Weigh- In Wednesday: My Favorite Granola Recipe

On the third Wednesday of every month I'm inviting everyone to share workout tips, weight loss thoughts, books, ideas, and healthy recipes to fuel us on our journey to better health.  I hope you'll join us!

I want to thank all of your for kind words of support and encouragement. After posting my weigh-in Wednesday posts last month I redoubled my efforts with excess attention to what I was eating and added in some new weight lifting and core exercises too.  And I managed to drop over 3 lbs; with Thanksgiving in the mix! 

I like to make my own granola so that I can control what goes into it. For most of my recipes I try to make sure a 1/4 cup measure equals anywhere from 3-5 Weight Watcher points.

My absolute favorite is this recipe for oil-free granola from Plant Based School; however, I never seem to make it exactly the same way twice. Typically we make our granola and then my younger two boys get me to add some chocolate chips to it. BUT I felt like there had to be a healthier option for getting that chocolaty taste without adding even MORE sugar to our granola (because I do feel like this plant based recipe has quite a lot with the maple syrup in it). So I began experimenting and came up with our new favorite granola recipe!

It makes a LOT; we typically fill up a gallon sized Ziploc bag and I measured it to make 40 servings. But you can easily halve the recipe and make less and/or store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Ingredients:

4 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup pecans pieces

2 Tablespoons each: pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds

1 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)

1 cup tahini

1 cup pure maple syrup 

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

5 Tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl I combined rolled oats, almonds, pecan, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, and coconut flakes. 

In a small bowl I combined the tahini, syrup, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. 

I poured the liquid over the dry and mixed well. Then I spread it out on a 13x9 sheet pan covered with parchment paper.

I baked the granola in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes; then I gave it a stir and cooked it for an additional 10 minutes. Before setting it on the counter to cool completely. 

I like to store my granola in an air tight container and scoop out my 1/4 cup using my measuring cup each morning. 

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