We all have our preferences when it comes to getting the day started and how we spend our mornings. For many Brits, a cup of tea is a non-negotiable first thing, and it’s best to wait an hour or so before getting a caffeine fix. How we start our mornings can have a big impact on the rest of our day, and even lives, with some research suggesting that following a few steps first thing can help you live to 100.
Eating a nutritious breakfast is one of the ways to guarantee a good start to your day, and supposedly helps you live longer. While many people might skip breakfast, especially if they’re pressed for time, I’m definitely not one of those people. In fact, on days I’m going into the office, I pack my breakfast and bring it into work with me just to make sure I don’t go hungry. My go-to is tried and tested — yoghurt, granola and blueberries with some honey drizzled over. But I recently learnt just how processed and high in refined sugar most granolas available in supermarkets are, and decided to make my own.
Not only is it a healthier option, but making your own granola at home is also incredibly easy, and I’m not sure why I hadn’t done this before. It also means you can add your own combination of ingredients to suit your tastes.
In my opinion, there’s nothing worse than picking up a bag of granola and bringing it home only to realise it’s got coconut flakes or banana chips mixed in there, and I much prefer my granola to include nuts and berries.
I used a combination of a recipes.One was shared online by the chef Atlanta Thompson, who said it’s “one of my most requested recipes as a private chef” in a video posted on TikTok, and the other was sent to me by a friend.
Using cinnamon and ground ginger, the best part about this recipe was that my kitchen smelled absolutely incredible afterwards. It only takes 20 minutes to prepare and cook, and it tastes so much better than any granola I’ve bought from the supermarket.
In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to buying it from the supermarket, and looking forward to a freshly-made breakfast each morning has been such a treat. I played around with the measurements as while it does last for a few weeks, I wanted to make sure I could get through it.
How to make homemade cinnamon granola
Ingredients
- Three cups of rolled oats
- ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
- ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- One cup chopped almonds
- Two tsp cinnamon
- Two tsp ground ginger
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup olive oil
- Raisins
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Prepare your ingredients and chop the almonds. Mix everything in a bowl, making sure the maple syrup and olive oil are well distributed and everything is coated. Place on a large tray lined with a baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, stirring the edges every so often so as to make sure they don’t burn. After 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and give it another good stir. Place back in the oven for another five to 10 minutes until golden.
Remove and leave to cool. Once cool, add as many raisins as you like, and place the granola into an airtight container to keep fresh. Enjoy it for breakfast with some yoghurt and berries.