Jan 6

Jan 6 Maple, Amaranth and Almond Granola

Gluten Free, Food Recipes, Breakfast, Sweet, Vegan, Vegetarian

Maple, Almond and Amaranth Granola

Happy 2018 Wonderlanders!

If you are like me you make resolutions at the start of a new year that are pretty practical, achievable and on brand with your lifestyle, that is they are more like an activity than a punishmment. Last year I also added lofty things like, 'get a dog' and 'become fluent in Spanish' which are always achievable but sometimes a bit longer term (Me cago en la leche, still no dog!!!). Food is always in there somewhere, reducing the bad stuff, adding in some new habits and finding ways to simplify our life and increase joy in the daily processes of eating and preparing food. This year I reduced buying plastic packaging, started composting, buying grains, nuts and seeds in bulk and have been baking most of the gluten free products in the house from scratch. I think resolutions are only as good as your commitment to making changes in your life in general. If you don't need to change anything, that's also great (lucky you!) but you can always improve in some area of your life, if you really want to. For me it is always about balance and moderation: less coffee, more matcha, less sugar more fruit, less snacks and more satisfying meals. This breakfast is a gateway to a productive morning, aids in healthy digestion and gives sustained energy until lunch. There's no sugar or no oil to mess with your craving cycles...it's a real winner in the breakfast department.

I made this granola to encourage more cereal eating in the morning (and to encourage eating more fruit, I am not great at doing fruit in Winter...). This granola is refined sugar free, gluten free, oil free (and #plasticfree if you shop in bulk with jars or cloth bags like we do - YAY for achieving 2017 resolutions!). This does by no means mean that it is not TOTALLY BLOODY DELICIOUS. I eat it with a spoon hot from the baking tray or out of the jar and it is lucky to last a week in our house. It also goes well on top of fruit and yogurt for a healthy dessert, or sprinkled over sliced fruit and baked for a crumble-type situation on a cold Winters night. It is sweetened with maple syrup and has a nice crunchy texture without the heaviness of oil baked or over sweetened granolas. If you like it a little less crunchy you could chop up the almonds and hazelnuts, but I like a bold, chunky texture, it somehow feels more luxurious too.

If you made a resolution for 2018 to eat a proper breakfast, this is a good way to ease yourself in. It may even help you spring out of bed, knowing you have something super decadent to start your day off with and zero naughties involved. Wake and bake your breakfast people!

Ingredients:

2 cups puffed amaranth
3 cups gluten free steel cut oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup sultanas *optional
1 cup seeds ( I used hemp, pumpkin and flaxseed in equal parts, but use your favourites)
1 cup toasted hazelnuts
1 cup almonds, whole/peeled
1 tbsp cinnamon
200 ml Maple Syrup (or honey if you prefer)

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl, stir through maple syrup until everything looks wet. Spread out on a baking tray in a 1" layer and bake for 30-40 mins on 150°C on the middle rack, this quantity was roasted in two batches. Cool after removing and store in a big glass jar for breakfast decadence daily, serve with fruit and yogurt for dessert or put into pretty @leparfaitfr jars for #zerowaste christmas presents!