If you follow me on social media, you probably know by now that I love to bake. You may have also noticed that I’m pregnant! I haven’t found too many of the stereotypical pregnancy ailments to be true, but the hunger that comes along with the second trimester is REAL. Tie that in with being unemployed and quarantined amidst the COVID-19 crisis, I’m finding it really important to find a balance between baking delicious treats and healthy eating.
I’ve always been a huge fan of salty/sweet combinations, but lately I find myself leaning more towards salty and savory foods. This homemade granola is incredibly clean, free of refined sugar, slightly salty, and honestly just hits the spot! It’s the perfect topping for a bowl of yogurt and fruit, a smoothie, or even a scoop of ice cream!
One of my favorite parts about this homemade granola is how flexible it is. It’s no secret that lately it’s hard to find certain ingredients, so I threw this together with what I had in my pantry. You can get as creative as you’d like or keep it really simple – the choice is yours!
A few things to keep in mind as you make this:
- I only had quick oats which created a looser granola. I like this, but if you’re looking for my lumps and clumps, you might want to try rolled oats.
- To sweeten the granola, you can use any sweetener you’d like. To keep it as clean as possible, I used organic maple syrup. Honey would be great, too!
- Since this recipe is so flexible, you have to be comfortable eyeballing. This is most important when it comes to the oil and sweetener. If you use a lot more oats or nuts/seeds, you’ll need to increase the wet ingredients to compensate.
- For even more nutrition, you could also add collagen or protein powder.
The recipe below is for the exact recipe that I made.
Healthy Homemade Granola
Ingredients
- 2 C quick oats
- 1/2 C slivered almonds
- 1/2 C chopped cashews
- 1/2 C chopped walnuts
- 1/4 C chia seeds
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon more or less to taste
- 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1/4 C coconut oil melted
- 1/4 C organic maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 Farenheit. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add melted coconut oil and maple syrup to dry ingredients and mix to evenly distribute and coat dry ingredients.
- Pour mixture onto prepare baking sheet and spread out as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then toss the granola. Return to the oven and keep a close eye on it for the next 10 minutes. If you have a large pan and less overlap, it will be done sooner than if you used a smaller pan and have a thicker layer.
- Once it's golden brown, remove from the oven and let sit for up to an hour to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Enjoy!
Notes
- Calories – 2,580
- Fat – 173
- Protein – 48
- Fiber – 44
- Carbs – 218
- Sugar – 71
- Calories – 161
- Fat – 11
- Protein – 3
- Fiber – 3
- Carbs – 13
- Sugar – 5
