yourself and you get to choose more natural types of sugars than the manufacturers use.
This Olive Oil & Maple Granola is a recipe I small-batched that I found on the Food52 site, attributed to Nekisia David. You can click through to the full sized version if you like. It makes 7 cups.
The Food 52 recipe has also been adapted very slightly from Early Bird Foods' best-selling Farmhand's Choice Granola. It has a beautiful flavor and is loaded with plenty of toasted pecans, two kinds of seeds, and coconut chips.
I love the large flake oatmeal. Its pretty much the only oatmeal I keep in the house, although I do also have some pinhead oatmeal, which I love cooked for breakfast.
You can always blitz the large flaked oats in a food processor to break it down to make a quicker version of oats if you need that. I find large flake oatmeal fulfils almost all of my oatmeal needs.
Once I started making my own homemade granola I was never satisfied with store bought granola again. The difference in taste is phenomenal. It just tastes so much fresher and the oats are always so much crunchier.
You can also adapt it very easily to your own tastes. You can add what nuts you enjoy, or a mix of nuts.
Granola is something that makes a nice wholesome snack as well. You can carry a small bag or container of it in your purse and then you always have something nutritious to help to keep the hungries at bay and make those candy bars less attractive!
You can of course add dried fruit to the mix once it is baked, and I often do, but I find that the fruit can get really dried out so these days I tend to add it when I go to eat it. Much fresher and softer, but a lovely balance of sweet and tart at the same time.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE OLIVE OIL & MAPLE GRANOLA
Very simple store cupboard ingredients. These are really only suggestions. You can use any nut or seed that you wish to use in the same quantities.
- 1 1/2 cups (156g) old fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (85g) raw pecans, left whole or coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup (80g) hulled raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup (70g) hulled raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup (38g) unsweetened coconut chips
- 6 TBS (131g) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
It is important that you use raw and unsalted nuts for this mix. I will often mix two of three different kinds just for variety when I make my granola. Some favorites are pecans (of course), but I am also very fond of macadamia nuts, cashews and walnuts.
Do make sure you use the good old fashioned large flaked oats.
Use only pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. That is not real maple syrup but corn syrup with a maple flavoring. They are not the same thing. Maple syrup is a natural ingredient and much better for you.
This is one case where I will recommend extra virgin olive oil. It is a place where the flavor of it does make a difference.
Did you know that regular brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added. The more molasses the darker the sugar.
I prefer mine to be a natural brown sugar, not a bleached sugar with molasses added back in. That is just me however, so you go ahead and use whatever brown sugar you want to use.
HOW TO MAKE OLIVE OIL & MAPLE GRANOLA
As I said this is a small batch. It is very simple to make and you won't believe how much more delicious it is than any prepackaged varieties!
Preheat the oven to 300*F/149*C. Have ready a medium sized rimmed baking sheet that you have lined with a piece of baking parchment or a silicone liner.
Measure the oats, pecans, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and coconut into a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, maple syrup, brown sugar and salt. Mix everything well together
Spread out onto the baking sheet in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every fifteen minutes, for about 45 minutes in total, or until the granola is evenly toasted and golden brown.
Taste and add up to 1/4 tsp of extra salt if you think it needs it. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to one month at room temperature.
Trust me when I say that this is so delicious that you will be making more of it before the month is out. Its fabulous eaten out of hand.
Not too sweet, lovely and nutty and beautifully textured.
This is how I usually enjoy my granola. In a small bowl along with a nice dollop of thick unsweetened Greek yogurt and some dried or fresh fruit on the side.
Today it was a nice big soft and lovely Medjool date. Sometimes, if I have any, I will also squirt a bit of date syrup on top. Oh, how I love date syrup. Its not so easy to find here for some reason. I think I a going to have to figure out how to make my own!
As I said, I simply love granola and I love to make many different kinds depending on my mood. Here is one of the different granolas I have made through the years and also a tasty recipe to use your granola in to make your own granola bars!
CHOCOLATE CINNAMON GRANOLA -A filling, fiber filled breakfast alternative that is low in sugars and deliciously high in protein and flavor. This granola is almost half nuts and half oats, with the addition of unsweetened cocoa powder and cinnamon for extra flavor. There is only 1 TBS of maple syrup in the whole recipe. Its a great alternative to the highly processed cereals and ideal for diabetics.
