What are the benefits of granola? Making granola at home

Granola - what is it?

Granola is tasty, healthy and fashionable. This is a type of American breakfast. Granola is a multi-component dish that is prepared from crumbly ingredients (oatmeal, seeds, nuts, muesli, fruit, etc.) combined with honey.

In the traditional American version, all dry ingredients are poured with fruit juice, orange, apple or grape.

Therefore, you can prepare granola in two ways:

In the form of a bar, by pressing and baking the dish.
Pour juice over your favorite ingredients.

It cannot be said that this type of breakfast-snack is popular in Russia, but it is gaining momentum as there are more and more adherents of proper nutrition.

Some tips

How to properly prepare granola? The recipes are not complicated, the time required is small, but the benefits are incredible. There are also cooking secrets and they will bring the dish to perfection.

Homemade granola is much better than store-bought granola: it has a minimal amount of sugar, no trans fats, flavors or dyes. And for a healthy breakfast to be successful, consider the following:

Use regular oatmeal and cook for at least 10 minutes. Because instant ones not only do not bring any benefit (although they do not cause harm), but they also do not provide the desired friability.
Granola is baked in the oven and only at a temperature of 50 to 170 degrees Celsius - no more. This way the dish will not burn, it will be better compressed and will not lose its beneficial properties.
The option of cooking in a non-stick frying pan is not excluded.
Granola should be stored in the refrigerator or out of it, but in an airtight container. In this case, it needs to be wrapped in cling film. At room temperature it can be stored for several days.

What do you eat it with? How is it useful?

Before you prepare granola at home, you need to figure out what to use it with. There are a great many additives.

Many note that the dish goes well with the following:

yogurt;
milk;
honey;
bananas;
strawberry.

You can also use crumbly granola as a topping for a variety of desserts.

There are many benefits of granola:

Normalizes digestion.
Removes waste and toxins.
Saturates the body due to its high calorie content. But this does not harm weight loss.
Reduces cholesterol levels.
Saturates the body with healthy fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and macroelements.
Increases immunity.
Normalizes the thyroid gland and improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

Granola is low calorie. Good for your figure: recipe for dietary granola

Hello, dear readers of my blog! Today we will discuss a healthy breakfast option (lunch/dinner or even a snack - whatever you like) - granola.

You can prepare it in different ways, experimenting with the taste and calorie content of the dish. Let's talk about the benefits of granola and write down a few recipes for ourselves.

Originally from America

Granola is a mixture of oatmeal, nuts, dried fruits, seeds and honey, seasoned with vegetable oil and baked until crisp.

This is the “classic” composition of the product; it can vary depending on the specific needs of the person preparing it. There is chocolate, diet granola and other types of this healthy treat.

The creator of granola, or more precisely, the coarse flour from which it is made, is considered to be the American priest Sylvester Graham. He adhered to the principles of vegetarianism and preached them to parishioners.

Thus, at the end of the 19th century, the word “granola” was patented in the USA, meaning a healthy product made from complex carbohydrates. Which was often used as the first meal.

Benefits of a crunchy breakfast

Granola consists entirely of natural ingredients. Thus, oatmeal at its base normalizes digestion and provides energy.

Honey enhances the body’s protective properties, improves mood (it’s not for nothing that people with a sweet tooth love granola) and is a powerful aphrodisiac.

Nuts and dried fruits improve brain activity, maintain body tone, and fill it with essential vitamins and microelements.

100 grams of product contains 471 kilocalories. This means that the feeling of hunger after such a meal will not appear soon.

Granola has a long shelf life and is easy to prepare. These factors, multiplied by the obvious benefits of the product, make it popular among people trying to adhere to the principles of a healthy diet.

This healthy baked mixture is easy to make at home. We are interested in the dietary option. This means we will prepare granola without oil, trying to reduce the calorie content of the product.

Light version

Still, the classic recipe for this dish assumes a high calorie content. And since we are for a slim figure, we will prepare a lighter (but no less tasty) version.

So, diet granola.

Ingredients:

200 g apple pulp;
50 g oatmeal;
100 g carrot cake;
100 g rye flakes;
10 g dried cranberries;
20 g honey;
5 g coconut flakes;
2 g cinnamon;
10 g fiber for weight loss (sold in pharmacies).

