Good Eats: Maple Granola

Today I was aimlessly wandering through a collection of amazing blogs, and I was reading "10 in 20: Morning Meals" by one of my favorite blogs The Everygirl. And when I saw this link to make maple granola, I freaked out because I. Love. Granola. The only problem with this delicious, crunchy treat is that in today's society, companies pack granola with lots of sugar, preservatives, and other processed ingredients. That's why I have always wanted to make my own granola, and it was surprisingly easy.

 

What You'll Need:

 

3 cups of oats

1/4 cup of coconut oil

1/2 chopped walnuts

1/3 chopped almonds

5 tablespoons of maple syrup

1 tbsp. of raw honey

1/4 tsp. of salt

1/4 tsp. of vanilla extract

 

Directions:

The directions on the original blog post include mixing dry ingredients then heating liquids, but I threw everything into a bowl, mixed it up, cooked it, and then poof! I had delicious maple granola. I simplified the steps because it still tastes the same whatever way you make it...

 

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

2. Mix all the ingredients together (it helps to mix dry first, then add wet, but whichever way you prefer)

3. Lay the granola on a pan with parchment paper

4. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown

 

Tips:

1. Whatever nuts you prefer can be substituted for the 1/3 cup of almonds and 1/2 cup of walnuts. I only had almonds (we're an almond loving family), and the granola still tasted fabulous.

2. When the granola first comes out of the oven, it isn't hard like it should be. I thought I had done something wrong, but let it cool and it'll turn out just fine.

3. If the granola isn't sweet enough, add a little organic cane sugar (can be found at Whole Foods)

4. Whole oats work a lot better than steel cut oats. Again, I had to work with what we had, and this meant I had to use steel cut oats instead. The granola wasn't as chunky, but still had a phenomenal taste!

5. If the granola isn't sticky enough before baking, add a little more honey and coconut oil. Adding more maple syrup will make the flavor overwhelming and we don't want this, so stick with honey and coconut for added "stickiness".

 

 

{all the ingredients minus vanilla}

 

{pre-cut almonds, I just guessed on the amount}

 

{it takes a long time to cut, use a food processor instead!}

 

{yum. honey.}

 

{does anyone love the smell of vanilla more than I do?}

 

{mix it well or it'll have a weird texture}

 

{yummy!}

 

I plan on adding some almond milk and fresh berries to my granola in the morning for a healthy start to the day!

Happy baking :)

Love,

Natalie

Happy Juicing!

I've always loved soda since I was younger... Sprite, Coke, Root Beer, all soda tastes so good to me, but every time I finish a glass of soda I feel the guiltiness. We all are aware soda is bad for your body, but the sugar is so addicting and I often drink it without thinking, so how do we replace the sugar filled sodas with something that we actually like? Although coffee and black/green tea is delicious to some, I can never seem to have a taste for the bitter drink, and energy drinks are just as bad as sodas-- which led me to some searching and wondering.

Using social media {like many helpful Pinterest boards} and talking to friends, I fell in love with juicing and smoothies. Instead of sipping away at artificial sugars and chemicals, throw in some fruit into a blender or juicer and just like that you have an instant delicious drink! Juices and smoothies don't have to contain just fruit either; many people use the power of these delicious drinks to add in kale, carrots, or even spinach to add servings of vegetables. The veggies don't have a flavor, instead the drink takes the taste of any fruits put in, and because of this, many people have taken a liking to the nutritious power of smoothies and juices. Here are some of my favorite recipes!

{find even more amazing juice recipes here}

Happy juicing!

Love,

Natalie