My New Favorite Granola

 BANANA HEMP GRANOLA

I know as a kid my favorite cereal should have been something like fruity pebbles or cookie crunch, but when I think about it, it was actually either puffins peanut butter cereal or Post Banana nut crunch. The latter is what inspired this granola. 

Out of curiosity and craving, I looked up the ingredients:

Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Whole Grain Barley, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Walnuts, Rice Flour, High Oleic Vegetable Oil (Canola Or Sunflower Oil), Dried Bananas, Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Salt, Whey (From Milk), Natural Flavor, Bht (Added To Preserve Freshness)

HORRIBLE!!! I decided to eliminate the nasties (aka wheat, barley, sugar, and corn syrup) and add in some good to make a healthier and more beneficial to my body version that still tasted delicious.  I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. I’m IN LOOOOOVE with this granola! Like somebody should hide it from me so I don’t eat the whole batch sort of in love. 

Granola can be crazy expensive and so sneaky in terms of sweeteners and artificial ingredients. HOMEMADE granola is so easy and cost-efficient; once you start , you won’t even think about buying it again. Not to mention, you can customize it to include everything love! Ok PLATTE CLOVE NATURALS in Saugerties is awesome, so let’s just disregard them in this rant. 

Awhile back I posted another granola recipe and went on to delete it after a few hours because I decided I didn’t like orange zest in my granola after all. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when it comes to something baked like this, I like nutty, seedy, spicy, vanilla-y, more mild flavors.

Without more a-do…Here it is:

  

INGREDIENTS

2 large mashed bananas

About 2/3 cup medjool dates, pits removed

¼ cup almond butter

½ cup hemp seeds

1/3 cup chia seeds (optional)

3 cups gf old-fashioned rolled oats

1 T vanilla extract

½ T cinnamon

¼ tsp. sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or LIGHTLY spray with nonstick oil

Put bananas, dates, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt into a food processor to get it as smooth and mixed as you possibly can

Add almond butter and blend again until incorporated

In a large bowl, mix the hemp and chia seeds with the oats

Pour banana mixture in and mix until all the oats are covered

Spread mixture out on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes

Use a spatula to flip it all over and break up the huge clumps then bake for 30 minutes more

Remove from oven and let cool before storing

WHY SO GOOD FOR YOU?

CHIA SEEDS: A plant-based source of omega-3s (which increase mental function, decrease inflammation, and support your immune system).  They have lots of antioxidants, minerals, and FIBER. 

HEMP SEEDS: Contain all 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids our bodies can’t produce on their own. They have a high protein content that’s easy to digest and have more essential fatty acids than most other seeds or nuts. They have a good amount of iron, potassium, zinc, and magnesium and are one of the few alkaline-forming seeds in nature- which balance our body’s Ph. 

MEDJOOL DATES: Known as “nature’s candy”. They provide quick energy and have up to 3x more potassium than bananas. They have dietary fiber, iron, magnesium, and B vitamins. (FYI: 1 handful of dates= 1 serving of fruit)

BANANAS: Bananas do have a high sugar content, BUT they’re such a good source of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin b6, and potassium; we’ll forgive them.

ALMOND BUTTER: Mmm. My favorite. Less saturated fat and more calcium than peanut butter. 

Mmm the atmosphere wasn't too shabby either...