Granola Healthy Recipe!

Are you a Granola lover?

This delicious healthy granola recipe is not too bland, it is with a hint of vanilla flavor that will yield about 8 cups of granola or at least 16 servings.

Oats

The main ingredient of granola, you can add oats as oatmeal, whole grain, whole grain oatmeal, gluten-free if you want to get gluten-free granola, and so on.

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts further enrich the granola with dietary fiber and unsaturated fatty acids, minerals, vitamins. What exactly you add depends on what you want the most, but keep in mind that nuts are quite high in calories, i.e. a 30 gram portion contains up to 200 calories, so almonds have the lowest in calories, while pecans and macadamia nuts have the most calories.

Seeds are super nutritious with huge health benefits and can help if you include them in healthy diets. Some of the healthiest seeds you can add to granola are flax, sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Oils and butters

Oils and butters when added to granola give it extra crunch when baking and make nuts and seeds non-melting, helping them develop their aromas and flavors even more. From them you can add olive oil, coke oil or butter as desired.

Natural sweeteners

When you prepare it at home, one of the benefits is that you know what you are adding and it is to your liking. As sweeteners you can use honey, maple syrup, majoon if you want to get a darker color and further develop the taste.

Salt and spices

Half a teaspoon of sea salt in the granola will definitely affect the taste of the final result, and if desired, you can add cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Dried fruit

The dried fruit will additionally give it a sweet taste, citrusy or fruity depending on what you add. Optionally, you can use raisins, cranberries which are my favorite, finely chopped dried apricots, goji berries, prunes or similar. At the end, you can grate and add up to 2 teaspoons of lemon or orange peel. It is important to note that the dried fruit is added to the granola at the end after it is baked, and should not be baked with the oats, nuts and seeds.

You can also add chocolate chips or grated dry coconut to taste.

My way of preparing granola is simple and from ingredients that suit my taste.

Necessary ingredients

4 cups whole grain oatmeal

1 cup mixed nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews)

9 large spoons of seed mix (pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, sesame seeds)

1/2 cup sweetener (honey and 2 tablespoons majun)

1/2 cup coconut oil (sometimes I add melted butter)

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sea salt (ground)

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees until you prepare the granola for baking. Mix the dry ingredients well together with the spice and salt in a bowl, then add the honey, coconut oil and vanilla extract and mix until they are completely absorbed by the dry ingredients.

In a pan on baking paper, spread the granola in a thin layer and press to have one whole mixture.

Bake at 160 degrees for about 20 minutes, at the end make sure they don’t burn and darken too much. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

When you take it out of the oven it is soft, it becomes crispy when it cools. Store in a jar at room temperature for two to three weeks or in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

If you want granola in larger pieces, let it cool down nicely and break it with your hands, or if you are a fan of small granola like me, then after taking it out of the oven, mix it until it crumbles and break it into small pieces.

You can add it to milk, yogurt and kefir for breakfast, with fresh or frozen fruit as desired.

Have a good appetite and take care of your health!