Almond Butter Maple Granola

I suck at breakfast. Well, I don’t suck at cooking breakfast – have you tried my vegan spiced apple pecan pinwheels? – I just don’t eat it. My morning ritual consists of making a jar of vegan iced coffee as big as my head and carrying it around with me like a blankie for the next hour. I know this is not a good ritual but it has been mine for many years and it is hard to let go. I also run every day so it’s not all bleak.

Recently however, granola is sneaking its way in to my mornings. It began on our trip to the States where I took to carrying a bag of Purely Elizabeth granola around and to be honest, I think I became a little hooked. As soon as I arrived home I began playing with my own version of the company’s nut butter granola and after a little streamlining and tweaking this awesome homemade almond butter maple granola is a fixture on our breakfast scene.

MAKING YOUR OWN GRANOLA IS CHEAPER

I’ve flirted with granola for many years. I’ve made ginger pear granola bites and a dark chocolate cherry buckwheat granola to die for.  I think it’s time to get serious.

The husband eats it every morning with yoghurt and fruit and I love making the stuff, I just can’t commit to breakfast every day. But the fantastic thing for us non-breakfast-types is you can pop your granola in a baggy or container and take it with you. Granola is the perfect portable snack and while some are put off by the cost of buying the ingredients to make your own granola, it’s actually cheaper. I did the math while whipping up my wonderfully chunky sesame granola. 

To keep the cost of my homemade granola down I have a tried and true base that, while still good for you, won’t break the bank.

Rolled oats

Buckwheat groats

Sunflower seeds

Shredded coconut

Maple syrup

Coconut oil and

Sometimes nuts, sometimes not.

If you need a gluten-free version, simply substitute gluten-free oats, rice flakes or quinoa flakes for the rolled oats. Buckwheat is already gluten-free and I always add buckwheat.

Buckwheat is one of my favourite things to cook with being incredibly cheap, easy to prepare and loaded with good stuff.  I usually activate buckwheat – you can read why in this Smoky Eggplant Buckwheat Bowl post-  by soaking the groats in a little water and apple cider vinegar overnight but for granola I don’t. Buckwheat adds awesome crunch and texture.

THIS ALMOND BUTTER MAPLE GRANOLA HAS LESS INGREDIENTS

While I can’t see a time when I will leap out of bed to a hearty breakfast each morning, I am quietly becoming a very big fan of this homemade almond butter maple granola. I find myself with my hand in the granola jar throughout the day pinching a little more. I eat it by the handful, sprinkled over coconut yoghurt and I’ve even sprinkled it on my peanut butter smeared apple slices snack. Don’t judge.

It’s delicious. With a lot less ingredients than the original store-bought version, this nut buttery granola is the perfect balance of sweet and salty at half the price to make. And it goes perfectly with a coffee as big as your head. Enjoy.

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