Healthy (and cheap) Homemade Granola Recipe

by Lucia Stansbie

Who doesn’t love granola?!? The problem with supermarket bought ones is the quantity of sugar and inflammatory oils, as well as the lack of nuts. Health store granolas are much better, but they are cheap. Good news – making your own granola is very easy and cheap, and will allow you to costumise it your taste and add plenty of health promoting nuts and good ingredients.

For this batch I have used goji berries (which are full of antioxidants), flaxseeds which are one of the main vegan sources of anti-inflammatory omega3 fats, pumpkin seeds which are rich in minerals and healthy fats and walnuts which are another great source of omega3.

I have used cinnamon for taste and because this spice can help managing sugar spike and regulating blood sugar levels. When making your own granola you can modulate the amount of sugar your use – I have used 3 tablespoons of honey and some vanilla paste to still have a sweet taste.

You can play with your favourite combinations and add your favourite nuts – Brazilian are a great source of selenium, cacao nibs are a great source of antioxidants and pistachios are a source of vitamin B6.

INGREDIENTS

Coconut oil
Raw jumbo oats
Crushed walnuts
Mixed seeds (flax and pumpkin)
Cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Raw honey
Vanilla paste

METHOD

1. Cover a baking tray with greaseproof paper and fill it with the oats, to suss out the quantity. Oats should “crowded” so they stick together when baking, but not so much that they won’t toast evenly.
2. Transfer the oats in a bowl and mix with the nuts, seeds, cinnamon and the pinch of salt. There is no set quantity, it really depends on how nutty you’d like your granola to be.
3. In a little saucepan melt the coconut oil – for a medium baking tray I use 3 tablespoons. Transfer the melted oil to the bowl and mix. At this point add the raw honey (I have used again 3 tablespoons) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste and mix. The mixture should be slightly sticky but not too greasy or covered in honey. If there is no stickiness add a bit more of coconut oil, and if not too sweet add a bit of stevia.
Transfer the mixture to the baking tray covered in greaseproof paper and bake a gas mark 4 until golden.
4. Let it rest in the oven until cold and the break it up and serve.

VARIATIONS

*Cacao nibs and orange peel granola – great if you like the taste of orange chocolate!
*Coconut granola – add shredded coconut and use flavoured coconut oil
*Gingerbread granola – use cinnamon, nutmeg, candied ginger and swap honey for molasses (which are a great source of iron btw!)