Sugar-Free and Tasty Granola

A lot of people complain that if they have oatmeal or Greek yogurt, that it is a bit too bland for them. I tell them that they can put one of their two daily small servings of fruit in their yogurt or oatmeal. You can also use nuts, bit read the nutrition label for the carb count per serving size. But, some people want granola. Granola is a no-no as a healthy diet or maintenance food.

Many people think that granola is a health food. Well, with all of the sugar in regular granola, you will wind up gaining weight with it. But, there is a recipe for sugar-free granola. This sugar-free recipe has 4g of net carbs per half a cup. granola has about 32g of carbs, 6g of fiber (26g net carbs) and 5g of protein, and 12g of sugar–which is like eating three sugar cubes.

So, I decided to try a sugar-free type of granola. It wasn’t hard to make.

This recipe has no fruit. I hate fruit in my nuts. But, if you want to throw in a few raisins, go ahead, but keep it to a minimum. Raisins are high in sugar and carbs. A half a cup of raisins is 66g of carbs and 48g of sugar or 12 sugar cubes. Seriously! Just half a cup of them! Dried fruit is a weight gainer!

So, feel free to substitute any nuts or seeds you like in this recipe, but the flax meal is essential, and the coconut is helpful. These will absorb the liquids and this is what will form the clumps — otherwise you just have toasted nuts and seeds with some flavoring.

Yield: 12 Servings

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup sugar-free maple-flavored syrup

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 300 F. Cover baking sheet with sides with a silicon mat or greased parchment paper.

2. Roughly chop the nuts.

You can do this in a food processor, but if you do, start with the harder nuts — the almonds in this recipe or filberts (hazelnuts) if you use them. \

3. Melt the butter or coconut oil – you can microwave it in the bowl you’re going to use for mixing (although you can mix right on the baking sheet), if you wish.

4. Mix the syrup and coconut oil or butter together.

5. Combine the nuts, coconut, seeds, and salt. If you’re doing this on the baking sheet, add the water first and mix (hands work best), and then the oil/butter and syrup mixture. Otherwise, just combine it all in a bowl and turn out onto the baking sheet. Press into an even layer.

6. At this point, it’s good to taste it. It’s going to end up tasting a little less sweet, so judge your own desire for sweetness and add more if you want.

7. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Twice during the baking, stir the mixture with a large spoon and press back down. After the second time, don’t move it around any more. Bake until fragrant and lightly browned on the surface.

8. Let cool completely in pan. It will crisp as it cools. Store in sealed container. Serve with yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. If you like, add dehyrdrated blueberries or strawberries.

Make about 6 cups — 12 servings. (half a cup servings)

Nutritional Information: Each serving has 4 grams net carbs plus 6 grams fiber (10 grams total carbohydrate), 7 grams protein, and 292 calories.

Here are the pictures that I took of the process from the mix, to on the sheets, cooked and put in the jar.