Nut granola

This beloved breakfast idea was originally marketed under the name "Granula" but this led to legal problems and eventually changed its name to "Granola" in 1881. It was invented by The Kelloggs (founded by John Kellog) which are best known for the invention of the famous cereal corn flakes.

By and large, it is a very healthy food, the "bad' part about it is just if you buy it from stores and don't read the ingredients label carefully. They usually add loads of artificial sweeteners, conservatives which can have plenty of bad effects on your health.

But while you bake it at home, it has all of the macronutrients and micronutrients, so it is the perfect boost of energy at the beginning of the day that you body needs.

In short, it is made out of oats, nuts, maple syrup and dried fruits. The oat flakes and fruits contain carbs, fibers and antioxidants while the nuts have have lipids and proteins..!

If you want to go for an even lower in sugars options, the most common replacement are the bananas. Don't know if you have tried it or like it, but for some reason, I personally don't really enjoy it... It doesn't turn out as crunchy as it should and it just has a banana taste (obviously :) which in my opinion doesn't match the granola...

After many trials, I finally got the perfect replacer.. The blueberries! They don't offer an intense flavor to the final product, but such a pretty color. You can still use some other sweetener (agave syrup in this case) but for the most part of the wet ingredients, I find the blueberries just perfect! But that's a recipe for another time, now I want to present you my classic recipe which is loaded with nuts.. A dreammm!

Ingredients:

120g oats

20g almonds

20g pecans

20g walnuts

20g coconut oil

1 tsp of peanut butter (for peanut butter lovers only- it works just as great without)

60g maple syrup/ agave syrup/ rice syrup (I used sea buckthorn syrup)

1 tsp cinnamon

Step one:

Preheat the oven at 150 degrees and line a tray with baking sheet.

Step two:

Chop the nuts and add them in a bowl. Pour over the oat flakes and cinnamon. Give them all a stir and set aside.

Step three:

In a small saucepan melt the coconut oil and teaspoon of peanut butter. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients then add your favorite sweetener. Mix and and put the mixture in the tray. Bake for 25-30 minutes and toss at after 15 minutes with a wooden spoon.

Step four:

Let cool and add a handful of cranberries (or other dried nuts that you love) and coconut chips.

Enjoy with a bowl of cold yogurt, a porridge or smoothie! I guarantee that your morning will suddenly be 10 times better with such a yummy breakfast!

Enjoy,

Yasmina!