Must have healthy snacks

Hola,

No matter when or where, I always make sure I have my homemade Granola and healthy oaty banana muffins in stock for that time of the day when you're feeling a bit lethargic and in need of some energy!
Oats (not the instant quick cooking type) are low GI which means that they will satisfy and energize you, while helping to keep your blood sugar levels on an even level.

GRANOLA
This is a really easy recipe that you can experiment with and alter the ingredients to your liking.
You can use olive oil instead of coconut oil, however it is worth getting some cooking coconut oil (make sure you don't get the one used for hair, like my dad did!)

To make a large box full, last about a week here with 3 hungry adults!

• Approx 3 cups of bulking agent ( I used 1½-2 cups rolled oats, ¾-1 cup of wheat bran (you can substitute with crushed up weetabix), ½ cup of seeds such as lin, poppy, hemp etc. (optional))
• ½ cup of nuts such as walnuts (optional)
• Lots of cinnamon, I probably use about 1-2 tbsp (to your liking)
• Vanilla, seeds from pod or essence (optional)
• 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted.
• Approx 6 tablespoons of honey, more if you want a very sweet granola
• 1 egg yolk, OPTIONAL, I only add it if I have a yolk lying around, just to help bind the mixture.
• Water, just enough to bind it all together

1. Preheat oven to about 170-180 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients and nuts together.
3. Pour in all the wet ingredients and add sufficient water, usually about 4 tbsp, to bind the mix together all together. (It needs to come together but still be quite dry, I find using your hands to mix works best!)
4. Pat the whole mix down tightly on a non stick tray and bake for about 30 minutes-  40 minutes until golden brown, breaking it up and mixing half way through, as the edges tend to brown quickly. The mini clusters will harden as the mix cools.

NOTE: If you do prefer very big crunchy clusters, add a tad more coconut oil and honey.

BANANA MUFFINS

These are a good way to use up ripe bananas and are handy to have as a snack in the freezer, I've started giving my dad one a day to take to work :)

Makes 12

• 1 cup old fashioned oats 
• ¾ cup wholewheat flour, if you do prefer lighter muffins, you could use ¾ cup white flour or mix half white half brown.
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• lots of cinnamon :), and any other spices you may want such as nutmeg
• 2 tsp of vanilla
• pinch of salt
• a third of a cup of coconut oil, melted
• a third of a cup of honey (these are only slightly sweetened, so if you desire, add more)
• 2 eggs
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix together the coconut oil and honey till well combined, add the eggs, vanilla and mashed up bananas and mix for a minute.
3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt over the wet mix and pour in the oats. Fold it all together nicely, but make sure not to over mix.
4. Spoon the muffin mix into muffin cases (if using brown flour, you can fill them up as they do not rise as much as white flour based muffins.), and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

OPTIONAL: Rachel messaged me yesterday about blueberries muffins, and these would be perfect with blueberries added in! Any optional add ins such as berries, raisins, walnuts, seeds, flaked almonds, chocolate chips can be added in with the dry ingredients and delicately folded into the mix. 

Here's my granola fruit parfait and a banana muffin,

Happy baking!!

xxx

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