Healthy Homemade Vegan And Gluten-Free Maple Granola Recipe

by | Mar 13, 2022

I Love Granola With Those Yummy Clusters

You choose all the delicious ingredients. I’ll make some suggestions and you decide what is best for you and your family. I hope you love the idea that this granola is naturally sweetened with maple syrup, but feel free to use a flavoring of your choice. This is a quick and easy recipe that takes about 10 minutes of preparation before you pop it in the oven.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Organic Rolled  Oats

  • 1 1/2/ cups Raw Nuts (almond, cashew, pecan, pistachio, hazelnut, macadamia)

  • 1 cup Seeds of your choice You may also want to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of additional seeds of your choice (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, flax seeds)

  • Optional: 1 cup coconut flakes and 1 cup dried fruit (cranberry, pear, apricot, pineapple, cherry, apple, raisin)

  • 1/3 cup Maple Syrup

  • 1/3 cup Coconut Oil or Olive Oil

  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla

  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt 

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamon or nutmeg

  • 1 tablespoon orange zest (optional)

Let’s Make Granola:

  1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

  2. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

  3. Spread out on a parchment-lined sheet pan or two.

  4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 325 F, stirring halfway through, patting down and rotating the pan. (This patting down process with a spatula halfway through baking allows those wonderful clusters to form.)

  5. Let cool before storing.

  6. Store in an airtight container or jar. It will last up to 6 weeks.

How Are You Planning On Serving Your Granola?

You may enjoy your granola with fresh berries and yogurt.

Perhaps pour almond milk over the top.

Eat it like trailmix or a snack.

Get creative and have fun!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

 

Smoothies That Taste Like Candy

by | Oct 29, 2016

Is it possible for a healthy smoothie to taste like your favorite candy?

Smoothies are popular . . . healthy . . . and sometimes not all that delicious . . .

The whole idea of having a healthy smoothie is to drink it . . . so it has to taste good . . . otherwise it’s healthy without fun. And we all like to have something to look forward to . . . not hold your nose and gulp something down . . . because it’s good for you.

Well, Tyler Cordell, the author of Crazy Candy Smoothie Cookbook: Healthy and Heavenly Smoothies That Taste Just Like Your Favorite Candy puts the fun into smoothies!!

This recipe book has 30 delicious smoothie recipes that taste just like candy . . . Laffy Taffy is one example — Banana or Strawberry . . . and I’m sure you can also ad lib a bit with your smoothie and have both in one drink to tickle your taste buds into a happy taste sensation that is healthy.

For chocolate lovers . . . there’s a Snickers Shake . . . and other chocolate flavored smoothies.

I love the title of this recipe book and the cover picture grabbed my attention.

I immediately thought of healthy treats for the kids . . . and one reviewer of this book mentioned how these smoothies are a substitute for her candy addiction. That’s a good thing, right?

Click the image to the right and you’ll be able to take a look inside this book.

It’s worth checking out!

I was watching some movie the other day and one scene was about a juice bar and how people ordered their drinks . . . some from the menu and others were their own combination . . . kind of like people do with their coffees . . . This got me thinking of looking for crazy recipes for smoothies . . . and I’ll need to figure out the coffees, too. No one likes having a boring drink . . . or food for that matter.

Here are some other crazy cookbooks you may find interesting:

Click any of the images above to be taken on a healthy adventure into good tasting and maybe a bit crazy food and drink recipes. It’s all about enjoying your food and drinks . . . sharing them with friends and family . . .

I’m sure you’ll find something to brighten up your life a bit . . . and find it healthy and nutritional, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

Oatmeal Almond Cranberry Protein Bites

by | May 6, 2016

Healthy Breakfast Or Quick Snack Full of Protein

Here’s a healthy “on the go” snack that you can make in a jiffy.

You’re going to need:Cranberry-Almond-Energy-Bites-2-copy

  • 1 cup of oatmeal
  • 1/3 cup of chopped almonds
  • 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup either peanut butter or almond butter
  • 1/4 cup of honey
  • 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup of dried cranberries roughly chopped

Here’s what you need to do now that you’ve gathered your ingredients:

  1. On a baking sheet you’re going to bake the oatmeal, almonds and coconut for 8 to 10 minutes at 350° F. Be sure to stir the mixture after 5 minutes. Then allow the mixture to cool after taking it out of the oven.
  2. Get out a medium sized bowl — put in the nut butter and microwave for 20 to 30 seconds until runny.
  3. Add the baked mix into the bowl along with the honey, chia seeds and cranberries.
  4. Form into 1-1/2 inch balls and refrigerate.
  5. Store in an airtight container.
  6. Refrigerated bites are good for about a week. They’ll keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

I hope you’ll try this recipe. As always you can add other ingredients or substitute ingredients or just leave them out . . . Just have fun and make some healthy snacks for your busy family.

Until next time,

Sharon