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients;
Preheat the oven to 130 degrees;
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper;
Carefully place the resulting mixture on it, level it;
Place the baking sheet in the oven for 30 minutes;
Stir the mass every 5-7 minutes so that it does not harden and become like kozinak;
After half an hour, turn off the oven and leave the finished mixture to dry a little.

What to remember

Preparing the dish will not take you much time and effort. And the benefits of this combination of products are beyond doubt.

Granola (including dietary granola) is good as a breakfast. It is a known fact that the best time for carbohydrates is in the morning. This breakfast will be a good start to a new day!

How to make granola from oatmeal?

If you have never prepared the presented dish before, then start with a simple recipe. Before making granola at home from oatmeal, stock up on the following ingredients:

4 cups (200 grams) of dry cereal;
3/4 tbsp. coconut shavings;
half tbsp. any seeds or nuts;
Art. dried berries, such as a mixture of cranberries, cherries, raisins, Goji berries;
a teaspoon of ground cinnamon;
2 tsp. vanilla;
a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup;
2 tbsp. l. any odorless vegetable oil;
4 tbsp. l. liquid honey.

Now you can start cooking:

First of all, combine oatmeal, seeds and/or nuts, and coconut flakes in a bowl.
Heat honey, syrup, butter and cinnamon in a small saucepan on the stove. Mix everything thoroughly. Heat the mixture until it becomes liquid. As soon as the desired consistency is achieved, remove the mass from the stove and add vanilla.
Pour the hot mixture into the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth.
Preheat the oven. Spread parchment paper or foil on a baking sheet. Spread granola, you can form individual bars.
Time for 15-20 minutes and bake, stirring every 5 minutes. Baking temperature should not exceed 170 degrees Celsius.
And when the granola is ready, dry berries are poured into it.

Ideal granola composition

To figure out how to make homemade granola, you first need to choose the ingredients. Some people make granola from muesli, oatmeal, buckwheat, or even green buckwheat, but these are all grains, and it is not advisable to eat them in the morning, because they contain gluten. Of course, anyone can make granola with honey fried until golden brown, but will it benefit you?

The ideal composition of granola is as follows:

Activated nuts and seeds.
Organic coconut.
Coconut oil.
Bourbon vanilla, cinnamon or other healthy spices.
White dried mulberries (instead of sugar or honey).
Dried berries or fruits.

This composition is rich in vitamins and minerals, saturates for a long time and does not significantly raise blood glucose levels. Compared to granola made from oatmeal or muesli, this composition does not cause heaviness in the stomach, which is very important for starting a productive day.

Recipe with cherries and chocolate

The essence of how to prepare granola at home is the same for all types of this food. The same principle is used to prepare bars with cherries and chocolate. You can take them with you anywhere, so you are guaranteed a tasty and healthy snack.

To prepare cherry chocolate granola, prepare the following ingredients:

100 g dried cherries;
200 g raw cashew nuts;
half a bar of dark chocolate;
100 g raw almonds;
quarter st. pumpkin seeds;
half a glass of rice cereal;
a quarter of 200 ml agave syrup;
200 g flaxseeds;
a glass of oil (coconut or almond);
a pinch of sea salt.

How to make granola without sugar, but with a surprisingly sweet taste:

First, prepare the oven: preheat it to 170 degrees Celsius. Line a baking pan or baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut the chocolate, cashew nuts and almonds into small pieces. You can crumble these products.
In a deep bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
The oils are mixed in another small container.
The contents of both bowls are combined.
Place the semi-finished granola on a baking sheet, cover with parchment paper, press on it a little to distribute the mixture evenly throughout the pan.
Place the dish in the oven, without reducing the temperature, and leave it there for 15 minutes.
Take out the finished granola, remove the paper from the surface and cut into several pieces of the same size.
Each bar, if not intended to be eaten at the moment, is wrapped in cling film and placed in a container.

These snacks can be stored for several days at room temperature, and in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.

The most interesting recipes for homemade granola

Making your own granola is easy. Such a product will bring much more joy and benefit, because you can put your favorite ingredients in it. Prepares in about half an hour.

