Granola doesn’t last long in my house. Whenever I make a tray, it will be gone within a few days. Seriously. It’s such a delicious way to get a variety of plant-based foods into the diet. In fact, the below recipe contains 15 plant-based foods, that’s half of your weekly recommended target. So this granola is really a winner!
In addition, each portion of granola contains 5.7g fibre. It also had another bonus of no added sugar. Instead, I used dates and blend them with hot water to create a sweet puree which helps the clusters form together. This also means it’s not overly sweet and feels much lighter than other generic granolas.
Using a variety of different cereal flakes also helps increase diversity; these are widely available at your local supermarket or health food shop. I’ve used jumbo oats with some rye, spelt and barley flakes which help increase the fibre content as well as the diversity of my weekly plant food intakes.
I’ve have used freeze-dried fruits in this granola. This means that they have been dried under cold conditions which are thought to help maximise the retention of heat-sensitive nutrients such as vitamin C, some B vitamins as well as phytochemicals and antioxidants. If you don’t have these to hand you can use other dried fruits such as raisins or apricots, or try adding some dehydrated vegetables for an extra fibre kick.
Makes 15 servings
Ingredients
- 100g pitted dates
- 150g oats
- 50g rye flakes
- 50g barley flakes
- 50g spelt flakes
- 50g desiccated coconut
- 75g mixed seeds (chia, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, and linseed)
- 80g almonds, roughly chopped
- 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- 40g coconut chips
- 35g freeze-dried raspberries
- 35g freeze-dried blueberries
Pour in the EVOO 
Mix 
Pour onto a baking tray 
Press down to help for clusters
Method
- Preheat the oven to 120°C Fan/130°C convection or Gas Mark 1/2.
- Pour 150ml boiling water onto the dates and allow them to soak.
- Meanwhile, mix all the oats, flakes, desiccated coconut, seeds, and nuts in a bowl.
- Using a hand blender or a food processor, blend the dates in the water to a puree. Empty into the dry ingredients and mix.
- Add the EVOO and mix together. Pour onto a large baking tray and, using the back of a spoon, press the granola down to form clumps.
- Cook in the oven for 90 minutes in total, gently turning the granola at 30, 50, and 70 minutes.
- At 70 minutes add the coconut flakes to the mixture before cooking for the final 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully before adding in the freeze-dried raspberries and blueberries and storing in an airtight container.
Per 50g serving: 206kcal/ 7.8g fat/ 4.4g saturated fat/ 21.3g carbohydrates/ 5.7g fibre/ 5.7g protein