I’ve been on this 1500 calorie a day thing for a few weeks now, and plan on keeping it up for a long time so I’ve been trying to find ways to manage my snacking – which really is the biggest problem area for me! Some of the stuff I’ve done is swapped out all milk chocolate for dark chocolate only (lucky I already love dark choc!), cutting out cakes and cookies that I don’t know for a fact are totally worth the calories (you know what I mean? Only the great stuff!), and no sweet, flavoured or sugary drinks.
Last night I decided to make some granola for my night time TV snacking (in our house it’s Netflix and Snack) and I have to say I’m really pleased with this specific mix and baking times. The last time I made my own granola it was a bit too crunchy and I think I burnt some of the components.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe for my Cranberry and Almond Granola:
Yield: 3 cups granola
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 + 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 + 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup dried cranberries*
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan and line a baking tray with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, whisk the maple syrup, coconut oil, honey, vanilla and salt until thoroughly mixed
- Add the rolled oats and sliced almonds and stir to coat everything in the maple mixture
- Spread the mix out on the prepared baking tray (I just used a standard cookie sheet) and pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven at the 20 minute mark and toss the granola with a forked spatula to “turn” them in a way, and then put it back in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes*
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before adding the cranberries, use a fork or spatula to stir so that it mixes well. Then store in an airtight jar or container and it should keep for 2 weeks max
*Notes:
- You can use other dried berries of your own preference, I’ve also done this with chocolate chips and coconut flakes!
- For step 4, if you feel after 20 minutes that it has toasted to your preferred crispiness, then stop there.
Ellebug 