Pecan and Pumpkin Seed Granola
Granola is a go to in my house, for breakfast, snacks, whenever... and I play around with my recipes a lot (if you browse my site you will find a few variations of a basic granola). It's the closest thing to 'snacks' that you will get in my house and so it tends to go in a flash. I do tend to put a fair amount of nuts and seeds in mine giving it lots of healthy fats and protein and making it more of a 'paleo' type granola and something I encourage the kids to eat as it won't cause dips in energy but maintains stable/ good blood sugar levels. This translates to better behaviour and less mood swings in and outside school.
Pumpkin seeds are a great source of zinc (plus I love the colour) which is why they are in here and pecans because it's a nut my kids generally don't eat much of. Plus the combination of the two works like magic! Numerous studies show the health benefits of nuts, most recently a study by the Imperial College London and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology showed that a small handful daily can lower coronary heart disease by 30%, reduce cancer risk by 15% and risk of premature death by 22%. It also reduced the risk of many other diseases and showed an underlying relationship between nut consumption and better health. Don't be afraid that nuts are high in fat as they are also high in antioxidants, protein and fibre and have shown to reduce obesity over time.
The basic (magic) recipe is about 4 cups of dry ingredients to 1/2 a cup of maple syrup and 1 tbs of coconut oil
So you can play around with the recipe all you like as long as you keep to the above. Add what you like and take away what you don't so you have a recipe that's perfect for you!
Pecan & Pumpkin seed granola Ingredients & Recipe:
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup of oats (I use GF ones)
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 buckwheat groats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
Mix all the above ingredients together and add the wet ingredients:
1/4 cup maple syrup
some vanilla extract
1 tbs melted coconut oil
Mix everything together and spread into a thin layer on a baking paper and place in a 160 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes. Open the oven a couple of times whilst baking and mix so that the top layer does not burn.
Let it cool completely. Then add some sweetness. I added 1/2 a cup of raisins here.
Place in an airtight jar where it will keep for 7-10 days.