WHITE CHOCOLATE AND CRANBERRY GRANOLA BARS - Children love these and they are a much healthier option than the ready made granola bars you find in the shops. With less fat and sugar and plenty of fiber and protein, you can feel good about making these for the kids and for yourself! A wonderful healthy alternative to cookies and squares and a great snack/meal replacement for when you are on the go.
Yield: Makes 3 1/2 cups
Olive Oil & Maple Granola
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 55 Min
This is a small batch of one of the most delicious granolas I make. You can swap out the nuts and seeds for other types of nuts and seeds as you wish.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (156g) old fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (85g) raw pecans, left whole or coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup (80g) hulled raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup (70g) hulled raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup (38g) unsweetened coconut chips
- 6 TBS (131g) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300*F/149*C. Have ready a medium sized rimmed baking sheet that you have lined with a piece of baking parchment or a silicone liner.
- Measure the oats, pecans, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and coconut into a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, maple syrup, brown sugar and salt. Mix everything well together
- Spread out onto the baking sheet in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every fifteen minutes, for about 45 minutes in total, or until the granola is evenly toasted and golden brown.
- Taste and add up to 1/4 tsp of extra salt if you think it needs it. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to one month at room temperature.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
One of my favorite things to have for breakfast in the mornings is granola, and I always make my own. I have several versions that I like to make. My good friend Mable taught me how to make my own granola back in the 1980's.
It's a really delicious way to get your children to eat oatmeal. They might turn up their noses at a bowl of hot oats but pop some granola in front of them and they will be gobbling it up. It also makes a great and nutritious snack with all of the nuts, wholesome grains and dried fruit.
Like with any recipe, this version of granola no longer resembles the original one. I have added to it and adapted it through the years, trying out new things. I like to think that it is even better than the original, but I do admit I am a bit biased.
.JPG "Honey Granola")
One thing for sure, it's a lot healthier than most ready-made granolas you will find in the shops. They are almost always loaded with preservatives, sugar and fat. I have to admit as well, they just don't taste good in comparison to a good granola that you have made yourself at home.
Admittedly, I am a bit biased, but I always think that homemade anything tastes infinitely better than anything you can buy in the shops.
.JPG "Honey Granola")
Making things like this yourself means you get to control what goes into them. What kinds of nuts you enjoy, how sweet or not sweet you want it to be. The kind of fat you choose to use. No palm oils or hydrogenated fats in my house!
No fake sugars either. Whenever I make my granola I always use pure honey or maple syrup.
.JPG "Honey Granola")
That's probably why it tastes better than store bought. Everything is natural. I did start using a cereal mix in my granola years ago. Meusli works great. Anything that is a nice mix of grains. Today I used this Kashi Go Lean Honey, Almond and Flax Cereal.
I love Kashi and I thought it would work perfectly in this. I was right. It does. Have you ever tried their Cinnamon Whole Wheat Harvest cereal? I love it and could munch on it like cookies. They are like mini shredded wheats with a nice cinnamon flavor, but no sugar is added. Love them.
.JPG "Honey Granola")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HONEY GRANOLA
Simple everyday ingredients. It might seem like a lot, but you can pare it down by using only one or two nuts. Myself, I like a nice variety!
- 7 ounces (approximately 200g) Kashi Go Lean Almond Flax cereal (you can use any multigrain cereal in the same amount. Meusli is good.)
- 2 cups (approximately 165g) large flake oats
- 1/2 cup (60g) walnut halves
- 1/2 cup (85g) whole almonds
- 1/4 cup (30g) raw cashew nuts
- 1/4 cup (30g) pecans
- 1/4 cup (31g) pistachio nuts
- small handful sunflower seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup 120ml) honey
- 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil or melted coconut oil
To finish:
- approximately 1 cup (151g) dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, sultanas, cherries, apricots, etc.)
.JPG "Honey Granola")
As I said you can vary the number of varieties of nuts you use. I like a nice wide variety. The important thing is you have about 1 1/2 cups of nuts altogether. Don't use salted nuts. Just the plain old raw nuts will do.
