Recipe: Homemade Granola

When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh...

- A. A. Milne

  

I always try to make an effort with breakfast. After all, it's the most important meal of the day, right?! So each morning I do my best to make breakfasts that are both tasty and healthy. I'm not one of those people who can eat the same thing day after day because I get bored and I tend to go through phases of enjoying certain foods more than others. During the summer months I crave a lot of fruit and yogurt whereas during the winter I prefer stodgier breakfasts, such as porridge and weetabix to fill me up and get me through the morning.

In an attempt to widen my breakfast choices (whilst staying relatively healthy) I decided back at the beginning of the year to make my own granola. Yes, I know... I realise what this makes me sound like... a housewife before my time with not much better to do! But granola is one of those devilishly good foods that I will happily add to my breakfast day after day. And it is always good to have a big jar of granola in the kitchen for those emergency hunger moments when a handful of granola does the trick! The trouble is, shop-bought granola tends to be packed with unnecessary refined sugars. And the calorie content? Don't even look, you'll never want to eat the stuff again. 

I figured that by making my own, I could choose the ingredients, tweak the sugar content to make it healthier and feel slightly less guilty about enjoying it. I used a Nigella recipe which can be found here, but I halved the amount of sugar, didn't add any golden syrup and increased the amount of honey, so that it primarily contains natural sugars. Sorry Nigella! The honey helps it to clump together nicely whilst adding some healthy sweetness, whilst the apple compote gives a fruity taste to it and the cinnamon adds a slight kick.

So basically my granola included:

450 grams rolled oats
120 grams sunflower seeds
120 grams white sesame seeds
175 grams apple sauce (or apple compote)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons runny honey
50g grams soft light brown sugar
250 grams whole natural almonds
1 teaspoon Maldon salt
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
300 grams raisins

You can of course add anything you like - banana chips, pineapple chunks, more nuts... you name it!

The method is so simple - you pretty much just mix all the ingredients together in a bowl (except the raisins) and lay it all out on a large baking tray. Bake for around 30-40 mins in an oven heated to 170 degrees C, turning the granola every 5 minutes or so to ensure it bakes and goldens evenly. You don't want some bits more toasted than others, you want an even bake (I feel like like Mary Berry!)! Then leave to cool, add the raisins and store in airtight jars. I use kilner jars because they're practical and I love the look of them, they're so retro!

I was so impressed with this recipe that I've made it several times now, making more whenever my stock begins to run low. You can add it to so many breakfasts to give more flavour and crunch - yogurt, stewed fruit, cereal...etc. Or you can eat it on it's own drowned in milk or just enjoy the simplicity of it straight out the jar with a spoon. So good!

Here are a few of the breakfasts I've enjoyed it with...

 Figs, mango,  peaches and granola

Low-fat yogurt, fresh raspberries and granola 

What do you eat for breakfast? Let me know if you've got any breakfast recommendations - I'm always looking for breakfast inspiration!


Lydia xxx