A Healthy Low Fat Granola Recipe

Why not try this healthy low fat granola recipe?

Granola is a very welcome addition to muesli on cold winter mornings. Some people love to eat it as a cereal by itself.

It's certainly very nice that way but, for me, it's just too high in sugars for everyday consumption.

However, if you are running about a bit, walking in the wilds or working hard and using up loads of energy, there is nothing wrong with replenishiing your reserves with a (quite) low-fat granola bar or a handful or two of homemade granola.

The sugars give you an instant lift and the complex carbohydrates in the grains gives you a more sustained energy. The seeds and nuts provide proteins to sustain you for even longer. Recent research has shown that protein contributes to that "full" feeling you expect from eating a square meal. (Interesting that research often just corroborates what nutritionists have known for years!)

A healthy low fat granola recipe:

Granola - a heart healthy recipe!

Obviously you need to be careful not to have too much of a good thing. I find it's really easy to pig out on this - not such a good idea if you are being quite sedentary!

Oats and other grains are rich in magnesium and other minerals and vitamins which help keep chloresterol low.

So, granola can be a quite healthy as part of a diet rich in natural grains and vegetables - and as a welcome treat for when you are working or playing extra hard.

A healthy low fat granola recipe:

Why make your own homemade granola?

A healthy low fat granola recipe:

Here's an easy low fat granola recipe using oats or a whole-grain cereal mix

Toasting your own granola is very easy provided that you remember to check it often enough to prevent over-browning. This low-fat granola recipe is quite simple and fast to make.

Ingredients

• Pick a selection of flaked or rolled grains - oats, wheat and barley are all good.
• Pick a selection of nuts and seeds: almonds, brazils, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame and anything else you like. Coconut is also good but is relatively high in saturated fats. Use you can usually find unsweetened flakes.
• Pick the dried fruits you would like to use: raisins, sultanas and dates, apricots and dried apples are all good. Avoid things that have been sweetened with additional sugar if you want a reasonably healthy mix.
• You also need honey and cooking oil.

Here are the proportions you need:

1 part oil, 2 parts honey, 3 - 4 parts seed and nuts, 4 parts grains, 3 - 4 parts dried fruit

Method

• Measure out the oil and honey into a large mixing bowl.
• Add the nuts and seeds. They should be well chopped so that no large chunks remain, especially if you are using brazils and pecans.
• Add the grains and mix everything together very well.
• Cook the mixture in a shallow open tray. You need to turn the mixture from time to time so that everything becomes evenly browned.
• When everything is cooked (about twenty minutes to half an hour) remove the tray and finish by mixing in the chopped fruit.

An easy healthy granola bar recipe - delicious too!

Here's how to make really healthy granola bars which are both nutritious and delicious. Your kids won't feel like they are being short changed if you put one of these in their school lunchbox. The trick is to get the consistency right - chewy but not hard.

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz raw sunflower seeds, (1/2 cup)

3 ounces chopped almonds and hazelnuts (1 cup)

1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, (1/2 cup)

6 ounces honey, (1/2 cup)

1 3/4 oz dark brown sugar or demerara sugar, (1/4 cup)

1 oz unsalted butter, plus extra for pan (largish knob)

1 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or other flavouring (optional - this is pretty tasty without!)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 oz chopped unsweetened dried fruits such as apricots, raisins, sultanas, apples and pears

Method

• Cook the oats and nuts and seeds in a moderate oven (350 degrees F) for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until they have crisped up and a pleasant aroma is coming from the nuts. Check them and move the mix about to prevent burning. Rub off any brown shells from the hazelnuts (they should fall off quite easily after cooking). The ingredients should look faintly bronzed. Don't over-do it - you'll only create free-radicals!
• Warm the fats and sugars, including the honey, in a saucepan over a low heat until everything is melted.
• Stir everything together, including the salt and dried chopped fruits.
• Press the mixture into a greased oven-proof tray. Don't over-press the mix. It needs to stick together but if you over-do it, it will become hard when cooked.
• Cook it for about 20 - 30 minutes in a warm oven.
• Slice into shapes with a sharp knife as soon as they are done and leave the granola bars to cool (if you can!)

Variations for your healthy granola bar recipe

You can vary the fruit and nuts in many, many ways. The trick is to keep the quantities of fruits, nuts and grains roughly the same. Sesame seeds are a good bet as they are so nutritious. They are a great source of calcium.

You can further reduce the amount of fat by avoiding brazils, coconut and other high-fat nuts and seeds. The lowest vegetable oils for saturated fats are safflower, almond, sunflower and canola. Sunflower is probably the easiest to find. Canola has some health queries about it (that's another article!)

A healthy low fat granola recipe: storing granola bars

These bars will only stay fresh for a few days. Keep them in an air-tight tin or wrap them individually in tin-foil. There are now recycled aluminium foils on the market, so this need not be too eco-unfriendly!

See also the flapjack recipe on my oat recipes page.

	Enter your search termsSubmit search form
	Web www.greenfootsteps.com

Return from An Easy Low Fat Granola Recipe back to Green Recipe Book

Greenfootsteps Home - for more easy green living ideas