I’d gone through a phase recently where I wasn’t much a fan of breakfast. I couldn’t find anything I liked and didn’t really enjoy eating the standard, plain and boring cereal or vegemite on toast. I’ve infrequently made granola over the last few years and always loved the flexibility of it. The key ingredients are pantry staples and you can mix and match the extras to whatever is in your cupboard. It’s got so much bang for its buck and can be a relatively cost effective meal. 

A few months ago I started making it regularly; now – it’s all I eat for breakfast. It’s SO much better than anything you can buy from the supermarket and once you’ve had fresh homemade granola, you’ll never want to eat store bought stuff again. There is no hidden nasties and can be paired with fruit, yogurt, milk, or like I do sometimes: just eat it straight from the jar. It can become a breakfast staple or put some in a glass jar, wrap with a ribbon and gift as presents. I promise you, once you’ve tried this once, you’ll be back for more! 

Choc-Peanut Nutty ‘Nola. 

Ingredients:

• ½ Cup Oil
• ½ Cup Peanut Butter 
• ½ Cup Maple Syrup 
• 3 cups of rolled oats 
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 
• 2 tablespoons of cacao powder 
• ¼ cup Chia Seeds
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 2 cups of various nuts/seeds of choice, roughly cut

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius 
2. Combine Oil, Peanut Butter, Maple Syrup, Vanilla Essence and Cacao Powder in a bowl and stir until combined.
3. Add in oats, Chia Seeds and nut mixture (In this instance I used papitas, almonds, peanuts and walnuts). 
4. Stir mixture until well combined and oats and nuts are evenly coated with chocolate mixture. 
5. Place mixture on a lined baking tray and cook in oven for 10 minutes. 
6. Remove mixture from oven, sprinkle coconut on top and use a spoon to move mixture around the tray (Ensuring you overturn sections to allow even cooking). 
7. Place mixture back in over and cook for a further 8 minutes. 
8. Remove tray from oven and leave on the bench to cool completely. 
9. Once cooled, store in a glass jar or airtight container.

Tips: 

• The more you move the mixture, the more the granola will break up. If you like ‘chunky’ pieces of granola, leave some pieces unmoved. 
• Allowing it to cool completely on the tray will make the granola extra crunchy.