This one’s for all you new year resolution junkies out there, those who think and believe that promising themselves to eat better for one whole year (gasp) will make them thinner. It will make you thinner if you eat better and healthier, but one whole year..who does that? and we all know these resolutions come with an expiry date, spanning anywhere between few hours to few weeks, so onto the bandwagon we go.. with health food for the new year.
Health food has such eew connotations, as it should and why not, but this fat free or almost fat free granola is really good. For starters it’s extremely easy, not to mention it’s also pretty tasty. So in case you’re a fridge/pantry pirate, looking for booty to snack on (that so didn’t come out right, but my new years resolution is to be wrong and not bother), then this granola is just the thing for you. easy on the waistline, high on the crunch and the best part is, you can fill it up with all your favourite nuts and dried fruits.
So here, we, Go!
easy peasy ingredients. almonds and walnuts (or nuts of your choice) raisins (or substitute with dry fruits..I tried to keep it fairly simple), vanilla extract, rolled oats (not instant oats), honey and sesame seeds.
- please feel to use any seeds or nuts or fruits to your liking. You can use sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, melon seeds, dried apricots, dried blueberries etc. really up to you. This is the simpler easy to make version..also if you want absolutely no sugar in it, then use stevia instead of honey.
into a very dry pan, roast the nuts and sesame seeds until the nuts and sesame seeds are just lightly browned and smell nuttier and sesamier (?)
then on a dry board, smash them with a weapon of choice, get rid of your daily stresses..no more tears..just smash these nuts to smithereens, you’ll feel better.
smash them until some is powder, some flakes and some chunks. We need texture.
Into a large bowl of choice, add in the oats
and the sesame seeds
and the nuts
the raisins
honey
and finally vanilla.
mix them all together. This will take a couple of minutes until each oat is coated with honeyed goodness.
it will kind of clump together, maybe stick a bit but all for the greater good.
on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil, spread them as evenly as you can.
something like this, and bake at 180°C for ten minutes
pull it out of the oven, and they’ll be very lightly scorched, but we’re not done.
turn them over as best as you can, and spread again evenly and bake at 180°C, again for ten minutes
you’ll know they’re done because the raisins will looks burnished and plumped up and the oats will assume a rosier hue, and of course your kitchen would be smelling divine. Leave these on the counter for at least ten minutes or until they’re completely cool, because when they’re hot they’ll be soft to the touch and you’d wonder what went wrong.
after they’ve rested, you can just scoop them out
and break into little chunks
and fill in your jars.
These make delicious health snacks, and once you’ve made them, you’d look for excuses to get healthier.
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Ingredients
rolled oats: 1 cup
raisins: 1/4 cup
nuts: 1/2 cup
honey: 1/3 cup
sesame seeds: 1/4 cup
vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp
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Recipe instructions:
Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together until throughly combined. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil and bake at 180°C for ten minutes. Pull the tray out of the oven, and using a large spoon turn them over, and spread in an even layer again. Bake at 180°C for ten more minutes and leave them out to cool.
Once cooled, store in airtight containers.
keep a jar where you work, and snack on ’em all day. Enjoy!
Driedredchillies 