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Supercharged healthy cookie granola [refined sugar free]

1 November 2020 / 66 Comments
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Supercharged healthy cookie granola in a jar.

This supercharged healthy cookie granola is an improved version of my healthy cookie granola, featuring a greater variety of whole grains (puffed and rolled), with the addition of moist coconut flakes and a whole lot of seeds.

I love eating food which is nutritious and delicious, and this granola easily ticks both of those boxes. If you don’t have much time in the morning but still want to eat a filling breakfast which is real food, good for your body, gut and skin, and it tastes like eating cookies, then you’ve come to the right place.

Supercharged healthy cookie granola in bowls.

I am not kidding, I eat this granola a lot. I started with the classic version of this healthy cookie granola last year, and the kids and I would have it in pots pretty much every weekend.

And then I started thinking, what if I added some seeds? And perhaps some coconut flakes?

At the same time, I came across this organic five grain mix and puffed multigrain blend at my local supermarket, which gave me the idea to substitute them for the plain rolled oats and puffed rice, to have a little more variety in the base ingredients too.

My favourite way of eating this granola is as shown in the photo just above – with some delicious creamy plant-based yoghurt and a couple of spoonfuls of my homemade cherry berry jam, topped with as big a handful of fresh berries as you can manage.

In summer, when Queensland mangoes are plentiful, we switch to using mango jam which gives it a bright yellow summery look – perfection any time of day, but especially in the mornings, if you ask me.

Supercharged healthy cookie granola in bowls.
Supercharged healthy cookie granola in bowls.

The granola is still full of gorgeous crunchy clusters that taste like speculoos cookies, so the basics are still there. And when it bakes, yum! The whole house smells like Christmas.

But I call this version “supercharged” because in addition to nuts, oats and puffed rice, I’ve included a large variety of seeds, delicious coconut, and more types of whole grains which is something you will love especially if you are the type of person who doesn’t usually have a lot of seeds and grains in their diet otherwise.

Overall I have kept the quantities the same, basically just substituting one cup of nuts for the seeds and adding a bit of extra coconut. The result is just wonderful though – look at all that goodness peeking out of the top of that jar!

Supercharged healthy cookie granola in a jar.

All the goodness in this supercharged granola, in turn

Nuts

This recipe calls for two cups of raw nuts – I love to use a mix of walnuts, pecans, almonds, brazil nuts and macadamias. Pistachios, hazelnuts and cashews might also be great additions.

You can use whatever you have or the types of nuts you prefer. However, remember, your gut loves variety and the more nuts you put in, the better.

Nuts generally are full of healthy fats (monounsaturated fat, as well as omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fat), fiber and protein. They also contain a number of vitamins and minerals, including magnesium and vitamin E.

Walnuts and macadamias in particular are an excellent source of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and brazil nuts are an incredibly rich source of selenium.

Source: Healthline

Seeds

I substituted one of the cups of nuts from the original recipe with seeds. I love using whatever I have on hand, usually a mix of chia seeds, linseeds (also known as flaxseeds), pine nuts, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.

They are all easy to find in supermarkets these days and all are incredibly nutritious. Not only they are great sources of fiber, they also contain healthy monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and many important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Seeds can help reduce blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.

Source: Healthline

Fun fact: pine nuts are edible seeds that come from the cones of pine trees. They are sometimes considered nuts but more generally accepted to be seeds.

They’re an excellent source of nutrients and particularly high in vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, vitamin K, zinc, copper and phosphorus.

Sources: Healthline and Huffington Post

I’ve managed to squeeze in another extra bit of seed through swapping out a third of the hazelnut meal for some linseed meal. Linseeds (or flaxseeds as they are also known) are amazingly nutritious and contain a good amount of protein, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, in addition to being a rich source of some vitamins and minerals.

They’re been grown for centuries and apparently it’s due to their goodness that they’ve been given a Latin name Linum usitatissimum which means “the most useful”.

Source: Healthline

  • Supercharged healthy cookie granola in a jar.
  • Supercharged healthy cookie granola in a bowl.
Supercharged healthy cookie granola in bowls.

More types of healthy fiber

The cup of plain rolled oats got swapped with a lovely mixture of five rolled wholegrains, including oats, triticale, barley, rye, and brown rice which I recently found at my supermarket.

Full of healthy fiber, this mix is perfect to include in your breakfast meal (or at least regularly in your diet).

I also love mixing it up into my overnight oats for an extra shot of goodness, or substituting it for rolled oats in any recipe you’re using (muffins, slices and the like).

Supercharged healthy cookie granola in bowls.

Extra wholegrains

I have also recently found this mix of organic multigrain puffs which contains organic puffed buckwheat, sorghum and brown rice.

I love that you can get an unsweetened version and this mix contains less than 0.1g of sugar per 100g which is amazing.

I much prefer buying this and then sweetening it anyway I want (or not at all, if I feel like it) than buying pre-sweetened cereal puffs.

