My Lockdown, Best Friend Show-Down Granola

So…in the interests of finding entertainment where you could in the lockdown of 2020, myself and my very best friend, the super-talented illustrator, artist and all-round brilliant human Emily decided to have a Granola Off.

Apparently at this stage, such a thing counts as entertainment.

Cabin fever may have set in at this point. Or maybe not, because home-made granola knocks the daylights out of anything you can pick up in a supermarket, lockdown or not.

Personally, I find any shop-bought granola too sweet. I like the really chewy, satisfying and rustic style, with that home-roasted taste – and in all honesty you can take the flavour profiles where you like – this is just my preference of what I had around the house in lockdown times.

With socially responsible distancing still in place, we’ve yet to truly have a winner-defining final tasting, but we’ve both had some pretty damn good breakfasts out of it since. And it’s something to look forward to when we can see each other again – probably using our taste-off as a cure for a hangover after one too many tequilas the night before.

So, waffling aside (for once), here’s mine. This makes plenty so keep in air-tight jars and feel free to work on the measurements and flavourings as you see fit or work with what you have – some of the seeds I just had kicking around from past recipes, they’re not essential, equally the flaked almonds could be swapped out for chopped versions of whatever you have if at all, or hell chuck in even more – it’s your breakfast after all! But this, with yoghurt, cheered up more than a few lockdown mornings for me.

Again, not a nutritionist (yet) but the health benefits from this list of ingredients are pretty clear to see – and it’s really satisfying as well.

INGREDIENTS

500g rolled oats

80g pumpkin seeds

60g sunflower seeds

Tbsp linseed

180g honey

50ml coconut oil

2 tsp chia seeds

120g chopped dried cranberries (I use a low-sugar version but any will do)

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

100g flaked almonds

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

125g chopped dark chocolate

METHOD

Melt the honey and coconut oil together.

Mix those and all ingredients bar the cranberries and chocolate. Spread out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake at 140 degrees for about twenty minutes – stir through a few times, and push down with a spatula if you like chunks of granola.

Add the cranberries and chocolate chunks, stir around and press once more, then cook for another 10 minutes.

Take out, leave to cool, break up and store in sterilised jars.

Enjoy with yoghurt, maybe with some chopped or stewed fruit for even more goodness. Happy breakfasting everyone x