Granola is one of the best examples I can think of, of a “junk food” under the guise of “health food”. Sure, it’s based on oats, nuts, and sometimes dried fruit, but shop-bought brands are often loaded with a ton of hidden sugar, salt and fat. I’m a huge advocate of having a little bit of what you fancy – life’s too short to deny myself Crunchy Nut cereal let’s be honest – but I do think it’s important to be aware of what we’re putting into our bodies. And granola? It has a lot of people fooled.

Granola now lines the supermarket shelves and in many cases bears little resemblance to those that were once only affiliated with health food shops. An average 45g portion of granola has anywhere between 200-300 calories, 10-20g of sugar, and around 8-10g of fat. It’s really important to look at the nutrition label and ingredients list when looking for the best choice. If sugar is one of the first five ingredients, it’s probably not the best option! As a rule of thumb, you’re looking for as close to <5g sugar per 100g (at least <8-10g) and ideally <7g fat. Even the best granolas will have a higher fat content though if using ingredients such as nuts and seeds, so use this as a guide only and use your best judgement as to where the fat is coming from by looking at the ingredients list. The more ‘whole’ ingredients, the better.

What’s also key to keep in mind is that granola isn’t cereal, so we shouldn’t use it as such. 45g isn’t a lot, so it’s much better to use granola as a topping to yogurt, rather than sitting down to a full bowl. Eating excessive portions of granola is the biggest way we end up with a high-sugar, high-calorie breakfast, often unknown to ourselves!

Making homemade granola is really very simple, and allows us much more control as to what we put in! Oats has to be the base for me, but from there I love to add sources of fibre, healthy fats, and fibre where I can. A higher-fibre breakfast means staying fuller for longer, and less mindless snacking as a result.

The honey adds some sweetness – you can adapt this to your own liking, but try not to add too much as sugar is still sugar, no matter where it’s coming from. You could definitely half the quantity of honey for a lower sugar option.

I’ve kept this recipe fairly simple, but this works as a great base to play around with. Adding more nuts and seeds, dried fruit, or even protein powder all work well.

Granola fan? Take a look at some of my other homemade granola recipes, such as my Spiced Caramel Granola, or some of my other breakfast ideas – Lazy Day Chocolate Pancakes anyone?

Peanut Butter & Honey Granola

Recipe by Katie Wilson at Salt & HoneyCourse: BreakfastDifficulty: Easy

Servings

14

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Sugar

6

g

This sweet and salty granola is super quick to make from easy-to-source ingredients and is significantly healthier than many shop-bought versions. If you’re a peanut butter fan, you’re bound to love this one! This granola can be stored for up to 4 weeks to use as and when desired. I prefer this as a topper to plain greek yoghurt along with some fresh or frozen blueberries and sliced banana!

Ingredients

• 0.5 cups uncooked quinoa

• 3 cups oats

• 1 cup almonds

• 4 tbsp flaxseeds

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 0.75 cups spelt flour (any flour will work – I prefer to use wholemeal varieties for added fibre)

• 0.5 cups powdered peanut butter*

• 0.25 cups coconut oil (alternatively, use any neutral flavoured oil such as sunflower or canola oil)

• 1/3 cup honey

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 0.25 cup almond milk

Directions

• Preheat oven to 130C.
• Combine quinoa, oats, nuts, seeds, flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
• Place the coconut oil in a separate microwave-safe bowl and blast it in the microwave for about 30 seconds until melted. You can omit this step if using any oil already liquid at room temperature. If you are using regular peanut butter, this should be placed in the microwave alongside the oil to allow it to melt as well.
• Once you have your melted coconut oil, add in your powdered peanut butter, honey, milk and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
• Pour your coconut oil mixture over the dry ingredients and stir well. It may take a few minutes for your mixture to come together.
• Pour your granola onto a lined baking tray and pat down with the back of a spoon. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, stir once, and then place back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Be vigilant – you don’t want burnt granola!
• Once your granola is done, leave to cool for as long as possible. I left mine in the oven (which I turned off, of course) for around 2 hours. Allowing it to cool completely helps create those clusters we all love.

Additional Notes

• *If you only have regular peanut butter, use ~0.75 cups regular peanut butter and add an extra 0.25 cups flour. You can also leave out the oil if preferred, or leave it in for extra crunchy granola – keep in mind this pushes the fat content up.