Crunchy Granola (retreat brunch favourite)

A hearty breakfast or brunch is always welcome after a morning practice. I love this homemade granola recipe and served it up every day at a recent yoga retreat in France, which led to many requests for the recipe.  It’s a super healthy choice, with oats being gluten-free and packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants (and a good choice for anyone wanting to lower their cholesterol levels). Nuts and dried fruit (and fresh berries, if you like) bump up the nutritional profile even more.

Granola Recipe

(Makes a big batch, so just cut all quantities in half to make a smaller batch).

Heat the oven to 150 degrees

500 g organic oats

1-2 tsp salt (to taste – I generally use 2 level teaspoons with this large batch recipe)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

200 g nuts (cashews and almonds work well but any nuts you like will work)

100 g dessicated coconut

100 g sunflower seeds

100 g pumpkin seeds

100 g small seeds (I usually use chia, but sesame also good for texture and nutrional content)

150 ml Maple syrup (or whatever sweetener you prefer)

200 ml coconut oil*

Dried fruit to your taste ( I use golden sultanas, dried cranberries, goji berries….depending on what’s in the kitchen!)

1. Melt the coconut oil and stir in the maple syrup.
2. Spread oats and all additional ingredients except dried fruit onto large baking tin lined with greaseproof baking
3. Pour over the coconut oil and maple syrup mix and stir so oat mix is coated in oil. It may seem quite oily to begin with but the sweetened oil mix will slowly evaporate as the granola bakes and this is what give it its depth of flavour, crunchiness and sweetness.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir around and put back in the oven to continue baking.
5. Repeat this process every 15 minutes or so until oats are a nice, golden colour and you notice some colour on the nuts (usually about 45 minutes but depends on your oven)
6. Remove tray from oven and allow to cool.
7. Add dried fruit to mix and stir. Store in airtight container.

All this needs is a dollop or two of natural yoghurt (soya, oat, dairy – whatever your preference) and if you have a sweet tooth like I do, a spoonful of raw honey. Enjoy!

*While coconut oil has many health benefits, it is high in saturated fat, so if this concerns you, you could use extra-virgin olive oil or sunflower oil instead.