You can also vary the type of dried fruits you use to finish the granola with. Bear in mind that because of the cereal some of the moisture from your dried fruit will be absorbed, so don't pick fruit that is aready quite dry.
Also don't pick fruit that is too moist, or you will end up with a soggy granola! Sometimes I like to add large coconut chips into the mix, or pumpkin seeds. Granola is one of those breakfast cereals that just about anything goes!
.JPG "Honey Granola")
HOW TO MAKE HONEY GRANOLA
Nothing could be easier. Just be sure to keep an eye on it in the oven and stir it frequently. You don't want it burning.
Preheat the oven to 300*F/150*C/gas mark 3. Spray a large, rimmed baking sheet with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
Mix together all of the cereal, oats, nuts and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Whisk together the honey and oil. Pour this over the dry mixture in the bowl and mix well together with a wooden spoon, making sure everything gets coated. Spread this mixture out on the prepared baking sheet.
Toast in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Give it a stir every 15 minutes and keep a very close watch on it for the last 10 minutes. Because of the honey it can go from perfect to burnt in a flash.
Remove from the oven. Stir occasionally as it cools. Stir in the dried fruit and store in an airtight container. This also freezes well and will keep for up to 6 months.
.JPG "Honey Granola")
We are coming into gift giving season here over the next weeks and Granola makes a great gift. Just pop it into a fancy jar and tie a nice ribbon around the lid, along with a label stating the ingredients.
It's really nice popped into a basket along with a few other breakfast goodies such as a nice box of tea, some artisanal bread, a jar of nice jam or marmalade, and maybe a nice mug and some homemade napkins. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't love a gift like that!
.JPG "Honey Granola")
Are you as much of a lover of Homemade granolas and cereals as I am? If so, you might also enjoy these:
PERFECT GRANOLA - I think this is the perfect balance of toasted nuts, coconut flakes, old fashioned oats and maple sweetness. Not too sweet, just perfect. I enjoy it with plain yogurt and sometimes a squirt of date syrup if I am feeling especially indulgent.
EASY STOVE-TOP GRANOLA - A delicious granola that you make totally in a skillet on top of the stove. Perfect for when you don't have a working oven, are in student digs, or for when you just don't want to heat up the kitchen.
Yield: 4 - 5 cups
Honey Granola
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 50 Min
My favorite breakfast is a bowl of Greek yogurt, sprinkled with homemade granola and fruit. This is one of my favorite versions of granola. Its super good!
Ingredients
- 7 ounces (approximately 200g) Kashi Go Lean Almond Flax cereal (you can use any multigrain cereal in the same amount. Meusli is good.)
- 2 cups (approximately 165g) large flake oats
- 1/2 cup (60g) walnut halves
- 1/2 cup (85g) whole almonds
- 1/4 cup (30g) raw cashew nuts
- 1/4 cup (30g) pecans
- 1/4 cup (31g) pistachio nuts
- small handful sunflower seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup 120ml) honey
- 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil or melted coconut oil
To finish:
- approximately 1 cup (151g) dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, sultanas, cherries, apricots, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300*F/150*C/gas mark 3. Spray a large, rimmed baking sheet with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
- Mix together all of the cereal, oats, nuts and cinnamon in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the honey and oil. Pour this over the dry mixture in the bowl and mix well together with a wooden spoon, making sure everything gets coated. Spread this mixture out on the prepared baking sheet.
- Toast in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Give it a stir every 15 minutes and keep a very close watch on it for the last 10 minutes. Because of the honey it can go from perfect to burnt in a flash.
- Remove from the oven. Stir occasionally as it cools. Stir in the dried fruit and store in an airtight container. This also freezes well and will keep for up to 6 months.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
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I have been making my own breakfast cereal mix since the early 1980's. I started off with granola, inspired by my next door neighbour Mabel. She always made her own granola and inspired me to do the same. That simple recipe she shared with me way back when eventually morphed into my own version of the Perfect Granola Recipe. It is a beautiful mix of oats, nuts, flaked coconut and sweet maple. You can add your own fruit to it. Dried or fresh. I like to enjoy it with plain yogurt and date syrup.
