Try THIS deliciously healthy granola recipe by Sara Jackson

Try THIS deliciously healthy granola recipe by Sara Jackson
Registered Nutritional Therapist Sara Jackson shares her delicious granola recipe as part of Life Armour's Peace and Joy series throughout October for Breast Cancer awareness. 
Food can easily add more joy to your daily routine, enhancing your overall well-being. Starting your day with a better breakfast can give you enormous life satisfaction and when you’ve made it yourself, pride comes into it as well as joy.
 
Why don’t you carve out some time on a quiet evening to bake a batch of delicious home-made granola. It will bring joy and warmth to your mornings and make your house smell amazing.
 

Sara's granola recipe

Most supermarket granolas are packed with sugar, preservatives, trans fats and the better brands cost a bomb. This recipe is packed with nutrients - the seeds contain magnesium, iron, calcium, fibre, zinc and omega 3‘s in flax and chia seeds to boost immunity, calm your stress response and keep your gut happy. The berries are high in antioxidants that may help modulate immunity and the ingredients are balanced really well with the medium chain fatty acids of the coconut oil. Don’t forget the cinnamon, as this should help stave off sugar cravings setting you up nicely for the day! You can use honey if you don't have any maple syrup.

This is enough to make one big kilner jar which is a week’s worth for me and my family...

What you will need

3 cups of rolled oats (gluten free optional)
1 cup of chopped pecans/walnuts/hazelnuts (just bash them up with a rolling pin)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup flax or hemp seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup of dried fruit - I like 1/2 cup dried blueberries or cherries and 1/2 cup goji berries
3 tbspn organic unrefined coconut oil (melted)
3 teaspoons cinnamon
4 tbspn maple syrup
 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Brush the baking tray with the coconut oil and place in the oven to melt it for 5 mins.


Add the nuts, seeds and the oats into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Next add the maple syrup and cinnamon to the mixture and stir until it is well combined.


Place the mixture into the baking tray & mix well to ensure the coconut oil coats all of the oats, nuts and seeds then put back into the over for about 25 minutes. Stir the granola every so often to make sure it bakes evenly. Once it is golden brown, remove from the oven to cool down, at which point you can add in the dried berries.


If you haven’t eaten it all immediately, transfer the granola to a glass jar or airtight container to keep fresh for up to 2 weeks.


I serve this with oat milk or bio live natural yogurt - either Greek or Coconut, and if I have any, top with stewed apples or berries.

 

Check out more of Sara Jackson's nutritious recipes on her website at http://www.sjhealth.co.uk/.