Believe me, I know how little time we all got in the morning, trying to get ourselves and the kids ready, be on time for work and have a proper breakfast. With two kids, work, errands that can’t be done later in the day, mornings are crazy! No matter how crazy they can get, though, I always try to take good care of me and my family through a healthy and nutritious breakfast that will give us energy and it will stay true to vegan philosophy, supporting the immune system and gut microbiome. Do I always manage to get things right? Certainly not –I’m only human! But I try to find nutritional plant-based solutions that can come in handy, with all the nutritional value we need in the morning. As a dietitian specialized in immunology, I can’t cut back in this!
One of my favorite choices is this homemade granola with molasses, which is suitable for vegans and you can prepare it the night before or during weekends, so that you can have a quick and nutritious readymade homemade breakfast those crazy days we were talking about earlier.
It’s filled with nuts, seeds, raisins, oats, cinnamon and molasses, which makes it a food choice rich in iron, good fat, protein, carbs and antioxidants. All these translate to full energy in the morning, while it’s delicious!
Ingredients
400gr oat flakes
40gr pumpkin seeds
50-70gr almonds
50-70gr hazelnuts
50-70gr cashews
20gr coconut flakes
150ml molasses
80ml coconut oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4-5 dried dates
1/5 cup black raisins
Method
Preheat the oven at 160ºC/320ºF. Put the almonds, cashews, the pumpkin seeds and hazelnuts in the food processor and blend them –but not too much, you want big pieces! If you want, you can use whole pumpkin seeds in the end, without blending them.
Heat your coconut oil until it liquefies and then put it in a bowl and mix it along with molasses, stirring until the mixture homogenizes. In another bowl put your almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, oat flakes and cinnamon and mix them altogether. Then add the molasses mixture and stir well with a spoon.
Put some parchment paper in a 20×10 baking pan and add your mixture from the bowl. Make sure you spread it well with a spoon in the pan. Let it bake in middle rack for about 20 minutes and then add your coconut flakes. Turn off the oven and leave your pan in for about 10 minutes.
Then, take it out and leave it for about 20-30 minutes or until it gets cold and you can cut your granola in big pieces. Serve in atomic bowls with coconut yoghurt and add you raisins and dates for topping.
Tip
Molasses is an amazing choice you can make instead of honey, syrups and sugar, with lower glycemic index and higher quality, full of iron and nutrients that are bioavailable. Due to its plant and not chemical origin, it doesn’t hurt the liver or the kidneys and its copper content helps in iron absorption. It’s suitable for diabetics, it has less calories than sugar, it metabolizes slower and at the same time it’s an excellent source of calcium, promoting bone health. It also provides us with magnesium which is essential for our nervous system and hormonal activity balance and at the same time it’s helpful in constipation. What more do you need to try it?
Support your immune system and gut microbiome with dozens of recipes you’ll find in the blog section of feedyourimmunity.com and don’t forget to check out the nutrition plans to find the one for you.