This is a fabulously tasty granola that is high in protein and low in sugars. I have adapted it from the Fast 800 diet, which is a food plan in which participants follow a low carb, Mediterranean style of eating. It also encompasses intermittent fasting. So most days you follow a low carb, low calorie diet, and two days or so a week, you follow an 800 calorie a day diet. Whew! That's pretty low, but it is thought to be quite effective in weight loss and good for people trying to reverse Type 2 Diabetes.
I was keen to try this granola out (from the book The Fast 800 Recipe Book) as I have always been a person who eats granola for breakfast.
I have been making my own granola since the early 1980's. It was my good friend Mabel who got me turned onto Granola. I was a child who grew up with Kellogg's for breakfast. Usually cornflakes, or rice crispies, sometimes cheerios. My brother favoured Shreddies. My mom always made sure she had a box of Shreddies in the cupboard for him when he came home to visit.
We used to sprinkle sugar all over our cereal. I know! Not a practise I have followed for many years now. Can you imagine a bowl of already sweet cereal with sugar sprinkled on top? Its no wonder we are sugar addicts! Sometimes if my mom ran out of cereal before pay day, she would give us buttered bread with sugar sprinkled on top and milk. We loved it!
You will be happy to know that this Granola only has 1 TBS of Maple Syrup in it, so its sweetened naturally with something which comes from nature and hasn't been uber-processed . . .
Its half old fashioned large flaked oatmeal and nuts, each in equal weights. Old Fashioned Oatmeal is low GI, which means it is slowly digested, and causing a lower rise in blood glucose and insulin levels. Its also high in fibre and good for your heart. Likewise nuts, whilst higher in fat (but good fats), are also filled with fibre and low GI. So together a great combination.
The chocolate comes from the use of cocoa powder. I used this one, which can also be used to make hot chocolate.
Dairy, sugar and gluten free, it is infused with cinnamon, which is also very good for you and for your heart! It also helps to lower your blood sugar levels. There is nothing bad about that!
That doesn't mean you should fill up on cinnamon rolls and cinnamon toast however . . . there's too much sugar and other stuff in those for them to do your body much good, other than being a once in a blue moon treat . . .
Oh boy . . . . now why on earth did I have to think about cinnamon rolls? ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ I'm not doing myself any good.
When my children were growing up I often made them Mom's Quick Cinnamon Rolls for a bedtime snack. They loved them. So did my husband, and I confess, I did also. The best thing about them was they were not great keepers so you really needed to eat them on the day!
I have been enjoying this granola in a small serving each morning along with some Greek Yogurt and fresh berries. Raspberries and Blueberries at the moment . . . so good.
There is the option of going uber-indulgent with this, but not over the top. Simply grate dark some chocolate over it before you finish baking it and pop it back in the oven until it melts. Then you just let it sit and cool.
That does sound really scrummy. Maybe next time.
Yield: 8
Chocolate Cinnamon Granola
A filling, fibre filled breakfast alternative that is low in sugars and deliciously high in protein and flavour.
prep time: cook time: total time:
ingredients:
- 4 TBS Coconut oil
- 1 TBS cinnamon cocoa powder
- 1 TBS pure Maple syrup
- 200g jumbo rolled oats (2 1/2 cups)
- 100g mixed nuts (2/3 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Chocolate Cinnamon Granola
- Preheat the oven to 170*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Have a medium baking tray ready.
- Roughly chop the nuts. Set aside.
- Heat together the coconut oil, cocoa powder (I like to sift it into the oil) and maple syrup, stirring until well amalgamated the the coconut oil has melted thoroughly.
- Measure the oats into a bowl. Add the cocoa mixture. Combine well and then spread out onto the baking sheet evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir and add the chopped nuts. Stir to combine. Return to the oven.
- Bake for a further 15 minutes. Leave to cool and crisp. Then store in an airtight container.
NOTES:
For a more luxurious version you can add up to 100g (1 cup) grated dark chocolate to the granola for the last five minutes or so of cook time. Don't stir it. Let it cool and harden for several hours prior to putting into the jar to store.
I've been following this food plan for about a week now. I am afraid to get on the scales. If I haven't lost any weight, I might be really discouraged. So I am waiting until I am a few weeks in before I check. Fingers crossed. I just keep telling myself, its not forever. Once I get back down to a reasonable weight, I can treat myself again, once in a while. MY problem is I have been treating myself far too much!
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