Granola Love

So things have been a bit busy in the Schulte family lately. We moved about 500 miles away and started new jobs. Meanwhile, my son decided to enter a new "phase" which involves significantly less sleeping and significantly more crying. Super fun. All this to say I'M SORRY for not posting in a while. But now that I'm feeling back to normal again, I wanted to share some fun nutrition info. So, here we go...

Let's talk granola. I love granola with all my heart. It's so easy to make and so good for you. However, most store brand versions are loaded with sugar, which kind of defeats the whole idea of the health purchase. For this reason, I usually make my own.

I've gone through a lot of recipes, testing each one to see which are best and I think I've found it. The recipe is adapted from one I found in the "Flat Belly Diet Cookbook". If you're wondering about my take on the diet itself - in short, it works because it's a calorie restricted diet. Pretty simple. The diet emphasizes eating more "MUFA's" (i.e. monounsaturated fatty acids). Say that three times. These are healthy fats that can help keep our hearts healthy. Granola is a great opportunity to boost your MUFA intake because it usually has ingredients rich in these healthy fats like walnuts and almonds.

This is currently my favorite snack. Yes, I measure the granola. One serving = 1/2 cup.

This granola recipe is chock-full of healthy fats like MUFA's. It's also a great source of fiber and whole grains. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup bran
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup apple juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup dried fruit of choice (I like dried apples, chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine first four ingredients.
2. Combine apple juice and maple syrup in a saucepan, heating until mixture simmers. Our over oats and stir to coat.
3. Spread mixture onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to ensure even browning. After granola is done baking, add dried fruit and allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.

Nutritional breakdown per serving: ~250 calories, 7 grams protein, 8 grams fiber