How to best pretend you’re having a healthy 2016? Personally, I would recommend working out once, and following that up by making this granola. Bob and I have recently decided to offset all the beautiful food we eat by getting some ab workouts back into our lives. (Among other things.) Nobody wants to be the couple that gets soft together! With that decided, I’ve been thinking about breakfast alternatives to bread. Not that bread is bad, I mean, God, is it ever goood. However, I’m a firm believer in “everything in moderation”. We’ll have some buttery sourdough, and we’ll have some lightly sweetened granola too. We’ll have some “ab ripper” days, and some Netflix days. (I mean, come on, this is real life.)
That said, when we’re on track with our granola days, that doesn’t mean they’ll be boring. This recipe is mildly sweet, crunchy, and has a nice vanilla aroma about it. It’s nothing too wild, and a really good base for topping yogurt, mixing with dried fruits or nuts, or even eating as cereal. I’m not about to say this is a huge health push, but quinoa and chia seeds have really great nutritional value, and I do like knowing what’s in my granola. It’s a guarantee when you make it yourself!
So, wish us luck with our ab ripping, and I’ll wish you luck with a satisfying snack, or breakfast.
Enjoy it!
Shan
- 3½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅓ cup quinoa
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, quinoa, chia seeds, cinnamon, and salt, mixing until combined.
- In a microwaveable bowl, combine coconut oil and honey, microwave on high 30-60 seconds until melted, then stir in brown sugar and vanilla.
- Stir coconut oil mixture into dry ingredients until evenly coated.
- Spread granola onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake 30-35 minutes.
- Let cool on a wire rack, then break apart and store in an airtight container.
Recipe adapted from The Stay at Home Chef.
Good luck with the ab ripping and thanks for the recipe. This would taste awesome after a long and hard run.
this granola looks amazing! I love the idea of adding quinoa to the oats for extra crunch!
Thanks Bethany! It’s definitely got some great crunch to it.
Looks amazing! I’m a huge fan of making my own granola, so am always on the lookout for new recipes. Is the quinoa you used cooked or simply raw? X
Thanks Teffy! Quinoa is raw (along with everything else in it), makes it a pretty quick recipe :).