Whenever I look for quick and healthy breakfast ideas granola always seems to be highly recommended. Granola is full of natural ingredients that are high in protein and fibre as well as releasing energy slowly, so it's a great way to start your day.
I've tried quite a few different varieties of granola from the supermarket but haven't me lucky enough to find one that suits me. I can be quite fussy with nuts and dried fruits and usually find myself picking through a bowl of cereal to avoid half of the ingredients.
In attempt to start eating well balanced breakfasts that don't need me to get up extra early to prepare I decided to try my hand at making my own granola. A lot of the recipes I looked at for inspiration seemed quite simple so I thought I'd make a simple batch that had all of my favourite nuts and seeds and none of the nasty bits.
The recipe I used is pretty basic so that I can add a wide variety of fruit and toppings to it without the flavours clashing. You can add whatever you want to the mix, allowing you to get create the flavour you want, something which I really like about granola - it's free to be whatever you want!
This recipe makes one batch of granola, so can be spread across a lot of servings. To store keep in an air tight container and eat within a month to stop it from going stale.
Ingredients
Porridge Oats - 250g
Bran Flakes - 50g
Cashews - 50g
Sunflower Seeds - 50g
Butternut Squash Seeds - 50g
Flaked Almonds - 50g
Raisins - 100g
Honey - 2tbsp
Golden Syrup - 2tbsp
Vanilla Essence - 1tsp
Ground Cinnamon - 1tsp
To get started, mix the honey, golden syrup, vanilla essence and cinnamon in a bowl so that all the ingredients are fully mixed together. Then add all of the dry ingredients except the raisins. When all of the ingredients are mixed together and evenly covered by the honey mixture, pour the bowl's contents onto a lined baking sheet.
Bake for about 15 minutes at 150C.
Remove from the oven and stir in the raisins and any over dried fruit you wish to include. Bake for another 10-20 minutes, regularly shaking the tray, until the granola is golden and crisp.
Leave to cool and you've got yourself a healthy and tasty breakfast - or something to snack on. This morning I ate mine with natural yoghurt and fresh blueberries. I can't wait to start experimenting with different toppings and flavours - maybe cherries and dark chocolate. What toppings would you recommend?
It's so nice to be excited about breakfast again!
