Basic Granola (Gluten- and Dairy Free)

Recently I’ve been trying to get a better handle on my diet as it’s got out of hand due to busy scheduling. This process is starting with what I eat for breakfast, as over the last while it’s literally been Crunchy Nut cornflakes every day. As such, I decided to shake up the usual Muesli or porridge route by making some lovely, delicately spiced granola!

At the beginning of the week I made a big batch of this delicious stuff that I could eat with milk in the mornings, accompanied by fruit in either smoothies or juice form. So far so good! Just a third-cup (85 millilitres) with a splash of whole milk of this stuff and two pieces of fruit is enough to keep me quite full til lunchtime.

It's fairly simple to make. Granola is basically a deconstructed flapjack, so it’s fundamentally made of oats, sugar and oil, then you can add what you want to it from there.

FREE FROM
☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Eggs
☑ Dairy

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten (unless you use gluten-free oats)
☒ Refined sugar products
☒ Nuts (but you can leave them out)

INGREDIMENTS

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) jumbo oats, check for gluten warnings
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) brown sugar
• 2 fluid ounces (60 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) water
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) cinnamon or mixed spice
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) chopped or crushed nuts of your choice
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) mixed dried fruit or trail mix

HOW-TO

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4, or moderate).
• Mix the sugar, oil, water and spices together in a large bowl until smooth, then stir in the oats and hazelnuts. 
• Stir until the oats and nuts are evenly coated with the sugar and oil mixture, use your hands if you have to. Stir even if you think they are coated enough, there is no much thing as too much stirring when it comes to granola.
• Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, tossing with a fork every ten minutes to separate the flakes.
• Remove from the oven, add in the trail mix or dried fruit and mix through before it has gone cold. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

I love these latch jars, I don't know what they are actually called, I'm sure they have a technical name. But they're really useful for storage and making your kitchen pretty...

THIS TIME LAST YEAR: Wheat-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, finally!