Homemade granola: How to prepare it and what to use?

Granola is currently experiencing a huge boom and is a trending breakfast on social media that many fitness influencers are indulging in. But did you know that this breakfast treat was first introduced in 1863 and then popularised by Kellogg's a few years later? Although the history of granola itself is also quite an interesting topic, today's article will primarily focus on how to make it at home. By doing so, you can save hundreds of dollars and still use only the ingredients you like yourself.

What is granola?

We won't forgive ourselves one more little look into the past. At the time granola was first invented, it was called granula, referring to the Latin term granum used for grain, which was really the basis of the whole mixture back then. Today, the word granola is most commonly used to refer to a baked muesli based on , for example, oatmeal (noand often gluten-free) enriched with various nuts, seeds, dried or freeze-dried fruit and many other ingredients. Granola has no fixed composition and is thus a huge room for some experimentation with flavours and the inclusion of variousVilgain, for example, adds spheres to its Plant Protein Granola.pea protein, while Powerlogy relies on dried cherries, for example.

How to make granola at home?

Granola is of course sold in many different supermarkets today, but the quality of such products is slightly questionable. The name granola itself does not tell you anything about the product's ingredients, so often behind the attractive packaging lurks just a lot of simple sugars and low-quality ingredients. But let's take a look at how to make granola at home and simply:

What ingredients to use?

First of all, you need to choose the right ingredients. It is usually recommended to use oatmeal (or perhaps spelt) as a base.) flakes, which you can mix with any seeds you like. Options are pumpkin, sunflower, hemp or even flax seeds. You can also add a variety of nuts, such as walnuts.walnuts, pecans, cashews, or any other nuts - for visual appeal, there is no for visual appeal, it's not a bad idea to use some nuts whole, others chopped and in the case of coconut you can use whole slices, for example. To make the whole mixture colourful, you can also prepare, for example, freeze-dried fruits according to your ownor a variety of chocolate chips or high-quality dark cocoa. In any case, it's a good idea to use two ingredients in the granola: a liquid sweetener (such as honey or maple syrup) and coconut oil, which will combine the ingredients nicely.

How to proceed?

Although many recipes recommend specific amounts of each ingredient at the same time, we don't think it's necessary. In short, there's nothing to go wrong with granola, and even if you're just dosing the ingredients by eye, the mixture will be fine. If you like ingredients that are not too strong in taste, you canyou can use more, while the more flavour-intensive ones can be used less. Anyway, the procedure for making homemade granola can be as follows:

1. Preheat the oven to about 140 to 160 °C.
2. Mix together the flakes, seeds, nuts, cocoa powder and any other bulk ingredients.
3. Heat the coconut oil, mix it with your sweetener of choice and gently stir it into the prepared bowl with the flakes and other ingredients.
4. Place the baking paper on a baking tray and spread the mixture evenly on the tray.
5. Place the baking sheet in the oven and check and stir the granola at regular intervals. Bake it for about 40 minutes - a good indicator is that it should be dry.
6. Remove the finished granola from the oven and, if it is still slightly moist, allow it to dry.
7. If you'd like to flavour it with chocolate shavings, for example, it's ideal to add them after the granola has cooled so they don't melt.

And that's pretty much it. Now all you have to do is put the granola in a container where moisture won't penetrate and you can enjoy it for breakfast every morning.

How much does homemade granola cost?

It's hard to say. Just as there's a difference between supermarket products and honest-to-goodness healthy granola, for example, from our comparison of the bestbest granola, the price at home is mainly defined by the quality and quantity of the products you use. A basic version consisting of just oatmeal, one type of nut and the cheapest seeds will of course cost a few crowns. If you decide to use, for example, more expensive gluten-free oatmeal, freeze-dried fruit instead of driedand more expensive nuts such as pistachios, the granola will of course cost a little more. Still, it's better to make a more expensive granola at home than to buy a cheap one from the supermarket because the ingredients will be significantly better.

How to use granola?

Once you've prepared your granola, you certainly don't have to worry about not being able to use it up. It can be eaten on its own, and due to its high calorie content and relatively low weight, it's a great snack for a hike. However, you can also use it in yogurt (Greek, sheep's or any other kind) and it can also be eaten with milk and its plant-based alternatives. So you really have a variety of options.

What to take away from today's article?

The main thing you should take away from today's article is that granola can be a great occasionalbreakfast, because it contains a variety of healthy ingredients and is easy to prepare at home. At the same time, you can use exactly the ingredients you like at home and still cheaper than buying small packets of store-bought granola. But if you're only tempted to try granola, it's certainly not a bad idea to try itto participate in the aforementioned comparison of the best granola and choose the product that suits your taste.