Anyone else having a case of the serious winter blues? We haven’t see the sun in several days and it is really damp, chilly, and dreary out.
I am definitley ready for some sunshine and based on the article above, I am not alone. The temps may be a bit mild but I am definitley having a difficult time warming up….the dampness is utterly bone chilling and I can’t wait for sun!
Thankfully we are almost through January and the days are getting longer right! I can’t wait for it to be lighter in the mornings since the struggle is real…..Is anyone else struggling with getting out the door for an early morning run?
I usually wait till the sun is barely coming up before I head out to run, but if it’s really icy out, I don’t hesitate to take my run to the gym. The other day when I was trying to decide if I was going to run in or out, I stepped outside to see if it was icy and saw the gorgeous trees and decided to heck with it…..
It was so PRETTY so I decided to run outside. At that moment, running fast intervals didn’t matter. Sometimes you just have to ignore that inner voice inside that says you need to run a certain pace or a particular distance.
Turns out the roads were ok and I had a really great run. After a 10 minute or so warm-up I ran fast for a minute and then when my watch beeped after 1 minute, I jogged. I did 10 reps. Trust me, this is much more fun outdoors since I get a little tired of increasing the speed on the treadmill every minute!! The last couple weeks I had 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off. Those did seem easier but I did twice as many reps and it’s definitely more fun outside.
Next week I may increase my reps to 12 depending on how I feel. One minute does go by fast, but the reps do catch up with you. Let me know if you try this one and be sure to cool down for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
Trust me, by the time I was done with my run, strength, and core work, I was darn “hangry”. And WOW….This granola is definitley going to become one of my favorite pantry staples.
I’ve really started to enjoy topping off my smoothie with a small handful of granola and this one is pretty darn good. I have one cupboard completely devoted to smoothie ingredients and there is always a canister of granola ready to scoop from to be put to good use. Most often a couple different kinds!
I love sprinkling this granola, or any of my other granolas, over my smoothies?.
I never get bored of homemade granola because each time I make a batch, it turns out different since I mix it up with different nuts, seeds, and other fun add in’s like mini chocolate chips, or dried blueberries or raisins.
For this batch I used lots of crispy pecans, hence the title CRISPY PECAN SEEDED GRANOLA. The Maple-glazed pecans, coconut oil and a hint of spice bring big flavor to this crunchy, cluster-packed granola, which is perfect for my morning smoothie habit, or an afternoon snack, or straight up. Or try it in yogurt with fresh berries and it’s amazing on oatmeal too.
All my nuts and seeds are crispy (sprouted) and therefore I kept my granola raw by baking it at a very low oven temp, 150 degrees F. It takes a bit longer but if you can stand the wait, so worth the extra health benefits.
Use any combination of nuts and seeds you like and if you don’t have flaky sea salt, kosher salt is fine; just use slightly less (about 3/4 teaspoon, give or take).
I can’t wait to hear how you like this new Granola!
CRISPY PECAN SEEDED GRANOLA
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups/160 grams crispy raw pecans, broken into rough halves and quarters
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 cup coconut chips
- 1 cup crispy raw almonds coarsely chopped
- 1 cup crispy hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup crispy cashews, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned gluten free rolled oats
- ¾ cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup unrefined coconut oil, melted (or use sunflower oil, or a combination)
PREPARATION
- Heat oven to 150 degrees or use your dehydrator. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, toss 1 1/2 cups pecans with 1/4 cup maple syrup. Set aside.
- In a separate medium-size bowl, combine remaining pecans and nuts, oats, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and oil with the remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Add your maple coated pecans. Spread oat mixture on the prepared baking sheet.
- Place in warm oven for about 12 hours or overnight or until golden brown and crispy. Stir gently once during the process.
- Remove from oven. Stir gently once more and allow too cool. Store airtight at room temperature for up to a month if it lasts that long.
What is in your superfood cupboard?
Do you build yourself a natural medicine cabinet? For example vitamin C?
How often do you enjoy a green smoothie?
Do you have more than one type of granola in your cupboard. I think I have three different ones right now.
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