Why a healthy granola? There are a lot of things about granola that I love and equally that I don’t, including the high price at the grocery store and laundry list of sugars.
The good news is you really can make this healthy granola complete with superfoods at home and give yourself a little pat on the back for creating such a delicious masterpiece. Big clusters, crunchy and slightly sweet flavor it’s really quite the thing to make. Plus, it’s quite versatile. A bold crunch to add to your morning smoothie bowls, top on a salad or just to munch on plain.
You see the main difference between this granola recipe and store-bought is the quality of ingredients that are in every bite. Traditionally most granola’s are oat + sugar based, which can be okay but when we are really trying to cut back on our sugar load working to reduce our insulin exposure, this sugar just isn’t going to cut it for anyone. Especially when it is normally paired with another high(er) sugar food.
So healthy granola with superfoods it is. Made with a lot of big players like quinoa, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin seeds, coconut, chia seeds and olive oil. The better news, all of this is in every.single.bite and just slightly sweetened with maple syrup.
So why no oats?
It’s not that I’m necessarily opposed to oats. I think quality oats eaten once in a while are completely fine. However, they really provide little nutritional value and instead are often used as fillers, like many grains. The truth is, if you really wanted to, you could sub some oats in this recipe and still get a great granola recipe.
However, it is my passion and belief that if there is a better food out there that can take the replacement of less than superb ingredients and still get the same great flavor and texture, than what are we waiting for? So with that, this amazingly delicious and perfectly crunchy, healthy granola (a.k.a. the healthiest of healthy granola) was formed and it is everything you need right now.
Not to let the cat out of the bag or anything, but this is a puuuuuurfect (okay enough with the cats) granola is compliant with The Simple Cleanse and my latest push for a real foods detox.
oohhh…
Sorry did I make you cringe?
I know, I know I used to be the exact same way. Outspoken about the lie of detox and cleanses, the misuse and scam that they seem to be. Fortunately I’ve come out the other side much, much happier and less judgemental. The bottom line and turning point to me is there is no arguing that really, really, really clean eating for a set period of time never really hurt anyone.
In fact, can you imagine how good you would feel if you made a commitment to live on real food and real food alone, minus those inflammatory causing foods for a month? Yea, you know how good that would feel. We all know how good it would feel and I want that feeling like bad right now. It’s a little early to say that warm weather is coming which means shorts and swim suits and sleeveless tops but I’m saying it.
I’m craving all things clean, like really really clean right now. My body is crying out for it. And so why not just clean up versions of some of our favorite foods? Because…
[Tweet “If you want to #detoxlikeaboss you have to be well fed and love every second of it.”]
Just a disclaimer, I by no means support any and all detox’s and cleanses on the market. I do highly recommend that every single person follow a real foods approach and lifestyle modifications to help support our body’s natural detoxification pathways and clean out the body aiming towards proper restoration and rejuvenation.
Want to learn my detox recommendation? Get my free download sent to your inbox
the simple detox guide
On the other hand a quick fix promising big weight loss and instant results via cleansing your colon making you BFF’s with the bathroom and putting you on more pills and tonics then you’ll ever be on in your entire life is not necessarily my idea of a good protocol or (because I know we’re all thinking it) a good time.
Yikes!
So now that we got that out-of-the-way, lets come back around the table to this delicious healthy granola.
- Delicious – check
- Crunch – check
- Filling – double check
- Nutrient dense – HEEEELLLO check…check…check…check…
- Versatile – check
- Kid-friendly – check
- Make ahead – check
That pretty much sums it up as one of my top must make foods to make! Trust me you won’t regret it and you can store it in an air-tight container and eat it all week-long.
Welcome to the world healthy granola made with superfoods (that happens to be grain and nut free) you are very welcome to stay as long as you want.
- ⅓ cup quinoa
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup coconut
- ½ cup flax meal
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup applesauce
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- Preheat oven 275 degrees
- In a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients, quinoa, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut , flax meal and spices.
- In a separate small bowl add applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla and olive oil. Mix well.
- Pour over dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Pour onto a baking sheet and place in the oven.
- Bake for 20 minutes, remove and stir. Repeat 2 more times.
- Remove and let sit and break into clusters.