Oatmeal granola with berries

4 cups oatmeal;
4 spoons of honey;
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
3 tablespoons maple syrup;
half a glass of your favorite nuts or seeds;
glass of dried cherries and/or cranberries
a spoonful of cinnamon and vanilla.

Mix nuts with cereal.
Combine honey, butter and cinnamon in a Turk. Heat. When the liquid becomes liquid, add vanilla.
Pour the previously prepared cereal mixture with honey.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and transfer the ingredients.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 170°C.
Add dried berries to the finished product and mix.

granola bar

a glass of raw cashews;
half a glass of dry cherries;
60 g dark chocolate;
half a glass of raw almonds;
a handful of pumpkin seeds.

half a glass of rice and/or oatmeal;
150 ml honey;
spoon of almond oil;
a pinch of salt.

Chop the nuts and chocolate with a knife.
Mix dry ingredients.
Add honey and almond oil, stir.
Spread the mixture evenly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place another piece of parchment on top and press down well.
Bake for about 15 minutes at 165°C.
Cut the cooled granola into 10 servings.

These homemade bars, wrapped in cling film, can be carried with you for up to 5 days. And they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Green buckwheat granola

Next, we will present a recipe for how to make granola at home from green buckwheat. This version of the dish will perfectly replace any dessert, while fully saturating the body.

How to make granola at home? To do this, purchase the following ingredients:

400 grams of green buckwheat;
a glass of sunflower seeds (hulled);
6 tbsp. l. coconut flakes;
20 dates;
3-4 tbsp. l. cocoa powder;
3-4 tbsp. l. honey;
3-4 tbsp. l. any vegetable oil;
a teaspoon of ground cinnamon;
half tsp ginger;
a little fine salt.

Steps for preparing granola:

Seeds and green buckwheat (in full) are soaked in warm water for half an hour.
The dates are washed, the seeds are removed, and the pulp is cut into small pieces.
After half an hour, drain the water, and dry the soaked ingredients with paper - the cereals should become crumbly. Pour them into a bowl, add coconut and chopped dates.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, honey, cocoa, salt, cinnamon and ginger. All this is heated on the stove or in a water bath so that the mixture becomes more fluid.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix everything well.
The oven is heated to 175 degrees Celsius, and the baking sheet is covered with parchment paper.
Place granola on paper and spread it so that it becomes one thin layer.
Bake the dish for half an hour, remembering to stir every 10 minutes.
The prepared granola can be cut into bars, or you can simply put it in a jar, additionally dousing it with a small amount of melted chocolate.

Caramel granola

Not knowing what granola is is now quite difficult. They talk about it everywhere, post photos, and often offer it for breakfast in cafes. It turns out that this name hides a completely simple basic composition and simply insists on your imagination!

So, granola is oatmeal with nuts and honey, baked until crispy. In addition to nuts, you can and should add candied fruits and dried fruits, replace honey with maple syrup, caramel, banana puree or add peanut butter, crumble chocolate, cookies or waffles... The list goes on.

Why is granola so popular? Simplicity, taste and versatility. After all, you can eat it as a snack, or you can add milk, yogurt, berries and fruits, honey or caramel and get a quick and tasty breakfast.

My acquaintance with granola began about two years ago: I bought a bright package of this magical mixture, knowing absolutely nothing about it. It had a banana flavor and chocolate pieces, but... Having tried it once with hot milk, I was terribly disappointed, because the granola turned out to have a greasy taste, as if it had been thoroughly soaked in vegetable oil.

A year later, I finally decided to make granola at home, after reading many recipes (as I usually do). Tormented by the choice between several that I liked, I settled on one that used honey, peanut butter and banana as liquid and sweet ingredients. I diligently baked the mixture for more than an hour, then carefully poured it into a tin can and waited for the morning to evaluate my work. In the morning I was again disappointed: by the end of breakfast my jaws completely refused to move, because they had never experienced such a load in their entire life! The granola turned out to be incredibly hard...

And only this winter in Vilnius I bought a package of crispy granola, which I fell in love with completely! And then I tried to cook something similar at home. The secret to the perfect granola for me has been revealed. It turned out that everything is simple: you just need to take instant cereal, bake it for no longer than 30 minutes and be sure to add something crunchy like cookies or waffles. This is the kind of granola I like best: when small flakes are lumped into lumps, soaked in maple syrup or caramel. They are crunchy on the outside, but softer on the inside. This granola is especially good with Greek yogurt and fresh berries or fruit.

