I needed a distraction today and preparing a blog post fit the bill pretty well. Things haven’t gone so well health wise lately, I do intend on catching up with you all about it but for now I’m mulling it all over and trying to keep busy. This afternoon was spent developing a recipe for Total Greek Yoghurt as part of their #trytotal campaign. So let’s get stuck in to that.
It’s rare that I’m awake at a reasonable hour to eat breakfast but I’m so fond of it that i’ll happily turn it in to a mid morning snack. I’m not much of a cereal person and given that we have hens, eggs are my go to start to the day, that is until autumn hits. There’s something about this season that begs for more comforting food. Enter, autumn granola.
Crunchy, naturally sweet, full of healthy amino acids and protein packed seeds. This is one of the best breakfasts going and it’s really simple to make, even if you’re bleary eyed. If you thought yoghurt was just for eating on it’s own, you’ve been badly mislead. It’s at its very very best when you start to pair it up with other things – trust me.
To serve 4 people this scrummy granola you’ll need:
- 150g Oats
- 150g Nuts/seeds of your choice (I'm using flaked almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
- 3 tbsp Honey
- ¼tsp Cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp Butter
- 200g Berries (I'm using raspberry and elderberry but blueberry, strawberry, blackberry or black currants are all worthy)
- 100g Greek Yoghurt
- Heat the butter in a large skillet or frying pan on a medium heat. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and seeds, sprinkle in the cinnamon and salt then drizzle in your honey. With a wooden spoon, mix it all up so that small clusters form. Toast in the pan, stirring occasionally until golden brown.
- Whilst that's cooking we can get on with the cheats coulis. Put the berries in a jug (even if they're frozen) and microwave them for 30 seconds, give them a squash with a fork and put them back in for another minute. Ping! Coulis is done.
- To serve, add the granola to a bowl with a heap of greek yoghurt and spoon over the coulis.
It’s best eaten warm, but the granola will store well in an air tight container for a couple of weeks. How nice would it be to pour some home made granola in to your bowl tomorrow morning, rather than shop bought, sugar loaded cereal?
I sat and ate mine on the sunroom door step with the bowl on my knees and Fynn, my Springer Spaniel, at my feet. I can’t get enough of lovely autumn days, they’re my favourite.
As with all my recipes, there is plenty of room here to get creative. Hazelnuts would be a lovely addition, as would chopped up dried fruits – apricots, cranberry, fig. You could even add chocolate chips if you wanted to be naughty. I must have said this 100 times on my blog but open your cupboards – use what’s inside!
Beth Young says
Wish I had something this colourful to wake up to in the morning! The colours and textures are beautiful! I’ve never seen granola in Italy….will have to try this out on my Italian family and see what they think!
Vicki says
Ooh it would be interesting to know what they thought. If you make it do let me know 🙂