Without a doubt, granola is my morning comfort food! I could eat it every day, and I’m not bored at all. I discovered granola quite late, in my early 20’s at university. Before that, in high school, I would rather skip breakfast than eat something in the morning. One of my first favorite granola was Lizi’s granola. I remember that I was eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner… that wasn’t healthy, but being a student is not about being healthy :). The first time I tried it, 5-6 years ago, was so delicious for me! With time, I started to be more and more demanding in terms of both: ingredients and taste. Finally, I’ve got to the point when I couldn’t buy granola that would satisfy me (Purely Elizabeth is an exception, however, it is very expensive and not available in Europe, so I’m trying to forget about its existence;)). This is how I began to make my own, home-made granola.
Today, I do not buy granola at all. Even when I make an order on iherb, I’m not tempted by it. I would rather buy an extra almond butter! Why? Because the best granola you can make at home! I like to experiment with a flavour and technic – every time I do it differently, adding new ingredient. It’s fun, but it’s also a huge satisfaction for me when my mom says that my granola is better than all sugary and unhealthy ones you can buy at the grocery.
Granola needs time. It’s not the fastest thing you can make yourself in the morning, but once you make it, you can enjoy your super-quick-and-healthy breakfast later on. And once you try, you know that the next time you will need to double the ingredients.
Taste the best with homemade almond milk and fresh fruits!
Gluten free and Vegan – Gingerbread and orange Granola
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients:
- 130g glutenfree oats
- 50g buckwheat bran
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/4 teaspoon of ginger grounded
- 1 flat teaspoon of gingerbread spices mix
- 1/2 glass of nuts of your choice (I used almonds, walnuts and brasilia nuts)
- 2 teaspoons of stevia with erythrytol
- Wet ingredients:
- 10 dates (around 45-50g)
- 1 big spoon of salted peanut butter
- 40ml melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons of carob molasses
- 1/3 of big sweet orange
- Added during baking
- a few pieces of chocolate
- 20 ml melted coconut oil
- 1 spoon of carob molasses
Preparation
- Warm the oven to 130C.
- Cover the dates with hot water. Leave it for 10-15 minutes.
- In the bowl, mix all dry ingredients.
- Drain dates and blend as much as possible. It doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth. Add 1 spoon of coconut oil and blend it once again.
- Using hands or a spoon mix dates and peanut butter with the rest of dry ingredients. It should forms small bowls.
- Cut orange into smaller pieces. Add the rest of wet ingredients – coconut oil, carob molasses, orange. Stir it well.
- Place granola on the baking sheet.
- Bake it 50mns in total. First 30 minutes in 130C, and then 20 minutes in 110C. Stir it every 10-20 minutes.
- After 25 minutes of baking, add 20ml melted coconut oil and 1 spoon of molasses. 10 minutes before the end add a pieces of chocolate, so it will melt without stirring (it will help granola to be more crunchy).
- Leave it until room temperature. Store in the fridge.
