Holy granola.
It’s a great snack, great breakfast, great dessert, and we all seem to love it.
And after finding this recipe from the Food Babe, I’ll never buy it again. It’s so easy to make it healthier and less expensive than any store-bought brand.
The biggest problem with even the cleanest forms of granola (like the kind you can buy at Whole Foods), is the oil they use. It’s often made with some sort of vegetable/canola oil, which are high in Omega-6.
It’s not that Omega-6 is evil, it’s just that our modern diet contains a dramatic amount of Omega-6 compared to our Omega-3 intake.
When this ratio is skewed, it creates an inflammatory response in our body….and inflammation is the pre-curser to all modern disease-from heart disease, to cancer, to diabetes, auto-immune disease.
Chronic inflammation is where it all starts, so we can strive to decrease the inflammatory response as best we can.
One way to do this is to decrease omega-6 consumption, and an easy way is to stop eating industrial seed oils like corn, cotton, soybean, safflower, sunflower, etc.
These are the most common oils the food industry uses to make packaged products (yes…even the “healthy” ones from Whole Foods”).
So, when I discovered this very easy recipe, I had to share my recipe review. As always, I usually try it as written, then make some changes based on my experience and preference.
This has become a staple in our home, and I hope you enjoy!
Anytime Granola
- 3 cups certified gluten-free oats
- 2 cups raw nuts (I use almonds and walnuts)
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 2 TBL cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/4-1/3 organic maple syrup
- 1 TBL Vanilla extract
Heat oven to 250.
In a big bowl add oats, nuts, and coconut.
In another bowl add melted coconut oil, syrup, vanilla. Mix the cinnamon and salt into the mixture.
Pour liquid mixture into the oats mixture. Mix well by hand.
Spread out on a big baking sheet.
Bake for 60 minutes, stirring it every 20 minutes for even baking.
My fav way to eat:
- Add dried fruit and enjoy as a snack on a long hike.
- Sprinkle on top of organic greek yogurt and organic fruit.
- For those who are think “cereal and milk” is a good breakfast: mix together in a bowl granola, dairy/soy-free milk, and organic berries. Serve with a hard-boiled egg.
Original recipe from one of my heros: the Food Babe.
***Please note: While I realize nuts are also high in omega-6, I encourage my clients and readers to focus on eating real food while staying away from as much processed food as possible. If we eliminated boxed and packaged foods from our diets (even the “healthy” kind), our omega-6 intake would dramatically decrease. Worry less about the real whole food (ie: the nut), and become MUCH more suspicious of the stuff that comes in a package with a bar code. : )
Do you love granola? Try the recipe and tell me what you think below in the comments… I’d LOVE to hear what you think.
Love and light, Audra : )
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