Food / 30 April, 2017 / My Baba

Choco Coco Granola – The Healthier Coco Pop!

Some recipes come about when I’m just bored of explaining why we don’t have certain foods at home, like Coco Pops. To satisfy all the Coco Pop monsters out there, make a batch of this chocolate granola. Super-easy, grain-free and packed with energy, antioxidants and minerals galore, everyone who tries it adores it. It will definitely keep you perky as a morning treat.

35 Mins

Makes a 500g jar

• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 tbsp cacao powder
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ cup (20g) flaked almonds
• ¼ cup (45g) buckwheat groats
• ½ cup coconut curls
• ½ cup puffed quinoa
• ½ cup quinoa flakes
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp shelled hemp seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch sea salt

Coconut oil is high in Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs), healthy fats that feed the brain and lower cholesterol

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5. Melt the oil in a small saucepan, add the cacao powder and maple syrup and stir until smooth. Remove and set aside.

Put the almonds, buckwheat groats, coconut, puffed quinoa, quinoa flakes and seeds in a large bowl and pour over the chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla extract and salt and stir. Tip into a large baking tray and thinly spread out the mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes before turning the mixture over with a wooden spoon. Repeat at 10-minute intervals two more times, then remove from the oven when the granola is dark brown.

Allow the granola to cool completely and crisp up. Keeps in an airtight jar for weeks.

This recipe is taken from Lizzie Loves Healthy Family Food by Lizzie King, published by Trapeze in Hardback and eBook, priced £20/£10.99