I also had fruit smoothie packets, but it turns out I’m happier with smoothies when I have a little frozen fruit and a lot of fresh fruit, as opposed to all frozen, because otherwise they are too bland and too thick. So that didn’t work for me. I also didn’t really like energy balls (I tried peanut butter banana and hemp cocoa; the leftover hemp seeds were good in salad and pesto, though).
In the end, the best thing left in my freezer was a half batch of kitchen sink granola. See, when I make granola, I do one of two things: follow a recipe, or follow a formula. The latter allows me to throw in odds and ends from the pantry, which is always convenient. The batch I made to clean out the pantry before the birth of the Little Prince was so good, though, that I wrote down the ingredients to make it again someday. I often seem to end up with most of a bag of raw peanuts, too, so I’m sure I’ll have ample opportunity! I’m naming this one Peanut Maple Granola, and if I were to change just one thing, it might be to use less sugar. The rest is awesome! [Update, October 2019: I made this again, with raw mixed nuts instead of raw peanuts, and using ½ cup of brown sugar. I wouldn’t go any lower on the sugar, but this seems like a good amount!]
3 cups rolled oats
3 cups puffed rice cereal
1 ½ cups raw peanuts
1 handful slivered almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup brown sugar (or less)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used ¼ cup EVOO and topped it up with safflower oil)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 big pinch vanilla salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. aniseed
¼ tsp. cardamom
Preheat oven to 300 °F. Spray a roasting pan (or a large baking sheet) with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until well combined. Spread them on the roasting pan and bake, giving it a good shake every 10 minutes or so, until it is browned to your liking (maybe 30 minutes in all).
Let cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container.
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