This delicious and easy-to-make granola reminds me of my childhood, growing up in Sweden. Cinnamon and cardamon are such essential spices in Nordic baking and I wanted to include these flavours in this granola recipe. Anytime I can sense the smell of these lovely spices it puts me in a great mood, so what better way start to the day?
This granola is sweetened with dates which are blended with water to make a paste, then added to the dry ingredients. I love how it helps create clusters of the granola and it also gives a very mind and subtle sweetness. So many of the breakfast cereals which we can buy in the supermarkets are packed full of added sugars and this home made granola is a great alternative for both adults and children. This granola is not overly sweet but do feel free to add a couple of tablespoons of honey or maple syrup to increase the sweetness.
It contains ceylon cinnamon (real cinnamon), which suggested by evidence, may have several potential health benefits to humans. These include blood glucose lowering properties, cardiovascular health benefits and anti-microbial and anti-parasitic properties.
Even more reasons to give this recipe a go!
Do make sure when buying cinnamon, to look for ceylon cinnamon (real cinnamon) as it only contains trace elements of the chemical compound coumarin. Coumarin can be toxic when consumed in excess and is found in much higher levels in the more readily available cassia cinnamon. Therefore, buying ceylon cinnamon is much better for us!
I like adding a little bit of salt to this granola, it is a fairly big batch and it just helps give the granola an extra subtle flavour and I think it makes a real difference but do feel free to leave it out.
This is a great granola to make together with kids as it really is super easy and flexible.
Do experiment and mix it up with any nuts, grains and seeds you may have at home.
This recipe really is there for you as a guide but do not be afraid of adding your own twist!
The ingredient list may look long but if you do not have one ingredient, try using something else you have at home. The base for this granola is approximately 5 cups of dried ingredients (seeds, nuts and grains) mixed with the spices, coconut oil and the date mixture so feel free to use what dried ingredients you have at home.
Makes around 5 cups
Ingredients
2 cups of rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
1/2 cup buckwheat
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
1 cups of walnuts roughly chopped
1/2 cup almonds roughly chopped
3 tbsp desiccated coconut
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp flaxseeds
150 g pitted dates (dried or fresh; when using dried the granola will become slightly sweeter)
250 g filtered water
40 g coconut oil (melted ) or olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2.5 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
Method:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients, except the spices and salt, in a large bowl.
2. Add the dates and water to a pot and bring to boiling point, then take it off the heat. Blend in a mixer or food processor until smooth.
3. Pour the date mixture into the dry ingredients together with the melted coconut oil and vanilla extract and mix.
4. Spread out on a lined baking tray. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, cardamon and salt and mix again until evenly blended. I find that by adding the spices last their flavour comes out more but you can of course add them in with the dry ingredients in the beginning to make it even easier.
5. Bake in the oven on 140 degrees celsius for approximately 45 minutes or until the granola is starting to become crisp (it will get crispier once cooled so dont worry if it isn't entirely crispy when you take it out). Make sure to keep checking the granola regularly and mix it around regularly as to not burn the top.
Leave to cool before putting in an airtight jar or container.
Great served with greek yoghurt, any plant based or regular milk or even as a crunchy topper for desserts, pancakes etc.
References:
Kirkham, S., Akilen, R., Sharma, S. and Tsiami, A. (2009), The potential of cinnamon to reduce blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 11: 1100-1113. doi:10.1111/j.1463-1326.2009.01094.x. Available at https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1463-1326.2009.01094.x
Ranasinghe, P., Jayawardena, R., Pigera, S., Wathurapatha, W. S., Weeratunga, H. D., Premakumara, G., Katulanda, P., Constantine, G. R., & Galappaththy, P. (2017). Evaluation of pharmacodynamic properties and safety of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Ceylon cinnamon) in healthy adults: a phase I clinical trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine,17 (1), 550. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-017-2067-7. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5745724/#__ffn_sectitle
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