Lutgard Musiime

For a long time I have had a great desire to have granola as a part of breakfast given my limited options of food I have. Much of the options that surround me are wheat products. Me and wheat products for some reason have a parallel relationship. No I am not allergic to wheat if you are wondering but I find myself having a strong dislike for wheat products. When I tried to find granola in the different supermarkets, it’s price was one I could not consistently keep up with. I decided I would prepare it myself although many of the recipes I found required me to bake something I was not up for. Thanks to quarantine I was finally able to prepare granola and my excitement was through the roof.

Granola is a breakfast food and snack consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until it is crisp, toasted and golden brown. During the baking process, the mixture is stirred to maintain a loose breakfast cereal consistency. My recipe does not require you to bake so even one without an oven can enjoy this recipe. Granola contains calories, fat, sodium, fiber, carbohydrates, protein and sugar all in one product.

Health Benefits of granola

• Granola can provide a quick and convenient source of carbohydrate. Many hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts like to carry granola to fuel their activity when they have a long day of exercise.
• Granola can also provide a boost of protein if you include nuts, like ground nuts or almonds.
• The fiber from whole grain rolled oats in granola can help you to feel full for a longer period of time.
• Granola can also provide a significant number of calories from the added dried fruit or added sugar.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups Whole grain (rolled) oats
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup groundnuts (or any other nut of your choice)
• 1/2 cup raisins (or any other dried fruit)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp of coconut oil (or olive oil)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp brown sugar ( I used regular sugar)
• Pinch of salt
• Sheet of paper to spread the oats on

Procedure

• Heat up a large pan and add the oil
• Put the 2 cups of oats in. Make sure the oats are evenly coated with the oil. Cook his on medium to medium low heat until they are golden brown. This should take 8 – 10 minutes. Stir often to avoid them from burning. When they are ready you should definitely smell them.
• Pour the oats onto a sheet of paper or baking sheet spreading them and leave them aside.
• In the same pan on low to medium heat, add the butter, sugar and honey. Melt it and when it starts to bubble, add the oats.
• To the mixture add the nuts and raisins and stir and make sure they are coated with the melted sugar and butter.
• Add the vanilla, cinnamon and salt then keep stirring
• Taste this after 5 minutes and the oats and nuts should taste toasted and a little crispy, not chewy. If they taste chewy, cook for a few minutes until they are a little crispy.
• Cool the granola on you sheet of paper, separating the lumps there might be.
• Store in an air tight container.

I love the wonderful toasted flavor of granola. Kids love it and you may want to explore with them. This is perfect breakfast option for all the members of your family. It is a great snack by itself, on top of yogurt, on top of fruits or as a cereal with milk.

Try out this recipe and share with me your experience.