Pace Setter : February 2020

Super Healthy Granola (Inspired by Rouxbe)

by Anouk Booneman

Granola is a great breakfast and snack food. It’s nutrient packed, easy to digest and a great fuel option a few hours before a workout or after a workout to help with recovery. Making granola is very, very easy. The standard technique is to roll oats, nuts and seeds with a mixture of oil and a sweetener.  Making granola at home will allow you to control the ingredients, since most supermarket granolas are very high in refined sugar. Artisanal granolas are usually lower in sugar, but very expensive. The following recipe is a super healthy granola inspired by Rouxbe (an online cooking class site). Feel free to tweak it to your liking. Open your cupboard and use any seeds, nuts and dried fruit that you can find. If you use dried fruit, mix them in after baking.

Ingredients

• 1 apple
• 1 cup steel cut or regular oats*
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed **
• 1/2 cup hemp protein powder (or hemp flour) ***
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup hemp oil****
• 1/4 cup molasses *****
• coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 3 tbsp apple juice
• 1/2 cup hemp seeds

Method

To prepare the granola, first preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C).

In a large bowl, mix together the steel cut oats, flaxseed, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and protein powder.

Next, mix together the oil, molasses and apple juice. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to combine.

Lastly, dice the apple (no need to peel it).

Spread on a baking tray, lightly oiled with coconut oil. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until slightly crisp and the apples have started to dry out. Ultimately, the time will depend on how thick you spread out the granola on the baking tray. Once done, let cool, then break into pieces. The granola will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Alternatively, the granola can be dehydrated which will keep it raw.

Notes:

*Note: For this recipe, you can use either steel cut oats or regular oats. I tested the recipe with both and preferred the texture of the one made with steel cut oats. You can try other rolled grains such as spelt, barley or wheat.

**Note. Flaxseed is very easy to find in the regular supermarket. I prefer to buy whole flaxseed that we grind as needed in a coffee grinder.

***Note. Adding a protein powder will boost the nutrition content. Which one you use is personal preference.

****Note Coconut oil can be substituted.

*****Honey or maple syrup can be substituted

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