I am totally nuts about granola! For breakfast, most mornings, I eat a bowl of plain yoghurt sprinkled with granola, topped with blueberries, raspberries or banana, or all three if I’ve time to prepare.
I’ve been buying granola for years, always with the intention of making it myself “the next time”.
This week I finished yet another bag of expensive, bought granola. As I quietly contemplated the cereal shelf and considered, yet again, spending another small fortune, I decided, that today was finally the day to make my own.
As soon as I got home and unpacked the shopping I researched granola recipes and stumbled upon Felicity Cloake’s, “How to make the perfect granola” post, which gives the perfect low down on Granolas and proved to be a great starting point for inspiration.
CEREAL: Jumbo rolled oats & a little popped Amaranth (another super seed from the Aztecs and Mayans) for added crunch.
SEEDS: A concoction of Sesame, Pumpkin, Sunflower, a little Poppy and a dose of Hemp!
NUTS: Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts and some toasted Coconut shavings.
DRIED FRUIT: Sour Cherries and White Mulberries.
BINDING: Coconut oil, Honey and Egg White.
Granola tends to be a cereal base, jumbo rolled oats being the most popular choice, which thankfully is what I had in the cupboard. It was suggested you mix up oats with other grains like Rye, Spelt, Barley or Quinoa. However, having neither of those I opted for a little Amaranth, which had been sitting around a while in the back of my cupboard, getting lonely!
I had quite a variety of seeds and as I couldn’t decide which to use, I used them all: Sesame, Pumpkin, Sunflower, Poppy and Hemp seeds.
For the nuts I chose my three favourites: Almonds, Pecans and Walnuts (you could also use Hazelnuts and Peanuts). I chopped these lightly, leaving some whole, which meant the smaller seeds ended up sticking to the whole nuts, transforming them into rather delicious, chunky nutty clusters. To finish off, I added some toasted coconut shavings, which, effectively, became double toasted coconut shavings, adding an addictive toasty, sweet crunch to the mix.
For the binding ingredients I used raw honey, coconut oil and egg white. You can also opt to use golden syrup, maple syrup, or agave. However, I would not recommend agave as a sugar substitute, it is highly processed and refined and I think golden syrup would make it taste too much like flapjack, which just doesn’t seem right for breakfast time.
After toasting in the oven for about half an hour leave to cool before adding your choice of dried fruit. Again the choice is endless. I used dried cherries and white mulberries, the sourness from the cherries balanced out the sweetness of the honey and coconut shavings perfectly. I also added a smattering of bee pollen – just because it’s good for you and I had some lying around!
The binding ingredients and the baking transforms what would otherwise be a rather plain, puritan muesli into it’s more naughty, sibling rival!
It’s so expensive buying healthy, imported food in Hong Kong that I’ve been buying mine from an American online company,iHerb, that sells nutritional supplements, organic and natural food items and other health and beauty products. I have placed six orders so far and have been very happy with them all.
Most of the ingredients for this granola were bought from iHerb, except the Amaranth which I bought in my local supermarket, Fusion.
If you are a first time iHerb user, you are welcome to use this discount code and receive between 5-10% discount off your first order. You receive $10 off on a purchase of $40 or more, or $5 off for orders less than $40.00.
Heat the oven to150C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Put the oil, honey and salt together in a small pan and heat gently until the oil has melted and all ingredients are well combined.
Mix the dry ingredients, apart from the fruit, in a large bowl.
Add the slightly cooled honey and oil to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Beat the egg white in a separate bowl until soft peaks and add to the cereal bowl.
Spread out on the baking sheet and bake for about 30-35 minutes until golden.
Stir occasionally to ensure it cooks evenly.
Leave to cool in the tray then stir in the dried fruit.
Store in an airtight container and use to top plain yoghurt or just snack out of a small jar.