All The Nuts & Seeds Granola | Healthy Breakfast & Snack
I have such a hard time relating to people who don't love cereal. It was not only a staple in my family but a treat! It would be the only processed sugar we would get, but boy was it good. The cinnamon toast crunch, peanut butter Captain Crunch (still my weakness to this day) or Count Chocula! The main thing I think of when I think about cereal is, my dad. He loves cereal, and it's his fuel for life! I remember having a grand meal that my mom would cook and we would all sit and enjoy, but a half hour later my dad always had his nightly bowl. He wasn't very picky about his cereal; it was always whatever we had.
Somehow we could have a wonderful time just talking about cereal; my dad would make jokes about the mascot from the box. Wow, that last sentence makes us sound so dull! Haha
Still, my love for cereal is pretty great. I rarely eat it due to the chemicals and high sugar content. But I still crave it!
So being an adult who cares a little more about her teeth and her body, I decided to make some mature adult cereal that my dentist wouldn't scold me for eating. This cereal is so good, that my neighbor told me she could no longer take any, in her words “I have eaten nothing but this granola for two days.”. So, it's pretty spectacular.
I am always one for overdoing it, whether that's giving a bigger party or planting 180 flower bulbs the day after Christmas. I just have to go big, because who knows when I will get to do it again! So that's the theme of this granola, go big and go nuts (also go Seeds). With this recipe being half nuts, it's fair to say that it's a squirrels dream. Five kinds of nuts are what make this granola so good, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, shaved almonds and pepitas. Its so rich is flavors because of all the tastes and textures these nuts bring! You could add any or all the nuts you have on hand, by no means does it have to stick to my list. But I also added loads and loads of flax seeds, golden and brown (duh) and hemp seeds.
What gives this granola its sweetness, is a small amount of honey and maple syrup. Because oats are boring on their own, I also added puffed millet and it really lightens up the whole crowd! Between all the nuts and seeds things can get a little heavy, so the puffed millet adds a light crunch and mild flavor.
This is an intense caramel flavored granola, from the five nut oils it gets almost a smokey flavor. The oats crisp to a golden brown and create small clusters of granola from the maple syrup and honey. This healthy low sugar granola is packed with vitamins and is a great way to start your day to stay full and keep you on track.
- 1/2 Cup Pepitas
- 1/2 Cup Walnuts
- 1/2 Cup Pecans
- 1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds
- 1/2 Cup Pistachios
- 1 1/2 Cup Oats
- 1 1/2 Cup Puffed Millet
- 1/4 Cup Hemp Seeds
- 1/4 Cup Flax seed (golden, brown or both!)
- 1/4 Cup Honey
- 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
- 3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
