granola

WIAW: Thai Me Up With Chocolate

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We are back from vacation but I still haven’t done any major menu planning or grocery shopping this week which resulted in Thai takeout last night for dinner. It was tasty but it was a reminder that I’d much rather cook us as healthy dinner at home rather than eat out of cartons. So on the agenda today is a trip to Costco and the natural foods store to pick up the necessary goods to make healthy meals for the rest of this week/month.

Breakfast: Smoothie of frozen pineapple, frozen mango, banana, almond butter and unsweetened almond milk topped with a sprinkling of Nature’s Path  Hemp Plus Granola.  I have been addicted to Nature’s Path Hemp Plus oatmeal and now recently they sent me some of their granola and I’m addicted to it as well.  I actually just had some this morning on top of my granola to add a nice little crunch. 
Snack: Pear and another handful of Hemp Plus Granola (not photographed)
Lunch: Leftovers–> black beans, cilantro-lime brown rice, sauteed cabbage, mushrooms and onions, roasted asparagus, avocado and a nice drizzle of sriracha.
Dinner: Thai/Vietnamese Take-out –> vegetable fresh roll, lemongrass tofu and vegetables and curry noodles with vegetables and tofu.  We had leftovers of this for lunch today. 

What I DIDN’T Eat Wednesday but I did eat half of sunday with some strawberries and a scoop of coconut milk ice cream –> Chocolate Inspirations Vegan Brownie.  This brownie was so good! Neil and I both thought that it looked like it was going to be a little dry but it ended up being really moist and tasty.  I also tried a few other items over the past few weeks from Chocolate Inspirations including Peanut Butter Pillows with Chocolate, Michael’s Favorite Chocolate Combo with Pretzels (dark chocolate, vegan caramel, pretzels and peanut butter) and Vegan Caramel Corn.  I have to say my favorite was the caramel corn and I honestly love their toffees, brittles and barks which I first tried a few years ago more than the peanut butter confections.  I still have one of their hot chocolate stirrers to try and I’ll let you know how those are .

Weekend Granola

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This weekend I have been preparing for a new workshop that I am doing next week on natural sweeteners.  Part of preparing for the workshop is making up some tasty treats for my participants to try out.  This granola is made using maple sugar and brown rice syrup.

Makes 8 Cups

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups quick-cooking oats
  • 1/2 cup maple sugar
  • 1/4 cup golden flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup flax meal (ground flax seeds)
  • 1/4 cup nibs
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup black sesame seeds
  • 1 cup Thompson raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil (liquid form)
  • 1/3 cup brown rice syrup
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Spread the oats on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. While the oats are baking combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir to combine.  Add the oats to  the dry ingredients and stir to evenly distribute.  Add the wet ingredients to the oat mixture and mix until everything is evenly coated.
Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (optional). Spread half the mixture on each of the baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes, stir after 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow granola to cool on the baking sheets.  Store in an airtight container.

Grassroots Granookies

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I recently received two flavors of Grassroot Granookies to review, the Apricot Cinnamon and the chocolate chips. Grassroot Granookies are a tasty blend of cookies and granola bars.

They are a good balance of the two as they are chewy and crispy and pack a lot of flavor!  I ate the Granookies on their own and broke them up and put them in my vegan yogurt.  They are delicious, sweet but not too sweet and the chocolate chip Granookies went great with my vanilla soygurt parfait.

These are great alternatives to mainstream granola bars and cookies as they are fun, healthy and convenient.  They are a great source for fiber, complete proteins, amino acids and more!  To top it all off, they are dairy free, soy free and nut free as well which is great for those with food allergies or sensitivities.

Now it is your chance to win your own sample of Grassroot Granookies!  Entries will be accepted until October 12th at 8pm.  To enter you can do any (or all) of these: Please leave individual comments for each entry.

  1. Tell me what inventive way you will enjoy your sample of Granookies.
  2. Become a fan of Granookies on Facebook
  3. Become a fan of Cook.Vegan.Lover. on Facebook
  4. Follow Cook.Vegan.Lover. on twitter
  5. Subscribe to my newsletter

The Winner is JENNA

Recipe: Coconut Raisin Flax Granola

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Coconut Raisin Flax Granola

 This granola is delicious and is great with your favorite non-dairy milk or soygurt. 

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup Blueberry Flax Meal (you can substitute regular flax meal)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup almond pieces
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
  • 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons vegan margarine (coconut oil would be a great substitute for vegan margarine)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 & 1/2 cups raisins 

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, flax meal, coconut, almond pieces and pumpkin seeds onto a baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Grease a baking sheet. 
  4. While the oats mixture is toasting, combing the brown rice syrup, brown sugar, margarine, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
  5. Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the brown rice syrup mixture, add the raisins, and stir to combine. 
  6. Pour the mixture onto the greased baking sheet and make sure that the mixture is evenly distributed. Place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.