Granola

Granola

A high fibre breakfast doesn’t have to taste like sawdust.  Try this Granola for a sweet, crunch tasty treat.  It is SO good – it’s hard to stop at one serve.  Keep in the freezer or fridge in an air tight container

5 mins prep * 40 mins cooking * Vegan (unless served with yoghurt or milk) * ½ cup per serve

Ingredients

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup fresh walnuts, roughly chopped

½ cup raw almonds

¼ cup each of sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and linseeds

½ cup shredded coconut, or coconut flakes

pinch sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

⅓ cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla paste

1 ripe banana, mashed

1 tbs almond butter, melted

1 cup chopped dates

Optional  Add ½ cup of dried cranberries (ones that are sweetened with apple/ pear juice; not craisins)

Method

Preheat oven to 160⁰C. Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. 

Add wet ingredients, mix until dry ingredients are well coated.

Spread mixture on 1-2 baking trays lined with baking paper.

Bake 30 – 45 minutes, mixing occasionally to break up lumps, and turn tray to cook granola evenly (you may need to reduce heat or cover loosely with foil if browning too much).

Remove granola from oven and allow to totally cool before storing in airtight jar.

Serve with yoghurt and/or milk and fresh or stewed fruit. I also like to sprinkle mine on a smoothie.

For added fibre, choose fruit such as a pear, apple or raspberries. 

Nutritional information:

Eating a high-fibre diet, along with drinking plenty of water, helps you to avoid constipation and straining your pelvic floor muscles.
And while breakfast ‘cereal’ can often provide a good portion of the recommended daily intake of dietary fibre, many commercial high-fibre cereals are about as tasty as hay, while others can be low in fibre and high in added sugar.
Not this granola.
It has a base of fibre-rich rolled oats and my three favourite seeds that I recommend for helping to keep the bowels regular – linseeds, sunflower seeds and pepitas.
It is flavoured simply with cinnamon and vanilla and sweetened with maple syrup. The end product is a delicious mix of high-fibre seeds, nuts and grain with a crunchy toasted texture and no added oil.

based on a recipe by Sandra Villella, naturopath