Every time I'm determined to post more often on the blog, something happens and my blogging plans ... well, they only remain at a planning stage:)
It's quite frustrating, to be honest, because I have a lot of projects waiting in line (more DIY projects, tasty homemade recipes, some amazing fonts I have recently discovered, new graphics), that I really wanted to share with you, but I just cannot seem to find the time to do it all. The handmade shop simply exploded for the last couple of month and pretty much dominated almost all of our (already short) free time. That is a great thing for us, the satisfaction you get when receiving positive feedback from clients is just amazing! But working like crazy can get overwhelming and tiresome, so finding ways to quickly decompress was the key for us in all those busy days. And so we (me and Mr Dreamy) ''invented'' our short breaks, that would give us a little time to just breathe and the right amount of energy to recharge our batteries. We instituted short breaks for everything - like eating our meals outside, enjoying a superfood fruit smoothie or some dark chocolate coconut bites in the garden. Like reading our favorite magazines on the patio. We sometimes just gazed at the sky with a cup of latte in our hands while doing a little bit of catching up. This is not exactly rocket science, as you can see, but these-so-much-needed-short-little-breaks helped a lot and the truth is now we are quite addicted to them :)
And this homemade granola was one of our (perfect) excuses to take a break and enjoy something healthy and extremely delicious.
And of course we had to have two versions of this amazing recipe, with our favorites, who can argue with one's taste, right? :) So I made homemade granola with vanilla for me and homemade granola with chocolate for Mr Dreamy!:) Because we are not fans of adding too much sweetness into our food, this recipe is not extremely sweet and can be easily served with your favorite fruits, yogurt and your choice of milk, can be enjoyed as snacks and can be stored in airtight containers for up to two weeks (if only it would last that long!). And is homemade so you get to control all the ingredients which is a big plus these days!
- Dry ingredients:
- 3 cups rolled oats (use them regular or pulse them in your blender one or two times for smaller pieces )
- 1/3 cup dried fruits (I used craisin, soak them in water for 5 minutes)
- 1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds (not roasted)
- 4 tablespoons coconut flakes
- 4 tablespoons flax seeds (optional)
- 1/4 cup oat bran or wheat bran (optional)
- a pinch of salt
- Wet ingredients:
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup honey (sub agave or maple syrup for a vegan version )
- Extra flavor
- 2 tbs vanilla essence and / or 1/4 cup cocoa (or chocolate, roughly chopped)
- Preheat the oven to 340.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl and pour over the dry ingredients. Mix them all really well.
- Divide the mixture in two and choose your extra flavor for each batch - vanilla or chocolate. Or choose them both! :) ... and combine with the rest of the ingredients mixing them again.
- Spread the first half of the mixture onto a baking sheet in an even layer. If you want the granola to be a little more crunchy, use a spoon and press the mixture onto the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Check at half of the time and stir the mixture a little bit.
- Remove the first batch of granola from the oven when it gets a nice brown gold color and repeat the same steps for the second batch.
- Let it cool and store it in airtight containers.
- Enjoy it with your loved ones! :)
By now your house will smell heavenly from all that amazing coconut. I'm in love with the organic virgin coconut oil from Nutiva, if you would like to give it a try, you can find it here (affiliate link).
I'm sure once you try making your own homemade granola, you will become picky and you'll never go back to store bought versions again! :) Especially that you can customize it as you wish, you can experiment and have fun with so many of your favorite ingredients.
Have you tried making your on granola yet? Do you have any special ingredients that you use or some that would love to try for creating your perfect granola?
Have a great week-end and a little bit of sunshine!
Don't forget to smile,
Diana
*This post contains affiliate links of products I love and recommend. See more of my favorites here.
Sharing with lovely people: Craftberry Bush | Shabby Art Boutique |
P.S. If you like my photo backdrop, you can learn here how to make one on your own using one special ingredient from your kitchen - food coloring! :)
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