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Lockdown Baking Series: 4. 'Make It Your Own' Granola


Coconut yoghurt, granola, sliced strawberries
 and banana sprinkled with chia seeds...
what better way to start the day?

For those of you that know me well, I hate getting up with a passion. When I have to get up early I'll sit blinking at you for twenty minutes until my brain and body catch up with each-other, and don't even think about asking me to do something for you. But, I also hate doing nothing, so wanting to sleep and be busy is not exactly the easiest conflict to solve (and yes, I have tried going to bed earlier. It doesn't work- I just end up sleeping even longer).

If I do wake up late I usually skip breakfast and have an early lunch, but this always ends with me eating rubbish in the evenings. I love the fact that there are so many options for breakfast, but what I don't love is the idea of eating them when I've just woken up. I'm much more of a 'eat breakfast food at dinner time' kind of girl, but that leaves me stuck for what to actually eat in the morning.

One thing I do enjoy is cereal, but most of the time it's either super boring (sorry, but does anyone actually enjoy eating bran flakes?) or full of added sugar. So, making my own seemed like the perfect solution, because then it can be made exactly how I like it, and once it's baked it's no extra work than pouring cereal from a box.

I was inspired to make my own granola when I saw Deliciously Ella's recipe for Cinnamon Pecan Granola. As I said in my post 'Veggie or not, here are 5 recipe books that everyone needs on their bookshelf', I don't always stick exactly to the ingredients because it depends on what I've got in the cupboards and what I fancy. You need some form of oil and liquid sweetener to make the oats clump together, but even that can be changed to whatever you've got in the cupboard.

I've been making my own granola for about a year now, and the personalisation is definitely my favourite part. There are no limits to what you can do- add in or take out whatever works for you. I love peanut butter and chocolate together, so I also used the Minimalist Baker's granola recipes for inspiration too. 

Ingredients-

3 cups oats 
2 tbsps granulated sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup whole-nut peanut butter
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey (if you do use honey, it won't be vegan)
2 tbsps desiccated coconut
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup mixed nuts, roughly chopped
2 tbsps chia seeds, or flax seeds
1/3 cup dairy-free dark chocolate, chopped finely
1/2 cup dried fruit

Method-

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/ 150C fan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, sugar, desiccated coconut, pumpkin seeds, nuts and chia seeds.
3. Melt together the coconut oil, peanut butter and maple syrup/ honey.
4. Pour the liquids over the dry mixture and stir until everything looks evenly coated. If it looks too wet, add in a handful more of oats.
5. Spread the granola over two non-stick baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes until evenly golden and toasted. Stir every 10 minutes so it bakes evenly. It will burn quickly, so keep a close eye on it when it has started to caramelise.
6. When toasted enough, remove from the oven and stir to release some heat. Leave to cool, and then add the chocolate chunks and dried fruit.
7. Transfer to a large air-tight storage container. The granola will keep fresh for two weeks, but it can be frozen too.
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