Despite what I used to believe, granola is often not that healthy a breakfast, as
it's packed with fat, sugar and dried fruits (which are very sweet). When discovering how deceiving my shop bought granola had been to me, I stopped eating any altogether.
Then I missed it, and I slowly came to the realisation that there had to be a way of making my own healthier granola by reducing the fat, the
sweetening agent, and nut and fruits, while still enjoying a luxurious
and crunchy breakfast. And I did!
My healthy nutty granola
Looking into Felicity Cloake's (The Guardian) research on the topic of homemade granola, I opted for her choice of coconut oil as the fat, and the addition of an egg white for crunchiness. I stayed with golden syrup, my favourite, for the sweetening agent, while reducing drastically the quantities called by most recipes.The results is a nice crunchy and nutty granola, which is not too sweet. If you would like is more fruity, why not add fresh fruits to it when serving?
Ingredients
250g rolled oats
30g coconut oil
45g golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 good pinch of flaked sea salt
1 egg white, beaten until frothy
1 handful mixed nuts (I used brazil nuts, flaked almonds, pecans)
2 tbsp mixed seeds (I used pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
1 small handful dried fruits ( I used dried mangos)
Method to make your own granola
1/ Preheat the oven at 150deg C. Prepare a baking tray and line if with baking parchment.
2/ In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients
3/ In a small casserole, mix the coconut oil, golden syrup, vanilla essence and melt on a medium heat, mixing until well combined. Allow to cool slightly.
4/ Pour the oil/sweet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well with a spatula until the dry ingredients are evenly coated in the wet mixture.
5/ Add the frothy egg white and mix well again.
6/ Pour the granola on the baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for about 20min. Take out of the oven shake slightly and bring back into the oven. Bake for a further 10min or until golden (watch out, you do not want the granola to over bake or the nuts will taste burnt).
7/ Take out of the oven and leave to cool completely. Break the granola in chunks, add the dried fruits cut into pieces and store in an airtight container. Eat within 10 days (after which it might lose its crunchiness).
We bought a house!
It's been a long, stressful and bumpy ride, but now come the rewards.
During the first couple of weeks after we moved in, I felt like we were
staying in a holiday home and expected we’d have to pack
up and leave at any moment. I was tiptoeing around the house, not quite coming to grips with the idea that it was ours.
Today, sitting
amongst our boxes, waiting for some of our furniture to be delivered,
it has started to sink in and although I am over the moon, I still can't
believe how lucky I am.
I've got a home with The Man. In London.
We can invite family to stay over, and organise dinner parties with our friends.
We can choose the colour of the walls, invest time and money in making this house our home. Our home.
I'm happy!
My Bircher Muesli
There probably are as many bircher muesli recipes are there are people making it. When I searched for the perfect recipe, I quickly found that from Hugh Ferney Wittingstall to Felicity Cloake, everyone has his take on the bircher muesli recipe. So I decided I would create my own and put the things I like in it.
Thanks to the lime juice and fresh ginger, this one is fresh and tangy, and perfect for waking your taste buds up in the morning. As for the nuts and fresh fruits, I try new combinations every time I make a new batch.
So go ahead, improvise!
Ingredients (for a bowl of bircher muesli)
6 tbsp organic rolled oats
1 tangy apple, such as granny smith or breaburn, coarsely grated
2 tbsp thick plain yogurt such as Total Greek Yogurt
2 tbsp orange juice (freshly pressed or from a bottle)
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp nuts chopped (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc)
1 small tbsp grains (pumpkin seeds, linseeds, etc)
1 tbsp runny honey (optional)
a few fresh blueberries or raspberries
a small 1/2 thumb sized of fresh grated ginger (optinal)
milk, depending of the required consistency
Method to prepare the bircher muesli:
1/ The night before, place in a bowl
the rolled oats, the yogurt, the juices of orange and lime, the grated apple, the nuts and grains, and the grated ginger and honey (if used). Mix well and cover with cling film.
2/ In the morning, add the fresh fruits, and milk if you wish your bircher muesli to be runnier than it is.
NB: if you like your nuts and grains very crunchy, add them at the last minute before serving rather than the night before.
The story goes that a Doctor Bircher-Benner from Zurick came up with the bircher muesli recipe. It has long been popular with vegetarians, but it has recently become increasingly trendy amongst the general public as it ticks many of the perfect breakfast's boxes : it fills you up, it is well-balanced, and packed with nutrients without being too fat or too sweet. And it's delicious, so no reason not to try it!
