Healthy Granola Recipe

You might recall when I was in Dubai, I posted this photo of my daily breakfast on instagram. I loved it so much I went to the shops to look for some but noticed they were all really high in refined sugars and mostly cooked in oils. Around the same time, my ‘Bloggers Foodie Secret Santa‘ gifts were due to be created and posted. So with a reason to cook (and someone to enjoy it with me, even if only virtually!), I busied myself in the kitchen creating this healthy granola recipe filled with textured low GI carbs and filled with sweet coconut and fruit flavours.

So three lucky bloggers received these (plus one extra for my Grandma ;)). If you were a recipient of these I would love to hear your thoughts! Here’s a sneak peak of the outcome and below is my recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut flakes
1.5 cups raw buckwheat (these are tiny seeds that have a earthy crunch!)
¼ cup sunflower seeds
1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1 cup raw hazelnuts, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or essence if paste unavailable)
2 tablespoons honey, warmed
½ cup boiling water
½ cup dried cranberries, chopped
½ cup dried saltanas, chopped
½ cup dried figs, chopped
½ cup organic dried apricots, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C.

2. Combine dry ingredients (saving 1 tsp of cinnamon) and place over large baking paper covered tray.

3. Mix together vanilla, water and honey then drizzle across dry ingredients, stirring through until honey mix covers evenly. Ensure the mix is evenly distributed in a thin layer across the tray (you can use two trays if required).

4. Bake in oven for one hour stirring occasionally to ensure bottom layers are also cooked.

Please note it is easy to overcook granola so it is important to use your best judgment when stirring, if you think that the granola is browned all over and cooked sufficiently, then remove from the oven. You may notice that the mix has browned but is not yet crunchy – don’t fret, for the most part this occurs once it has cooled.

5. Set aside to cool.

6. Once cooled add dried fruits.

6. Store in air tight container for 1-2 weeks or if using as a gift fill up these little 2 serve jars! It makes enough to fill about 8 of these jars.

My Blogger Foodie Secret Santa Gifts

I received these flavoursome little packs of nuts! Sweet and savoury – spiced sugar crusted macadamias and rosemary and paprika mixed nuts.

When Reis’ parents came over for a BBQ at my house I put these out as starters and everyone loved them! Real party hit! If you look in the blog link up, you should find the recipe in one of my fellow bloggers posts. Let me know if/where you find it in the comments!

What do you find are great foodie gifts? Do you have a favourite food you make at christmas?