In the past few years I have steadily been gaining about three pounds a year in weight and every year I vow to try and lose the extra love handles. I know what I should do, but I find it so hard as I absolutely adore cooking and I love food even more. So, this year I have decided to try and reduce my sugar and carb intake in a bid to lose those extra pounds. This Sugar-free granola I made without any sweetener, but you can add stevia or monkfruit, or indeed any sugar-free sweetener if you need to. I usually use this as a topping on berries and full-fat Greek yoghurt so the berries provide the sweet kick. Make a batch and store in a Kilner jar or other airtight container.
Ingredients
- 150g whole almonds
- 100g whole walnuts
- 100g pecans
- 65g pumpkin seeds
- 65g sunflower seeds
- 40g flax seed or crushed chia seeds (I used chia seeds)
- 30g protein powder
- 90g coconut chips, unsweetened
- 80g smooth almond butter
- 80ml of water
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 2tsp granulated sweetener (optional)
- 1tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Place the almonds, walnuts and pecans in a food processor and pulse until chopped into a variety of sized pieces.
- Next place the pumpkin sunflower and chia seeds in the food processor and pulse until chopped.
- Empty the nuts and seeds into a bowl and mix together. Next add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly together. The mixture should be a little sticky, add a little more water if it’s dry.
- Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Press the mixture onto the baking tray until it is flat and covers the entire sheet.
- Place in the bottom oven at 100ºC for around 20 minutes and then move to the top oven at 200ºC for around 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it to make sure it does not burn.
- If the edges brown faster than the centre, remove from the oven and break off the outside and return the centre potion back to the oven until golden.
- Allow to cool, break into pieces and store in an airtight container. Delicious served with Greek yoghurt and fresh berries.
- You can freeze-dried berries for extra flavour or dried fruit if you are not following a Keto or Paleo diet.