Trust me to pick the gloomiest day to make and photograph my tropical granola – British weather 1, Grace 0.
Granola is easily my favourite way to start the day. Weekdays, anyway… don’t take away my eggs Benedict/Bloody Mary just yet. There’s something about oats, seeds and nuts that really sets me up for a busy day. I don’t know about you guys, though, but I can really pack this stuff away. I’m a 2:1 granola to yoghurt ratio kinda’ girl. Screw it, who even needs yoghurt? I pretty much laugh in the face of recommended serving sizes, so when I actually looked at the amount of sugar I was eating all before 9am, it concerned me a little.
Check the nutritional label on your favourite granola and you’ll probably see sugar hiding in various forms – honey, molasses, agave, fructose or just straight-up refined white sugar. Once you start adding it all up, your ‘healthy’ breakfast isn’t so healthy after all. Instead, for this recipe, I’ve utilised the natural sweetness of a banana and added a little coconut sugar, for just enough sweetness with nothing refined. Sweet.
Enough about what it doesn’t contain, though, and more about what it does; plenty of oats to keep you full all morning, popped quinoa (like Rice Krispies, but yeah… QUINOA,) flaxseed, chia seeds and a whole bunch of other mixed seeds. Most importantly, for that tropical taste, it’s sweetened with mashed banana, a little coconut sugar and coconut oil, with dried mango and you guessed it, even more coconut tossed throughout. Can you tell I like coconut?
I love the varied texture the oats and the quinoa pops provide, but if you can’t find quinoa pops then you can substitute for any other sugar-free puffed grains or just stick with the tried and tested oats. Get creative, go crazy.
Not only is this a wholesome and delicious way to start your morning, but what better way is there to say ‘I’m an adult and I have my shit together’ than storing your homemade granola in a fancy jar?
- 1 ripe banana
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 130g rolled oats
- 20g milled flaxseed
- 25g quinoa pops (or any other no added sugar puffed cereal)
- 20g chia seeds
- 50g unsweetened toasted coconut
- 25g mixed seeds (I used sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds)
- 50g dried mango
- Preheat the oven to 125c and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Mash the banana with the coconut sugar until smooth, then stir in the melted coconut oil and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, add the oats, flaxseed, quinoa pops, chia seeds, coconut and mixed seeds.
- Combine the banana mixture and the oat mixture together, ensuring all the dry ingredients have been covered with the wet - it's easiest to do this with your hands to make sure it's thoroughly mixed. It should be crumbly and come together to form clumps.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then add the dried mango and stir well.
- Bake for another 10-12 minutes until golden and forming small clusters. It may still seem soft at this point but will harden once cooled.
- Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container and enjoy.
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