Granola is a breakfast favourite for many but unfortunately it’s not the healthiest choice, with many shop bought varieties full of sugar. That said, there are a lot of healthier brands now hitting the shelves, though they come with a pretty hefty price tag. So instead, I decided to make my own, controlling the amount of sugar and oil I used, so that I can actually add enough to my breakfast to fill me up!
Firstly, it’s not a granola, sweet syrups and oil are needed to bind the oats together. These are Toasted Oats, containing minimal oil, no added sugar and packed with beneficial spices like ginger, turmeric and cinnamon – great for anti inflammatory and digestion. You may think this is quite a stripped back recipe, lacking the likes of nuts, seeds or dried fruit but personally, I’d rather get my fat from peanut butter and my sugar from eating real fruit – and on the days I do fancy chunky granola, I make this.
My weekly breakfast is 160g greek yoghurt, protein powder, blueberries a spoonful of peanut butter and a portion of these oats. I usually make the Toasted Oats on a Monday morning, to last five days.
Serves 5
Ingredients:
125g oats
25g sultanas
10 pecans (16g)
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp raw cocoa
30 sprays of one cal oil spray (or add 1 tbsp of oil if you wish)
2 pinches of salt
Method:
1. Measure all the ingredients into a bowl, apart from the salt and oil
2. Mix together well then add half the mix to a frying pan with 15 sprays of oil / 0.5 tbs of oil
3. Fry on a low heat for 5-10 minutes, until the mix starts to release flavour and the sultanas bubble up
4. Remove from heat and set aside
5. Repeat with the second batch (if you have a big enough pan you can do this all in one but you want the oats to cover the pan equally, rather than be piled on top of each other)
6. Leave to cool and add two pinches of salt – I like Himalayan flaked salt
7. Decant into a jar or air proof tight container
Game changer: For additional protein and crunch, I like to add in 40g of Protein Crispies, once the mix is cool (vegan alternatives are available). If I do this, the mix generally last me 6 days, as I have roughly 34g of granola in my yoghurt a day.
Fuel your body happy 