Ingredients:

2 cups instant oats
1 cup of your favorite nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, etc.)
1/2 cup raisins, dried fruits or candied fruits
3/4 cup caramel (or liquid honey, maple syrup)

Optional:

3-4 pcs. crispy cookies or a handful of small cookies
1 pack of m&m's or 30-40 g of chocolate

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
Chop the nuts a little if desired. I usually cut the hazelnuts in half and add the whole almonds and cashews.
Combine oatmeal with nuts. It's important to me that the cereal is instant, you might like it with others too.
Add caramel to the oatmeal and mix everything well with your hands. Place on a baking sheet and spread in a thin layer. Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
After baking, you can add dried fruits, pieces of cookies or chocolate to the granola.

Multigranola

Fans of multi-ingredient dishes will love the multi-dessert. Therefore, next we will present a recipe with a photo of granola on how to prepare this dish at home.

To get started, take:

half a glass of almonds;
1.5 tbsp. oatmeal;
half a glass of sunflower and pumpkin seeds;
a quarter of sesame seeds;
half tbsp. l. wheat germ;
canola oil - 1/4 cup;
quarter tsp ground cinnamon;
a little salt;
half a glass of honey;
quarter st. drinking water;
2 tbsp. l. light brown sugar;
a cup of dried fruits, such as apricots, cherries, raisins, dried apricots, dates, etc.

And now the granola recipe. How to cook at home:

First you need to preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a separate deep bowl, mix the dry ingredients, that is, oatmeal, germ, seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and salt.
On a burner in a small saucepan, mix water, honey, butter and sugar and boil. At the same time, stir frequently.
The liquid mixture is poured into the dry ingredients and mixed thoroughly.
Place the semi-finished granola on a baking sheet, making a thin layer out of it.
Place the mixture in the oven for a quarter of an hour. During this time, you need to stir the granola a couple of times. As soon as it turns golden, it’s ready.

Then you can start eating immediately. You can store the dish in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

With apple

How to make granola at home with the addition of apple? You will need:

3 tbsp. oatmeal;
half a glass of raw almonds;
half a tbsp. seeds: pumpkin, flax and sunflower;
a tablespoon of unroasted sesame seeds;
Art. l. ground cinnamon;
0.5 tsp. chopped ginger;
a glass of sour apple puree;
4 tbsp. l. honey;
a pinch of salt;
couple of st. l. olive oil.

Stages of the culinary process:

First, the preparatory procedures: preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line the baking dish with parchment paper.
Mix the following ingredients in a deep bowl: cereal, almonds, seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and ginger, salt.
In another container combine puree, butter and honey.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Pour the granola onto parchment paper and make a thin layer out of it.
Place in the oven for half an hour, stirring every 10 minutes.
The readiness of the dish will be indicated by the golden color of the baked granola.

What are the benefits of granola? Making granola at home

Breakfast is the main meal of the day, and a healthy breakfast also gives you energy and a good mood for the whole day. Breakfast is difficult for many people, but it’s quite easy to train yourself.

What has helped me is starting with small portions or pre-prepared treats. And at that moment it didn’t matter to me what I would eat, the goal was to accustom my stomach to the morning meal.

After the first stage of “training” the body, I came to the conclusion that I needed an energy breakfast, which would be a good help in study and work. In my search for something tasty and healthy, I came across a granola recipe. Now I have been preparing it for 5 years.

What are the benefits of granola?

But first, some information. Granola came to us from America, where it is considered a traditional breakfast. It is a mixture of cereals, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, puffed rice, butter, honey, syrup and sometimes chocolate. Actually it seems that it is very similar to muesli, but there is a difference. The granola ingredients are baked in the oven, creating a crispy crust on the flakes due to honey. Consume it with milk, juice or yogurt.

Now let's move on to the benefits of granola. It contains magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, fluorine, selenium, manganese and other minerals. They are needed for the healthy functioning of the body.

