Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Pescatarian, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Description

This is one breakfast that will certainly keep you satisfied all the way through to lunch time! A great blend of oats, mixed nuts, dried fruit and spices to start your morning on the right foot.

What’s great about granola is that you can substitute it for various other ingredients you fancy and you’re hardly going to go wrong! If you’re not a fan of dried banana, swap it for dried apricots, or use any fruits or nuts you want, as long as the base ingredients are there.

The large bulk of granola is made up of oats and nuts, which are great sources of dietary fibre. Evidence shows that the soluble fibre in oats have a positive effect on satiety (Rebello et al.2016). But we all know this, I’m sure many of us were given porridge as a child before a big exam so that we don’t go hungry!

What you might not know is that the soluble fibre found in oats also has LDL cholesterol-lowering benefits (LDL is known as the bad form of cholesterol). When consumed, soluble fibre dissolves into a sticky gel-like mass in the small intestine which prevents our gut from absorbing LDL cholesterol. Instead, soluble fibre binds to bile acids, which help to excrete cholesterol from the body (Nwachukwu et al. 2015).

The nuts in granola are also a great source of dietary fibre, as well plant-based protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, helping to promote satiety and fullness throughout the day.

So follow my delicious cherry, banana & coconut granola recipe below or pull your own choice of fruits and nuts together!

Ingredients

• 300g rolled oats (gluten-free if you have an allergy or intolerance)
• 120g almonds, crushed
• 20g hazelnuts
• 20g Brazil nuts
• 80g coconut flakes
• 40g sunflower seeds
• 40g sultanas
• 40g dried banana
• 50g dried cherries
• 100ml honey (if you are vegan use maple syrup)
• 40g coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 150 degrees and lay baking parchment on two separate oven trays.
2. Mix the oats, nuts, coconut flakes, seeds and dried fruit into a mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl mix the melted coconut oil, honey and spices together. Pour this over the top of the granola mixture and mix together.
4. Pour the mixture evenly onto the two individual baking trays and place in the oven for 30 minutes, until golden. Leave on the side to cool and there you have it, your crunchy and delicious breakfast granola. Serve with some plant-based milk and enjoy!

 

References:

• Jackson, C and Hu, F. (2014). ‘Long-term Associations of Nut Consumption with Body Weight and Obesity’, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 100 (1), pp. 408 -411, NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4144111/ (Accessed 18 May 2018).
• Nwachukwu, ID. Devassy, JG. Aluko, RE. et al.(2015). ‘Cholesterol-lowering Properties of Oat Beta-glucan and the Promotion of Cardiovascular Health: Health Canada Make the Right Call?’, Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 40 (6), pp. 535-42, NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25933163 (Accessed: 22 August 2018).
• Rebello, C. O’Neil, C and Freenway, F. (2016). ‘Dietary Fiber and Satiety: The Effects of Oats on Satiety’, Nutrition Reviews, 74 (2), pp. 131-147, NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4757923/ (Accessed: 22 August 2018).