Delicious coconut (but no other fruit)

The last thing I added to this granola is some moist coconut flakes. I prefer the larger flakes to desiccated / shredded coconut, as they retain moisture better (they don’t dry out so much on baking), they have a slightly better texture, and you get a more of a coconut-ty flavour shot in one bite. That said, this is an optional add-on, so feel free to omit it if you don’t have any or don’t like coconut. The granola will be pretty perfect without it too.

You may have noticed that I haven’t added any other fruit to this granola, like dried dates, raisins, sultanas, apricots, or anything of the kind. This is mostly to keep the sugar content down (as dried fruit is high in sugar, although it’s natural) and make sure that the granola clumps properly.

The granola is perfectly delicious on its own but I don’t want it to be supersweet – I want to have a lovely crunchy spiced based which I can dress with some jam and fruit in the morning, so I keep it nutritious but as simple and low in sugar as possible.

Because this granola is, therefore, made with mostly nuts, seeds and wholegrains, it will last beautifully in a container in your cupboard for weeks.

Supercharged healthy cookie granola in bowls.

Recipe

Supercharged healthy cookie granola in a jar.
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5 from 13 votes

Supercharged healthy cookie granola [refined sugar free]

Author Katerina | Once a Foodie

Ingredients

  • 2 cups nuts (walnuts, pecans, macadamias, brazil nuts and almonds)
  • 1 cup seeds (chia seeds, linseeds (also known as flaxseeds), pine nuts, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds)
  • 1 cup five rolled wholegrains mix (rolled oats, triticale, barley, rye, and brown rice)
  • 1 cup puffed wholegrains mix (puffed buckwheat, sorghum and brown rice)
  • 1/3 cup moist coconut flakes (optional)
  • 1/3 cup linseed meal
  • 2/3 cup hazelnut meal
  • 1 heaped tsp speculaas spice mix (make your own – the recipe is here)
  • heaped 1/2 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 160C.
  • Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
  • Place the nuts into a large ziploc bag, squeezing the air out as you're closing it. Bash them with a wooden mallet or a rolling pin until you get a mixture of smallish and largish pieces. Place them into a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the remainder of the ingredients (except for maple syrup) into the bowl and mix until combined.
  • Pour the maple syrup into the bowl and stir well, until all the mixture is wet (until the maple syrup has been distributed well through the mixture).
  • Pour the mixture into the lined baking tray, press well into the tray (this is important as it will help you create those lovely chunks) and bake for 30 minutes until your house smells divine.
  • The original recipe sets out two different ways to create chunks in your granola, but I only really ever use the first one which is to leave the pressed mixture baking as is for the whole baking time, then take it out of the oven and let cool in one piece. Once cool, break into pieces and store in a granola storage box. This will create softer but still crispy chunks – you will get the crispiness especially around the edges but the middle will still be soft-ish.
  • This granola should keep for a few weeks. I store it in a glass or plastic container with a lid, away from sunlight.

Notes

This makes quite a lot of granola (I would estimate maybe enough for 10 to 12 breakfasts, depending on how much you like to eat in the morning). It is easily halved if you prefer to make less.
 
That said, most often I double this recipe and bake two trays of it at once – it’s the easiest way to make a lot of granola which will last a while (perfect for me as I go through gallons of these).
 
This granola is also the perfect homemade Christmas, birthday or housewarming present for family or friends who have everything, or just to make someone’s day brighter. I usually make fresh granola, fill up a glass container from Ikea and take it over with me when I’m visiting friends – it’s always popular.
 
To make sure that you have enough soft bits of granola, don’t use really large tray so that the mixture doesn’t spread out too thin. If that’s all you have (a really large baking tray), perhaps reduce the baking time slightly – maybe by 5 minutes, see how you go.
 
You have found this delightful recipe on Once a Foodie – onceafoodie.com. It was lovely to see you. Please come visit again.
 
(c) 2020 – copyright Once a Foodie. All rights reserved.
Supercharged healthy cookie granola in a bowl.

Recipe notes

This makes quite a lot of granola (I would estimate maybe enough for 10 to 12 breakfasts, depending on how much you like to eat in the morning). It is easily halved if you prefer to make less.  

That said, most often I double this recipe and bake two trays of it at once – it’s the easiest way to make a lot of granola which will last a while (perfect for me as I go through gallons of these).  

This granola is also the perfect homemade Christmas, birthday or housewarming present for family or friends who have everything, or just to make someone’s day brighter. I usually make fresh granola, fill up a glass container from Ikea and take it over with me when I’m visiting friends – it’s always popular.  

To make sure that you have enough soft bits of granola, don’t use really large tray so that the mixture doesn’t spread out too thin. If that’s all you have (a really large baking tray), perhaps reduce the baking time slightly – maybe by 5 minutes, see how you go.  

  • Supercharged healthy cookie granola in bowls.
  • Supercharged healthy cookie granola in a jar.
Supercharged healthy cookie granola in a bowl.

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