Oatmeal (and/or other cereals) and nuts contain coarse fibers that are actively involved in digestion. They help remove toxins and prevent constipation. In addition, the energy value of nuts, and the entire composition of glanol, reduces the feeling of hunger, thereby we will avoid snacking between main meals.

This breakfast is a source of healthy fats. They are found in oils, nuts and seeds. 100g of granola contains about 4g of polyunsaturated and the same amount of monosaturated fatty acids. They help lower blood pressure and maintain normal cholesterol. All this has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart and blood vessels.

By using whole grain products, you will enrich your body with vitamin E, folic acid and thiamine. Vitamin E is an antioxidant; it protects the body from free radicals, has a positive effect on skin condition, and supports the functioning of the heart and nervous system. Folic acid and thiamine play an important role in metabolism, cell growth, and also have a positive effect on the nervous system.

Granola: a simple recipe

When I first encountered granola, I read many cooking options. But I found out one thing - there is no clear recipe. Let's start with the composition. The basis of granola is cereals, preferably whole ones. It can be anything, be it oatmeal, buckwheat or wheat.

Dried fruits and nuts are also your choice. The traditional recipe contains maple syrup, but this is rare for us, so I simply excluded it. The presence of vegetable oil and honey remains unchanged. Below is my cooking option in more detail.

I’ve already made crumbly granola several times, and this time I was interested in trying bars made from it as well. Again, I didn’t find a specific recipe, so I worked on the “crumbly” basis. Now let's talk about everything in order.

I mix cereal, nuts, dried fruits, seeds and candied fruits in a bowl.

I divided this portion into 2 parts to make bars separately. Next, you need to melt the honey, if it is candied. This can be done in a water bath or in the microwave. I also divide it into 2 servings.

Next is the preparation itself.

crumbly granola

You need to add honey and vegetable oil to the mixture of cereals, dried fruits and nuts. Mix everything thoroughly.

Take a baking sheet and preferably parchment paper. This time I didn’t have it, so I replaced it with foil. I didn't feel much of a difference.

Pour in the granola and place in the oven for 30 minutes at 160-180C. Stir approximately every 7 minutes to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning.

After the time has passed, we take out the baking sheet and do not rush to transfer the granola into a bowl, since it sticks together when it cools.

That's all. For sweet lovers, you can add sugar or more honey.

Granola bars

You need to melt the butter and pour it along with the honey into the mixture. Mix well. Place on foil or baking paper and form a thick layer 1.5-2 cm thick. For convenience, I tucked the foil around the edges. We also cover the top with foil and pinch the ends. Cook at a temperature of 160-180C for 15 minutes on each side.

Then remove from the oven and let cool. Then you can cut it.

Personally, my impression is mixed. The bars seemed a bit dry to me; next time I would add more butter. But the household quickly ate them up, some with tea, some with juice. So, as a change, I'll try to cook them again.

Recipe prepared by Anna Shamanina

Without honey

Honey is often added to granola. But for those people for whom this ingredient is contraindicated, you can prepare a dish without it. However, it will have a higher sugar content.

Take:

3 tbsp. oatmeal flakes;
Art. raw almonds;
quarter st. vegetable oil;
1/3 sugar syrup;
0.5 tsp. sea or iodized salt;
100 grams of brown sugar.

Prepare homemade honey-free granola as follows:

As always, preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with paper or foil.
A homogeneous syrup is made from butter, salt, and sugar on the stove.
Grind 100 grams of flakes in a separate bowl.
Mix flour, flakes, almonds and finished syrup.
Bake for half an hour.

American breakfast

Is it possible to cook granola at home in a frying pan? How to do it?

We take:

100 g of oatmeal and corn flakes;
2 tbsp. l. wheat and barley;
2 tbsp. l. peanuts;
2 tbsp. l. sunflower and pumpkin seeds;
2 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
2 tbsp. l. raisins and honey.

And we prepare:

Peanuts are turned into crumbs using a knife or blender.
Pour nuts, flakes, seeds, and sugar into the pan.
Heat the contents on the stove until the ingredients turn into a viscous mass.
As soon as this is done, the pan is removed from the hot burner, while continuing to stir the dish so that it does not stick together. Do this until the mass cools down.
Raisins are added to the finished granola.
Drizzle with honey and serve.