Crunchy. Satisfying. Naturally sweetened. Fibre and protein-packed. Simple & Delicious.

These are the words that come up when having a bowl of this gorgeous warming winter granola in the morning!

More About Mia and her Soulful Food...

Hi, I'm Mia, veg and fruit lover extraordinaire. My plant-based journey started with a love for this planet and everyone who's living on it. Through travel, experimenting, and a lot of curiosity, I have discovered just how easy, accessible, and simple (yet diverse, tasty and nutritious!) vegan food can be. It is very important to me that my diet supports all my nutritional needs, and so my recipes focus on finding ways to this whilst also tasting scrumptious!

What I love the most about cooking is the community aspect of it. The joy and comfort of gathering and sharing – how it brings everyone together. My regular recipes and posts are to do just this! I will be sharing my favourite tasty and healthy vegan meals and treats with you. And I hope that you will enjoy looking after yourself by eating them, and of course sharing them with your own tribe, large or small. 

Wishing you lots of love, health and happiness, Mia xx 

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day! Why? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure, but this Granola always gets me pumped to roll out of bed and into the day. It is power packed goodness with rich oils and protein in seeds and nuts, plus we get an extra anti-inflammatory boost from having Ginger in there. This is something we cannot get enough of now that winter season is right around the corner.

Fresh Ginger is used to help break down high-protein foods and to fight all kinds of inflammation. Ginger can also be beneficial in treating and soothing symptoms of chronic indigestion.

Any kind of nut or seed butter is essential for creating these small clusters what makes the whole Granola experience so utterly delicious. Made of ground sesame seeds, Tahini offers a richer, more savoury flavour than your standard peanut butter. This condiment, mostly used in Eastern Mediterranean cuisine, is packed with healthy fats and antioxidants. Sesamin and sesamolin that are two potent antioxidants unique to the sesame plant have been linked to heart health. The seeds protect cells from free-radical damage and help to prevent cardiovascular issues. Tahini also provides a great source of calcium that is especially needed if you’re living the dairy free life. Tahini is also a source of plant-based iron, and maintaining proper iron levels, is important for hair, skin, and nail strength.

In addition, Sesame and Pumpkin seeds contain zinc, crucial for good immunity, and a building block for keeping our skin elastic and supple. Walnuts are also said to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain, as well as being sweet in flavour. This effect may be due to their omega-3 oils content. They help relieve coughing and wheezing and are said to nourish the kidney, adrenals and brain.

Ingredients

(for a week of Granola breakfasts for one person)

• 1 cup Rolled Oats
• ½ cup Raw Buckwheat
• ½ cup Roughly Chopped Walnuts
• ¼ cup Pumpkin Seeds
• 1 Thumb-sized Piece Ginger
• 1 tbsp Tahini
• 2 tbsp Honey / Maple Syrup
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 pinch of Sea Salt
• Add (raisins, coco flakes, cacao nibs, goji berries, cut up dried fruit of your own choosing)

Preparation

• Preheat your oven to 160°C. Then, while it is heating, in a large mixing bowl add Tahini, honey, grated ginger, salt and cinnamon. Blend it all together until unified. Now add your dry ingredients and stir well to ensure that they are all covered with your liquid mixture.
• When all well combined, spread out on a baking sheet and press the Granola into the tray. This allows all of the ingredients to stick together more, and will create some delicious larger clusters!
• Place the tray in your preheated (160°C) oven for 12-15 minutes. Depending on how hot your oven is, cooking time will differ slightly. The safest method to not let it burn is to check every now and then. Halfway through the cooking time, remove the tray and gently turn your granola (be sure not to break down too many of the clusters though!).
• When the granola turns a lovely golden brown and a scrumptious smell starts to fill the kitchen, remove the baking tray and let the granola cool down to make it go crunchy.
• Once cool, you can ‘fancy up’ your gorgeous granola even more… add dried fruit, cacao nibs, coconut flakes etc. There are so many options, to make it suit your taste buds!

Combinations I love:

1. Adding Raisins and Coconut
2. Add Cacao nibs and substitute Tahini for Peanut butter
3. Serve with vegan yoghurt, plant milk and/or fresh fruit.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks at room temperature (or freeze immediately after cooling and store in the freezer for up to 1 month). I recommend storing it in the fridge for maximum crunch. Enjoy this delicious winter warmer of a breakfast treat!

If you love this, then you will love my other Soulful Vegan Recipes from around the world… Just click for my Beautiful Buddha Bowl, Perfect Vegan Cacao Pancakes, Delicious Vegan Dahl or my Tropical Thunder Green Smoothie.

Until next time, sending lots of love, health and wellness to you. Mia xx