3 years ago, I found out that I was at high risk of diabetes. It was because of the genetics and I had to be extra careful with sugar consumption. My first reaction was “I am not taking any sugar, how can I go less than that?”. The doctor told me to go home and check every single packaged food and read the ingredients section (including bread, pasta, milk, etc).
I did and I was shocked: everything I was eating had sugar in it – especially the ones that screamed “NO ADDED SUGAR” on the package. That was enough for me to cook from scratch and minimize shopping for packaged food.
Granola was the first easy thing I immediately stopped buying from the supermarket. I always stock oatmeal which is the main ingredient, the rest is your imagination. After trying a recipe for the first time I could not believe that I never tried doing it before. Since then I’ve been making my own granola and suggest everyone I know to do the same.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups (250gr) oats
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds (optional)
- 6 tablespoons flax seeds (optional)
- 3 tablespoons shredded coconut (optional)
- 4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)
- 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup dried cranberries – you can replace them with any dry fruits or nuts
- 3 tablespoon grape molasses, maple or stevia
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Add all dry ingredients into a pan or oven tray and mix them well. Add all the liquids to bind them. Place the pan on the stove at medium heat (300F for oven) and mix it occasionally. Once the color turns golden brown, turn the heat down (250F from the oven) and keep it for 10 more minutes. Let it cool before placing it in a jar. Enjoy.
NOTES:
- Please remember that if you don’t have any of these you can just use more oats, sweetener(to change the color), and any nuts or dried fruits available at home.
- If you will use the oven, place a cooking mat on an oven tray.